Thursday, July 21, 2005

Can you really say XYZ to a stranger?

Remember when XYZ meant Examine Your Zipper? (Why it wasn't EYZ,I'll never know. I guess it's like the 3 Rs....Reading,Writing and 'Rithmetic. Uhm,that's like one R,one W and one A if you spell Arithmetic correctly!) Anyway, yesterday I was remembering a situation that happened to me about 10 years ago at work.

I had a 35 year old man in the exam chair and I was updating his medical history. I was sitting at the desk,eye level to his crotch. Hey, that's the way it is,people!
I noticed his zipper was unzipped. Damn! As I wrote down his visual complaints, I silently pleaded with him to zip up! Sadly, when you are trying not to look at something, an oversized wart on someone's nose, a piece of food in someone's teeth or an unzipped zipper,your eyes are automatically drawn to the very spot you are trying to avoid. I told the patient that I had to get some eye drops in another room. I left for a few seconds hoping he would zip up. When I returned,he was in the same state as I had left him. Thank goodness nothing else had popped out.

Finally, as I turned my back to write something down,he stood up,walked to the front of the room facing the wall with his back to me,zipped up and sat down. I was so relieved. I didn't feel comfortable saying anything.

I have told women that their button on their shirt or skirt had come undone many times over the years,but telling a man to XYZ is way out of my comfort zone.

Have you ever been in this situation? What did you do?

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