a hopeful monster

One of the most frustrating issues in any doctors practice is compliance. We all brush our teeth extra well, floss twice and use mouthwash days leading up to a dental exam. I will even be sure to lose a few pounds before my weigh in at the ob/gyn. But when a doctor prescribes a medication for my health and well-being; I take it. I am most frustrated with my glaucoma patients. Its a disease that can end in devastating blindness. Its a serious ocular disease. Yet, a ridiculously slow progressing one. And more importantly, one that's usually more than easily treated with only a regimine of drops. Remember when I had you make fists and try to look through the holes in your curled fingers? That's the bad outcome. Now couldn't you manage to put in an eyedrop to prevent it?
Some of these drops are contraindicated due to other disease like asthma and COPD or chronic inflammation like iritis. Sometimes its a juggle as to what to prescribe. So when a patient comes in on max meds despite his asthma, I get really annoyed when his eye pressure hasn't budged. This guy is a complete flake and on first examination tried to explain that he smoked more than enough marijuana to not have glaucoma. Sorry sir, even if you smoked 24/7 you would barely lower IOP by 1 points. So are his drops not working or is he simply not taking them? I'm with HOUSE in believing more than not, patients lie. So after explaining for the 10th time how important his drops are, he left and fingers crossed he takes them as directed!

I'm not sure how this segways, but I watched a movie last night and in it one kid brings up the 'hopeful monster' theory. A hypothesis by Richard Goldschmidt about large malformations in genetics leading to large shifts in evolution. A macro to darwins microevolution. An instataneous speciation, saltatation, or systemic mutation that proves beneficial and is therfore passed on in theory creating a new creature. Whether or not this is a plausable theory is debatable. But I really like its title - a hopeful monster. It makes me think that maybe for all my flaws (and there are a lot) I can be hopeful that they keep me going in this crazy world.
Ill try to floss every day instead of every other. I will take my meds on time and finally make the appt for a full physical that is long overdue. But more importantly, I'm going to be a hopeful monster - because it can only get better from now on.