MR

A classmate and myself stepped into a crowded elevator at the hospital and asked if "MR" was pushed. At our hospital, there is no floor 13 (silly superstitions!), but a floor titled, "Medical Records" or MR where floor 13 normally would have been. It was already selected, but then suddenly a young man in a wheelchair loudly shouted, "MR! Mentally retarded!". Horrified, the two of us looked at each other and then back at the young man who did appear, outwardly, to perhaps have at most mild MR. My classmate was the first to open her mouth: "Or, medical records." His reply, "Mentally retarded!". I had no idea what to say. He seemed proud of this fact - the ability to decipher MR as mentally retarded. Someone else on the elevator finally spoke up and said something along the lines of "Now, Charles...." in a gentle admonishment.

I hate to say it, but I think I know what was going on. I've heard "MR" used quite a bit in the medical establishment, more particularly "MRCP" for mentally retarded, cerebral palsy. This kid must've figured out, over the course of time, to decipher MRCP.

I was ashamed, and I think many of us in the elevator were ashamed that day. It's not that using MRCP is bad or that we shouldn't speak of certain medical conditions, but sometimes we forget that there is a human being on the other side of the label.

I'm sorry that I failed to see him earlier.