The 96-year-old Russian gentleman
A small office above a bakery, a 96-year-old gentleman with a fractured femur and the referral that made the neighbourhood trust the new doctor.
“From then on, it "rained" patients.”
Pedro Moretti Guedes · Reminiscências de um Médico
In the beginning, the office was small and sat above a bakery. One day, a 96-year-old Russian gentleman was brought in. Pedro examined him, identified a fractured femur, a serious injury at that age, and referred him to an orthopaedist.
Some time later, the patient came back. Walking. "From then on it rained patients", Pedro used to say. The neighbourhood understood that the new doctor examined with care and knew when to ask for help. A correct referral can be worth more than an operation.
This text is an editorial adaptation of an account preserved in the family compilation "Reminiscências de um Médico" (2008). It is autobiographical memory, not a medical record or medical advice.