​I totally get the concept of work shoes. Sturdy boots for firemen and construction workers, 7-inch clear plastic heels for exotic dancers, and polished oxfords or Cole Haan pumps for the business world.
 
In the medical community, it’s all about the Danskos.
 
Danskos are perhaps the ugliest shoes to grace God’s green earth. They look like Dutch clogs and are worn as slip on shoes.
 
To add insult to injury, these suckers are expensive. The basic styles start around $120.00, up to $150.00. Granted, they do wear well and only need replacing every four years or so.
 
Danskos come in a variety of colors and styles, from patent leather to pebble leather to extra, extra shiny patent leather. Flowers, stripes, psychedelic swirls, sequins, spots, you name it. I guess that makes them “stylish”, or something. I’m sticking with something.
 
I wish I could tell you exactly how many medical professionals (medical assistants/nurses/physician’s assistants/primary care docs/surgeons/anesthesiologists/radiologists) wear Danskos, but I couldn’t find any concrete data. My guess is 70 percent.
 
When asked why he wears them, my husband said, “Because it’s easy to clean blood from them.”
 
Well, there you have it. The bloodless wonder shoes. They should advertise exactly that!

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It finally happened: the day my husband wore two different shoes to work. May 21, 2014. We hoped this day would never come, but fate had other designs.

Arun had been on call two nights ago. Call nights had been particularly painful as of late, since crashing with my parents 25 miles outside the city meant that he had to sleep at the hospital overnight. Luxury accommodations, they are not.

It was a largely sleepless night, involving an emergency slash trach and buckets of blood. An hour and a half total snooze time.

Then, the next day, he had an incredibly complex surgery that didn’t end until 10:36 pm. Catching up on a day’s worth of work since he’d been in surgery, I didn’t see him until after midnight. And he was exhausted, no surprise.

The next morning he woke around 4:00, as usual, kissed me, and headed to work.

A few hours later, Arun called me in between hospitals and gave me the news: he was wearing one brown dress shoe and one black dress shoe, a difference imperceptible in the dark of our bedroom. Shockingly comfortable, he said.

Of course, this happened to fall on the day of his weekly conference, when every attending and resident in the program is present. The residents mocked him mercilessly, taking photos like paparazzi in the midst of his tragedy.

Even worse, we had made fun of a former resident a few years ago for this very same offense.

I told him that his patients surely would be entertained.

Only time will tell the long-term impacts of this day. For now, we both just want to say, we’re really sorry for making fun of you before, Nikki!