That's Life

Issue of May 29, 2009 / 6 Sivan 5769 Dear That’s Life, Well, it’s a small world after all.

While having some routine pretesting done at LIJ, I received a text that a friend of mine from work had given birth. Even though we had just been at work together yesterday, her maternity leave was starting, effective immediately.

Having finished the tests, I left the hospital and picked up my car from visitor parking only to realize that my friend had probably delivered at North Shore hospital and I could pay her a very brief visit. After all, I was in the neighborhood. Ironically enough, after a couple of texts back and forth, I found out that she had delivered at LIJ, was registered under her maiden name and was only one floor above where I had been. So, back to the parking lot I went.

Although I honestly do not like visitors when I give birth, it just seemed silly that I would be in the same hospital and not wish her a mazel tov. It would not be the friendly thing to do.

I went to the maternity ward and explained who I was there to visit. Able to quickly scan the names of the patients in the ward from the nurse’s list, even though it was upside down, I saw that a patient with a pretty similar last name to my friend’s maiden name was in fact in the ward. Close enough, I thought –– that must be her.  It was the difference between Wallach and Wallock, a common mistake.

That, however, was not the problem.  The problem was that in every day life, my friend is known by her Hebrew name and not her legal one and the name by which I knew her was not the one on the roster. Again, reading upside down, I said, “Oh! I meant Marion, not Miriam,” using what I hoped was her legal name as printed on the paper in front of the nurse.

Now that my story made sense and I hoped I had the right patient, even though I had never actually heard this friend of mine called by her legal name nor her maiden name, I tried to get in to see her. “I’m sorry, visiting hours have not yet begun,” I was told.  I explained that I was going to stay only a minute, that I had coincidentally been one floor below and I just wanted to send her my best.