Leah made a dash to（迅速赶往）/meɪd ə dæʃ tɪ/ the community clinic after she felt faint（眩晕）/feint/ during a workout（锻炼）/'wә:kaut/. Her brow（额头）/brau/ was wet, her eyesight（视力）/'aisait/ blurred, and an irregular（不规律的）/i'regjulә/ pain ran from her elbow（手肘）/'elbәu/ to her thumb. She feared a deadly（致命的）/'dedli/ disorder（疾病）/dis'ɒ:dә/ or an influenza outbreak（暴发）/'autbreik/, although she had no fever. Nurse Ben helped her sit, placed a bandage over a small cut on her chin（下巴）/tʃin/, and checked whether she remained conscious（清醒的）/'kɒnʃәs/. Her instinct（直觉）/'instiŋkt/ said something was terribly wrong.

The intake（接诊）/'inteik/ form listed diabetes（糖尿病）/daiә'bi:ti:z/, high cholesterol（胆固醇）/kә'lestәrɒl/, a past dental（牙齿的）/'dentl/ operation, and a medicare（医疗保障）/ˈmɛdəˌkɛr/ number. It also showed two different amounts for the same dose（剂量）/dәus/. Ben did not exclude（排除）/iks'klu:d/ a serious cause, but he refused to diagnose（诊断）/'daiәgnәuz/ by guesswork（凭猜测）/baɪ ˈgɛsˌwərk/. He asked about fatigue（疲劳）/fә'ti:g/, bowel（肠道）/'bauәl/ trouble, stomach discomfort, liver（肝脏）/'livә/ disease, and whether an infant（婴儿）/'infәnt/ at home had become ill. Leah said she had taken a vitamin（维生素）/'vaitәmin/ and a remedy（药物）/'remidi/ from a rival（对手）/'raivl/ clinic, then completed intense yoga（瑜珈）/'jәugә/ without eating.

Ben said, “Because the doses conflict, you should not take another tablet until Dr. Rao reviews the record.” Leah replied, “I know it may sound insane（患精神病的）/in'sein/, but I feel as if a monster（怪物）/'mɒnstә/ is gripping my gut（腹部）/gʌt/.” Dr. Rao entered and said, “Your fear is real, yet we must base therapy on evidence（依据证据制定治疗）/beɪs ˈθɛrəpi ɔn ˈɛvədəns/ rather than（而不是）/ˈrəðər ðən/ guilt（负罪感）/gilt/ or panic.”

The doctor examined each limb（四肢）/lim/ and nerve（神经）/nә:v/, listened to Leah's chest, and found no fatal（致命的）/'feitәl/ sign or lasting handicap（残障）/'hændikæp/. A skin mark looked harmless to the naked eye（用肉眼看）/tɪ ðə ˈneɪkəd aɪ/; it was not a plague（瘟疫）/pleig/ symptom. Blood tests would show whether she was immune（有免疫力的）/i'mju:n/ to the current virus or had become infected（感染）/in'fekt/. Dr. Rao prescribed（开处方）/pris'kraib/ water, food, and rest, not a stronger drug. She reinforced（加强）/.ri:in'fɒ:s/ the advice with a written schedule（书面安排）/ˈrɪtən ˈskɛʤʊl/ and explained that an implicit（暗示的）/im'plisit/ assumption—more medicine means faster healing（痊愈）/hi:l/—can spoil（妨碍）/spɒil/ recovery.

Leah's condition improved after juice and a light meal. No drastic treatment was needed after the examination. The doctor said no transplant（移植）/træns'plɑ:nt/ or hospital discharge（出院）/dis'tʃɑ:dʒ/ plan was needed either. Obese（肥胖的）/әu'bi:s/ patients may face different risks, but an arbitrary（武断的）/'ɑ:bitrәri/ label should never sway（影响）/swei/ an individual decision. Leah used her wit（机智）/wit/ to call the scare a good deed（举动）/di:d/ by her body: it had forced her to stop. Undoubtedly（无疑）/ʌn'dajtidli/, she still needed a follow-up test（后续复查）/ˈfɑloʊˌəp tɛst/ and a corrected prescription. She left with a practical plan for well-being, no longer lame（无法行动的）/leim/ with fear, and ready to heal through steady care（持续稳定的照护）/ˈstɛdi kɛr/.