Editor's Commentary on ' My Sweet Girlfriend'

 , October 31, 2014

There are many memorable moments in medicine. The first patient. The shrewd diagnosis. The satisfying cure. They stick out in our minds and color the tales we recount to others and to ourselves.

But far more moments are forgotten. Moments that get swept aside due to fatigue or irritation, from being too unremarkable or far too common to stake a claim within the personal narrative of our practice and lives. Too often these moments are people, their existence and list of problems too generic and repetitive to register as anything beyond just another smoker, just another diabetic, just another alcoholic.

In “My Sweet Girlfriend,” Dr. Bapat turns a tender eye toward a patient who could easily have become just another, and a critical eye toward herself as she strives to understand more than what can possibly be seen in one short and frustrating visit.  In doing so, she is able to see her patient in a completely different light, and, the reader hopes, help him to see himself in a new light as well.

Becky MacDonell-Yilmaz