Page 8 of The One

“Both of which aren’t the best choices with your cholesterol.”

“I’d like to try this without medication,” he said firmly. “I’ll do some research on what I should be eating.”

“I’ll give you three months to get it down. However, I’d like you to get a blood pressure cuff and take your blood pressure daily. If it’s going higher I want you back in here. If it’s not lower in a month of diet changes, I want you back in here. In three months, if I don’t see a change, we’ll have to go the medication route. High cholesterol can lead to stroke or heart attack. Added with the blood pressure... You get where I’m going here.”

He sighed. “I do. I’m stubborn but not stupid. I’ll get the cuff today and follow orders.”

“Good,” Dr. Mason said. “If you’re going to follow orders and do this, you should talk with one of our dietitians. One visit and they’ll be able to lead you on the right path to be successful.”

He wanted to argue, but the guy was compromising and that was more than he could say about a lot of doctors.

“Fine. One visit,” he said. He figured it couldn’t hurt.

The doctor printed out his papers and handed them over. “Here is your referral and a summary of today’s visit. They will give you a code at the desk and a form if you want to be able to access your medical information electronically. You’ll be able to see all your results online.”

“That’d be great,” he said. And it would let him see exactly what the numbers showed.

“They will also schedule you for a follow-up appointment in three months and more blood work and the appointment with the dietician.”

He reached for the papers, said, “Thanks,” and walked out of the exam room.

All things considered, it might have gone worse. Those all sounded fixable and if it gave him more energy, then it was a bonus. He just had to suck it up to see a dietician and be told what food he should stay away from. He could figure that out himself by looking online.

Once he got home he’d do that and probably cancel that appointment. Why waste anyone’s time.

4

Preparing Herself

The following Wednesday, Gillian was looking at her schedule for the day. She loved her job and helping people, but she found most that sought out her expertise didn’t really want to be here.

Half the time they were forced. The other half, they wanted to learn but then didn’t stick to her recommendations.

She got it, people liked what they liked. It was easier to make a ham sandwich with tons of mayo than it was to grill a piece of chicken with a vegetable. Faster yet to stop and pick something up that someone else made on your way home.

But her job was to get people to understand that healthy choices made you feel better. They made you look better.

No, diet wasn’t the be-all and end-all, but it did work and it did help.

Her first appointment of the day was a thirty-four-year-old male coming in with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. She’d found those were the most stubborn patients. If history was correct, he was probably overweight and some exercise and diet could make a world of difference, but at least he wasn’t jumping on a pill to fix it while he continued to eat poorly.

She shouldn’t judge, but she went with the majority of the cases she saw when she was preparing herself.

The shock came when she opened the door and saw the man sitting in the room.

He wasn’t overweight at all. He looked tall and fit even sitting down. She glanced down at her laptop to see if she had the right room. “Rick Masters?”

“That’s me,” he said, standing up. Yep, he was tall. Probably a foot taller than her five foot two.

“Gillian Bridges. I’m your dietitian today.”

“It’s already starting better than I thought it would,” he said, smiling.

“That’s good to hear,” she said. “Then I hope you’re open-minded to what I’ve got to say.”

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. I’d prefer to not go on medication if I can.”

“Medication works for a lot of people. I have to say you aren’t the normal patient that I see.”

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