Anything is Possible, Nothing Presumed
Dr. Morris Hirsch's first exposure in private practice taught him that a doctor has to withstand Tartars
Dr Palmer had instructed Morris to handle a difficult adolescent female patient with kid gloves. Her wealthy parents belonged to the mink and manure set and were influential.
Mother was a Tartar. Palmer instructed Morris to continue his prescribed treatment and an alternative medication if needed. He was to avoid reexamining the girl if possible.
Indeed, Morris found the consultations were tense, so he was relieved to respect Palmers instructions. But neither treatment made any impact on the problem. Embarrassed and at a loss, Morris faced an irate mother, scathing at his failure and demanding referral to the best urologist.
Mr. I.D. Maisels, Morris' senior ex-Chief in the Urology Dept. of the Johannesburg Hospital, after a long examination of the patient, emerged to ask Morris whether he had examined her. Admitting his omission, he explained his respect for Dr. Palmer's instructions.
"That's no excuse." Maisels admonished. "I have to revise my opinion of you. Don't ever tell anyone you were a Houseman (Intern) of mine! You should've known that you never pass an opinion nor treat a patient without an examination to confirm a diagnosis. The girl has gonorrhoea and is three months pregnant! It would have been obvious– even to you– had you examined her."
Staggered, Morris apologized. After a long silence, he said, "My God, what are we to tell Mother?"
"Since you are so afraid of that battle-axe, I'll confront her..." He put his arm around Morris.
"Who would have thought it?" If this plain, acned, sixteen year old, under her mother's thumb, could get VD and get pregnant, Morris resolved that anything is possible and nothing can be presumed. Later, it occurred to him that her sense of inferiority and rebellion against her mother had led to this outcome and wasn't so incredible after all.
The historical novel Whitewashed Jacarandas and its sequel Full of Possibilities are both available on Amazon as paperbacks and eBooks.
These books are inspired by Diana's family's experiences in small town Southern Rhodesia after WWII.
Dr. Sunny Rubenstein and his Gentile wife, Mavourneen, along with various town characters lay bare the racial arrogance of the times, paternalistic idealism, Zionist fervor and anti-Semitism, the proper place of a wife, modernization versus hard-won ways of doing things, and treatment of endemic disease versus investment in public health. It's a roller coaster read.
References:
Excerpt from Dr. Morris Isaac Hirsch's Unpublished Memoirs. Hirsch Archives.
Photo ccredit: Ansteys Art Deco Department Store on the corner of Jeppe and Joubert Streets. Barry Bloch https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10157022782371853&set=pcb.10157253761881561