Dr. Yasmin Aktar

People bring in these little notebooks. The pages are usually filled with numbers written in blue pen. Fasting sugar. Sugar after breakfast. Dr. Yasmin Aktar just flips through them. She is a consultant in diabetes and endocrinology. MBBS and MD. She sits there looking at the messy handwriting. Trying to figure out why the numbers spiked on a Tuesday. Probably a wedding feast. She asks them if they ate sweets. They usually look at the floor and say no. She knows they did. Just sighs a bit. Writes down a new insulin dose.

She checks their feet sometimes. Taking off their sandals to look for cuts they cannot feel. Diabetes kills the nerves in the toes. She uses a small piece of plastic to poke the skin. Asks if they feel it. They just shake their heads. She tells them to wear softer shoes. Then there are the thyroid patients. Mostly women feeling tired all the time. She feels the front of their neck. Tells them to swallow. Just checking for lumps.

She prescribes those tiny white pills for the thyroid. Tells them to take it first thing in the morning. Empty stomach. Half the time they forget. She probably has to explain it again at the next visit. She adjusts the insulin units on the prescription pad. Plus two at night. Minus one in the morning. Puts her stamp on the paper. Calls the next one.