Dr. Johnson: I think there's a mistake. Mr. Gidada has been Dr. Rivera's patient, and he's been seeing the cardiologist in Blueville for months.
Joan McBride: Yeah. I'm not sure what's going on, but he specifically asked to see you.
Dr. Johnson: Hmm. Burning in the chest, heaviness and pressure, some pain in the arm, and shortness of breath. And he had a heart attack. He needs a cardiologist. Why me? Hello, sir. What can I do for you today?
Mr. Gidada: Dr. Johnson, you know that the cardiology team at Blueville is providing me medical care. That is not why I'm here. I'd like to speak with you, man to man. Here is the thing. While I was in the hospital, I had time to think. And Dr. Rivera was right about everything she said about my heart disease months ago. I wish I had listened to her then, but I felt I was healthy from all of the work I did in Ethiopia. Doctor, there's a whole community of people from my country just like me, or just like I was before my heart attack. They smoke, they eat bad food, they never exercise. I wish I could tell them all the things that Dr. Rivera told me before my heart attack, but I do not know how. I need your help. Nobody feels that something like this will happen to them. They think they don't have any control so they just keep on acting the way I used to act before I went to the hospital. I wish I could change that.
Dr. Johnson: Well, we'd be happy to see anyone of them here in the office.
Mr. Gidada: That is part of the problem. My people do not feel welcome here. That is why I come to you. They need to see you. People are not treated well here. They're not made to feel welcome. They feel as if this place has nothing for them here. And many of my people don't speak English well enough yet. There's nothing to help them understand what to do or what people are saying to them. Dr. Johnson, would you come to a meeting with my community and teach them about heart disease? I could translate for you. People very badly need to know about preventing what happened to me.
Dr. Johnson: [thinking to himself] Mr. Gidada was a poor farmer who immigrated from Ethiopia many years ago. I came from a wealthy family and graduated from a prestigious medical school. But differences aside, I can't ignore a call for help.
Dr. Johnson: Why don't you give me some dates and I'll see what I can do.
Mr. Gidada: We will work around your schedule. Let me know when you are free.