We had a patient return to the Mobile Medical Clinic recently who had received care approximately three months ago with multiple symptoms.  He appeared in good health during this latest visit and much more energetic than last time he was seen by Dr. Jimenez.  While in the waiting room, she asked him the purpose of this visit, and he told her that he was here for follow up from the last visit, as she had requested.  She asked how he was feeling and he stated that he is feeling much better and that he hadn’t had any alcohol since September 8^th.  After congratulating him, we looked up his last visit in our records.  He was seen on that very day, September 8^th.  Once on the van, he was asked what it was that made him quit drinking, and he said that Dr. Jimenez was the first person to be so direct about his drinking.  He shared that she was clear that he needed to stop drinking immediately!  He took her very seriously and quit that same day.

The patient was very sincere and very appreciative of what Dr. Jimenez had said to him.  He told us that no one else had taken the time to talk seriously about his alcohol addiction, and that he now knows he can be a better example for his children, who had never seen him without a beer in his hand.

Prior to quitting, the first thing he would do in the morning was crack open a beer, and fall asleep at night with a beer still in his hand.  His addiction made him miss many of his children’s football games and school plays which he is now able to attend.  His children, mother, grandmother, and his friends are all really proud of him.  He has even motivated some of his drinking buddies to quit and they are all really impressed with how strong he has been through this.  He has noticed that he is much less irritable and has a much better outlook on life.

His shared that what he did was “Go to a place like Wallace, get help, listen to your doctor’s advice and listen to your heart.”  In his final remarks, he thanked God and The Wallace Medical Concern for helping him become the man he is today.

We had a single dad come to the Mobile Medical Clinic recently.  He has a leg injury and had to take a temporary leave from work until his leg is better.  Unfortunately, this leave is unpaid and this father is really feeling the financial stress, knowing that he doesn’t have the funds to provide for his young daughters.  He can’t return to work without a doctor’s note saying he is able to perform the daily tasks and duties his job requires.  After being examined by Dr. Jimenez, we were able to give him that note and get him back to work soon!  Even once he gets back to work, he doesn’t work enough hours to qualify for the company’s health insurance plan.  We assured him that if he ever needs anything in the future that Wallace would be happy to help him out.

He was unable to donate at this time, but said he will mail us a check once he gets back to work.  We told him that we appreciated that gesture, but to first take care of his daughters and if he was able to send a small donation later, that’d be great.  We will be seeing this patient back in a few weeks to discuss lab results.  Through an invaluable relationship with Legacy Health Systems, we were able to send him to Legacy to get free lab work done.  He was very appreciative of our services and had a wonderful experience on the Mobile Medical Clinic.