Hard. Core.
Topic Two: Bummer.
I guess this is no surprise, but one really great aspect of being a prof is establishing relationships with the students that filter in and out of your dept (and life). And just yesterday, I was thinking that I actually like my current GA as a person. I wasn't quite sure what to think of her at first, as she doesn't fit much of the southern mold (i.e., constant state of polished, finished and groomed perfection). But she's a real down-to-earth kind of girl, which suits my character nicely. She also has a "get 'er done" approach to GA work, which is refreshing.
About an hour or so ago, she drops by to check in on her GA duties--and I could tell she was upset about something. So I ask, and as it turns out--her significant other had suddenly lost his hearing in one ear. He was out in the hallway, so I ask him into my office so I could question him about it. Based on what he was presenting, it didn't look good. So I pulled a string or two and got him an auditory eval by a fellow faculty--and as I suspected, near-total sensorineural loss in one ear. (This is likely caused by either a viral or bacterial infection of the cochlea. Some residual hearing may return in about 40% to 60% of the time, depending on the type of infection.)
Anyway--we sent them off to urgent care for diagnostic blood work (and corresponding medications, I would presume). It's just a bummer when you see this go down, and it's also a bummer when you see one of your own kids in a legitimately frightening situation. He is without insurance, and doing his best (with a blue-collar job) to save up for an engagement ring. At this point, I'm confident she couldn't give a damn about a ring--but this guy, who seemed like a legit good salt-of-the-earth kind of guy, wouldn't have it any other way. I honestly hope everything works out for them...
Topic Two: Bummer.
I guess this is no surprise, but one really great aspect of being a prof is establishing relationships with the students that filter in and out of your dept (and life). And just yesterday, I was thinking that I actually like my current GA as a person. I wasn't quite sure what to think of her at first, as she doesn't fit much of the southern mold (i.e., constant state of polished, finished and groomed perfection). But she's a real down-to-earth kind of girl, which suits my character nicely. She also has a "get 'er done" approach to GA work, which is refreshing.
About an hour or so ago, she drops by to check in on her GA duties--and I could tell she was upset about something. So I ask, and as it turns out--her significant other had suddenly lost his hearing in one ear. He was out in the hallway, so I ask him into my office so I could question him about it. Based on what he was presenting, it didn't look good. So I pulled a string or two and got him an auditory eval by a fellow faculty--and as I suspected, near-total sensorineural loss in one ear. (This is likely caused by either a viral or bacterial infection of the cochlea. Some residual hearing may return in about 40% to 60% of the time, depending on the type of infection.)
Anyway--we sent them off to urgent care for diagnostic blood work (and corresponding medications, I would presume). It's just a bummer when you see this go down, and it's also a bummer when you see one of your own kids in a legitimately frightening situation. He is without insurance, and doing his best (with a blue-collar job) to save up for an engagement ring. At this point, I'm confident she couldn't give a damn about a ring--but this guy, who seemed like a legit good salt-of-the-earth kind of guy, wouldn't have it any other way. I honestly hope everything works out for them...
posted by Greg | 11:36 AM
1 Comments:
Bummer indeed. That's cool that at least you were able to help them out a little, though.
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