An outpatient came to the laboratory to drop off a stool specimen for culture and O&P. I’m sure you are all familiar with Tupperware and the many sizes of bowls it comes in. Well this was an enormous bowl – I’m sure the largest that they make.
The lab assistant at the front desk said, “Uh, okay. You really didn’t need to bring this much.” The patient said, “Well, I didn’t know how much to bring so I brought it all.”
The assistant brought the specimen back to microbiology and we pried off the lid. The log stretched well across the entire width of the bowl and up either side without breakage. Grossed out but impressed, we were left to wonder how the patient actually collected it. We agreed that it probably took straddling of the bowl and a careful hip swinging motion to lay this log down so perfectly.
We took our specimens from the sample given. When the lab assistant returned to the front the patient was still there waiting for the return of the bowl. It was returned along with most of the ample specimen.
Submitted by:
Julia Spadafora
Medical Technologist/Scientist
Utah, USA
