Back to ma clinic.
Vienna was a joy. Elegant. Magnificent. Organised. Culturally sophisticated.
I walked the city snapping photos like it was a museum — and then stepped into museums within the museum. The Kunsthistorisches — unfortunately named, but deeply inspiring. I wandered palaces, absorbed the atmosphere. Travelling is invigorating.
Saskia was so humble, kind, and radiant. She invited me to another of her events before whisking me out for breakfast. People stop her constantly. Life in the limelight.
Then — back to clinic.
My first patient, Kelly, 45. A social worker referred her, concerned about her history: alcohol abuse, mental health struggles, and her weight — 48kg.
But she’s actually four months sober. Living with her sister and her sister’s four kids — crowded, but her sister cooks healthy meals and gets her out walking. She’s put on 12kg in the last three months. I congratulate her.
Still smoking a lot of weed, though.
We chat.
She tells me how she was burned across her left breast at age two. Older siblings made her show it off to their friends. Later, when her parents split, she began wetting herself — till age 15. More bullying. Then came the drugs. Then prison.
She explains gate fever — how prisoners start panicking as they near release. Six months out, they know what’s coming. Having to be self -sufficient – organise their own life and cook their own meals; impossible task. Falling in with the wrong crowd. Relapsing. Reigniting old feuds.
She tells me getting out and trying to rebuild was one of the hardest things she’s ever done.
The alcohol. The weight loss. No energy to cook. Food is expensive.
She cracks a joke about MasterChef and we giggle.
This is one of my favourite parts of the job — connecting, meaningfully, with people from all walks of life.
A stark return from Vienna’s red carpet to the grit of real life.
The full spectrum.
Mindful Medic 