The Follow-Up Phone Call
A man called the main office of a large hospital, his voice filled with extreme urgency, “Hello! Please connect me to the head of the lab right now! I need to ask about the test results for a patient named John Smith.”
The nurse on duty replied, “Please hold on for a moment while I look it up in the system… Ah, I see it. We had two patients named John Smith admitted last week. One was diagnosed with severe Alzheimer’s disease, and the other tested positive for a highly contagious, deadly virus. Your results got mixed up.”
The man panicked, “Oh my god, I am John Smith! So, which of the two illnesses do I actually have?!”
The nurse flipped through her paperwork for a bit and said awkwardly, “I’m so sorry, sir. Our computer system just crashed, so we can’t tell which John Smith you are. However, the chief doctor gave me a solution for you…”
John Smith screamed, “What solution?! Tell me right now!”
The nurse replied calmly, “The doctor said you should walk about three miles away from your house. If you can actually remember the way back home on your own… then whatever you do, do not open your front door for anyone!”
