Microstory 236: Perspective Eleven

This is an experimental Perspectives microstory. The introduction can be found in Microstory 225. More to follow.

A few years ago, my father was diagnosed with angle closure glaucoma. As the doctor was prescribing medication, she apparently claimed that he would be better off treating his condition with marijuana. That’s great and all, except that this is a lie. It was relatively recently officially determined that cannabis is no more a productive treatment for his condition than other medications. Unfortunately, my father has a bit of tunnel vision; no pun intended. When you tell him something that he wants to hear, he latches onto it and blocks everything out, even if he’s interpreting the opposite of your intention. I can’t be sure exactly what happened during his conversation with the doctor, but I doubt she legitimately suggested he go this route. Before getting my Master of Business Administration, I earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. The pharmaceutical company I work for has particularly high standards when it comes to hiring their sales representatives. They aren’t just looking for a pretty face willing to seduce a client with ever-imminent promises to make a sale. We are required to actually know what we’re talking about, and to spend a great deal of business hours studying and understanding the products we’re selling. My superiors genuinely believe in our medical treatments, and are interested in making the world a better place, rather than just getting over that bottom line. I’m not saying that they’re saints, but we pride ourselves in selling drugs that work to a certain degree, and have a limited number of side effects. I’ve tried explaining the truth about my father’s condition to him, but he won’t hear it. As far as I know, he’s never wanted to do recreational drugs before, but I get the feeling he just worried about getting in trouble. A lot of people will follow the rules just because they’re the rules, whether they’re likely to be caught or not. When they find a way around it, they take it. I’m not getting anywhere with him over the phone, so I’m flying clear across the country to have a talk with him back home. But first, lunch with an old friend.