doctor day

Yesterday was my 3 times a year Doctor day. Boring stuff.

My doctor is a young woman not too long out of medical school. Once she said that she had her student loans paid down to $200,000 a year.

In horror I asked how much it had been: “225,000.” What a way to start a career that does not pay as much as we might think -- not in Idaho at least.

But, she listens and pays attention. When I want something special for Miriam or don’t want some test, she listens. I like that.

Yesterday was routine. Weight, down three pounds from 4 months ago. Blood pressure good.

The assistant drew some blood to check on something that had not been checked in a year. We visited. She is a single mom with three near teen age kids. She does not get paid too much and it takes so little to throw her into a spin. She told me that she was having to move back in with her parents for a while.

Her oldest child, a boy, assured her that they would be ok. I assured her that she was a much better mom than she sometimes thinks she is, and she agreed.

Idaho is a low pay state. This lady is tryin to support herself and 3 kids on less than $30,000 a year, and given the high cost of housing, it is really tough.

Idaho has few high paying jobs.