Dr. Shaw was amazing.. IS amazing. he's that old-school, home-remedies-that-actually-work, no-nonsence, take-no-prisoners-make-no-enemies sort of guy, and it totally carried through to his veterinary medicine.
his clients were the most loyal (of the 3 vets at my clinic), and even the one's he couldn't stand loved him beyond the normal vet-client relationship. i got the feeling that several of them would die for him, that they were actually waiting for the opportunity to do so. that enthusiasm is hard to ignore.
Sparkles is a cat. Sparkles (at the time) was aproximately 17 years old, in severe kidney failure. Karen is Spark's mom. Karen would have drunk Sparkle's urine, if Dr. Shaw told her it would help his condition. Karen wanted to take Spark to get a kidney transplant. Karen only backed out because it wasn't viable. i have vowed to own a cat named after either Karen or Sparkles, someday. probably Karen, she was the one who impressed me most, out of the pair.
my point is, even though Dr. Shaw wasn't the biggest fan de Sparks, he never showed Karen anything of the sort. sometimes, it was veiled thinly, but his discontent at Karen (and Sparkles) was always concealed. he was amazing at appearing as though his life depended on their happiness. i look up to that. not for the deceit, but for the reaction he got from Karen (Sparks could have cared less, lmao). she was devoted to him, utterly.. and all it took from him was the tiniest of efforts. it showed me, and taught me, a lot on how to interact with customers and clients.
i put some of what he taught me into use, every single day. i'm not sure he understands what he showed me, or that he would appreciate me voicing that appreciation.. but it's there.
today, i sat on a bench for 15 minutes (that i couldn't spare, i spared them..) and talked with a woman about her prescription, and explained for 5 minutes longer than i should have had to, why we couldn't fill it. i spent an extra 3 minutes, asking her how she was doing, and encouraging her. she's on radiation therapy, and needs to drive 45 miles per day, for 30 days. i made her smile, and helped her look on the bright side of things. it's more than worth it, to me, to see her smile, and to see her burden lift a little, when she says, "Well, you're right.. 20 days sounds much better than 30.." that sort of thing makes me smile, and for as long as i can, i'll keep sitting on the bench with people like her.. people who don't really realize that anyone cares anymore.
2 comments:
And that is what makes you a great person. Taking that extra time out of your day to make someone else's day is a tremendous sacrifice for most people. We're all busy. It's those little smiles that make you really feel your worth. I know it's those moments that I live for.
thank you, so much.. i love that someone appreciates me. even if it's from miles away.
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