Uh oh! It was that time again. Time to take my elderly friend to her six week follow-up for the skin cancer treatments she had previously received.

The dermatologist looked her face over carefully and then declared that, overall, her nose looked great. It did need to be shaved a bit, along with having some more spots “burned off.”

The first thing my friend said was, “Do you have it? The ball?”

“Yes,” the doctor smiled. “We have the stress ball.” He rummaged through the drawer, then pulled out one of the funniest looking stress balls I’ve seen and handed it to my friend.

Her eyes lit up as she reached out for it. Immediately she started squeezing away. The doctor gave her a shot, which you could tell that she hated, but she just squished even harder.

Throughout the process, she just kept squeezing away on the stress ball. When I asked her later if it helped, she vehemently nodded her head, as she said, “YES!”

When the doctor finished, my friend handed me the stress ball. I was amused to notice the funny shape was because they put a plain blue stress ball, with a drug company’s name clearly printed, into a rubber glove. It gave the ball an interesting feel and kept it sanitary, as well. As each patient finished using it, they just tossed the old glove and put a fresh new one on.

Stress balls may seem like a silly little toy. But to my elderly friend, and other patients who have to endure minor pain and/or fear at a doctor or dental appointment, they can be a wonderful help in dealing with both.

I thought it was interesting that the drug company’s name showed clearly on the stress ball, even with the rubber glove on. I bet that doctor must see that company’s name several times a day, especially if they have several of their stress balls scattered around the different patient rooms. Talk about smart advertising and great patient care!