Today’s Topic is Compliance
Do you do everything your doctors tell you to do?
I’ve had chronic and severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) and have followed doctor instructions since I was first diagnosed at age 14. My dermatologist told me her biggest problem with patients is non-compliance.
Patients instructed to stop taking hot showers ignore the instruction and continue to take hot showers and their dermatitis doesn’t get better.
Patients instructed to use dermatitis-safe moisturizers “forget” or “don’t like” putting moisturizers on their skin wonder why their condition isn’t any better.
Away from dermatitis, I have an acquaintance who presented at a surgery center for a colonoscopy, and was turned away because he didn’t follow instructions to drink the fluids to clean out his system. No matter how unpleasant the preparation is, if you don’t comply, you can’t have the procedure.
And yet again, an acquaintance broke his forearm and presented at the hospital to have surgery to repair the break. When asked, “When did you last eat?” (His instructions were no food or drink after 8pm the night before surgery.) He replied, “Well, I had breakfast an hour ago.” So he was turned away and had to reschedule, meaning he had to continue to have his arm in its original cast.
Trust your doctors. Ask a million questions. Make sure you know everything you need to know. And comply with instructions.
Remembering A Great Song from a Great Album By a Great Band
Robin Trower was the original guitarist for Procol Harum (A Whiter Shade of Pale) and went on to create a power trio with James Dewar on bass and lead vocals and Reg Isidore on drums (later Bill Lordan). The album Bridge of Sighs reached #7 on the charts and Long Misty Days reached #24. Both albums yielded singles that became concert mainstays and the band enjoyed a long string of performances in large venues in both the US and the United Kingdom.
I was driving in a 1959 Rambler heading west on East Colfax in Denver when I first heard Long Misty Days on the old KFML-FM and it knocked me out. Here is a live cut from Illinois in 1976.
Remembering a Totally Fun Novelty Song
Today’s novelty song is Alley Oop by the Hollywood Argyles, a group that didn’t exist, hit radio and the charts in 1957. Alley Oop was a caveman portrayed in the old newspaper comic strips. This is goofy song that is a whole bag of fun, with its odd pronunciations and crazy music.
Below is the Alley Oop Wikipedia page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alley_Oop_(song)
Today’s Book is an Example of American Research, Reportage, and Journalism
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts was an extremely important book in its time, a chronicle of the AIDS epidemic and the machinations and politics surrounding the illness. Over time, AIDS has become less of an issue owing to medical and pharmaceutical advances, but the book remains an important snapshot of late-1980s America. Randy Shilts died prematurely at age 42, but not after he won many awards for And the Band Played On.
Getting Old Ain’t for Sissies 