Miss Fortitude

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7487.356

BMJ 2005;330:356 (12 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7487.356

Filler

A memorable patient

Miss Fortitude

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

When I took her on as my patient, she made it clear that shedid not hold the medical profession in high regard. She hadworked for many years in a medical students' hostel and hadseen us with our youthful exuberance and excesses. She now livedalone on the 10th floor of a tower block, and I always endedmy visits to her going to the window to admire the magnificentview over the city.

Her body was crumbling: she was confined to a chair with anosteoporotic spine, and her neck seemed to have collapsed sothat her head apparently sprouted from her upper chest at acrazy angle. Yet her mind remained as sharp as a pin: she wasconstantly pointing out my mistakes or omissions, much to myembarrassment. Our discussions about her treatment and conditionsfelt more like discussions with a colleague rather than with. . . [Full text of this article]

David Scarfe, general practitioner

Marston Medical Centre, Oxford (david.scarfe@dphpc.ox.ac.uk)