| Browse the Best of RHF: "'True' Stories" |

On the subject of interns examining overweight women, the symptoms of pregnancy are often masked by obesity. The brother-in-law of a friend told me the first part of this story; my cousin told me the second. Both are now doctors, and both assured me that the stories are true.

In attempting to do a vaginal/cervical exam on a very overweight woman, the intern could not make room to do his work. He finally enlisted the aid of two orderlies who wrapped the woman's legs in sheets and pulled them apart. Still not having enough room, the intern pushed a chair between her legs and made his diagnosis:

"You're pregnant," he said. "But how you got that way without two sheets and a chair is beyond me."

After making a similar comment, my cousin was informed by the patient, "You're not the first short-dick white boy to tell me that."

| Browse the Best of RHF: "'True' Stories" |