Woman thanks 'guardian angel' who diagnosed rare disease on bus

[snopes]

A Spanish woman has thanked a stranger who saved her life after approaching her on a bus to tell her she was suffering from a rare disease.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...se-on-bus.html

[Foxy Lady]

I'm curious - now I have to Google "unusual shaped hands" and "acromegaly".

[breshears]

My first thought upon reading the headline: House, is that you??

Alas, this doctor is female, Spanish, and possesses social skills. No word on the scathing wit, though.

[Lainie]

Google images of acromegaly hands

[Foxy Lady]

And the definition:

Acromegaly (from Greek akros "extreme" or "extremities" and megalos "large" - extremities enlargement) is a syndrome that results when the pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone (hGH)

I think it's cool that she noticed AND did something about it. I may have noticed but due to my lack of medical knowledge, not done anything about it.

[Chloe]

The protagonist in Choke diagnoses a stripper with skin cancer. Thus, life is vaguely similar to art.

[Syllavus]

Acromegaly is a pretty scary condition, it can vastly change someone's appearance.

This image shows what can happen to someone when acromegaly goes undiagnosed. I'd imagine this was very difficult to deal with back in the days before there were treatments for it, and before people knew what was happening to them.

[mouse goddess]

I had a prof in college with acromegaly, and the first thing he noticed was that his wedding ring didn't fit anymore, but with no major weight gain. IIRC, it affected his tongue as well, giving him a very distinctive way of speaking.

[Beejtronic]

Originally Posted by Chloe

The protagonist in Choke diagnoses a stripper with skin cancer. Thus, life is vaguely similar to art.

Knowing Palahniuk, he probably read about a similar case and took the idea for himself.

[purpleiguana]

Originally Posted by breshears

My first thought upon reading the headline: House, is that you??

Alas, this doctor is female, Spanish, and possesses social skills. No word on the scathing wit, though.

Heh, I kinda went there too. House has social skills, he just sees no point in using them. And he seems to speak Spanish at least semi-fluently. But can't get around that whole female doctor thing.

[Native Medley]

Originally Posted by breshears

My first thought upon reading the headline: House, is that you??

He usually diagnoses heart conditions with hands. I'd think that to diagnose acromegaly, he'd have to send some dudes to her house to check her growing hat and glove sizes, and first order an MRI. And she'd have a seizure.

not that I don't love it. just sayin'.