Day 105: Anemia Behind the Fainting Spell
At a clinic in Chihuahua, Nadia (A), a young woman who fainted at work, goes back to see Dr. Federico Anchondo (B) for the results of her blood tests.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Spanish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Doctor, ¿ya salieron mis análisis? Según mis compañeros, serían como las once cuando me desmayé.
Doctor, are my test results back? According to my colleagues, it must have been about eleven when I fainted.
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B
Sí, y explican el desmayo: tiene anemia por falta de hierro, con la hemoglobina muy baja.
Yes, and they explain why you fainted: you've got iron-deficiency anemia, with very low hemoglobin.
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A
¿Anemia, yo? Si en enero dejé la carne roja y me tomo un jugo verde con espinaca diario.
Anemia? Me? But I gave up red meat in January, and I have a green juice with spinach every day.
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B
Ahí está el detalle: el hierro de la espinaca casi no se absorbe. Sus reservas se irían agotando sin que lo notara.
That's just the thing: the body barely absorbs the iron in spinach. Your reserves must have been running out without your noticing.
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A
Con razón me faltaba el aire en las escaleras. Se lo achacaba al estrés del cierre de mes.
No wonder I was getting out of breath on the stairs. I chalked it up to the stress of the month-end close.
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B
Le voy a recetar un suplemento de hierro, con jugo de naranja y nunca con café.
I'm going to prescribe you an iron supplement, to take with orange juice and never with coffee.
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A
¿Sin café? Eso sí me va a costar, pero ¿en cuánto tiempo vuelvo a ser la de antes?
No coffee? That'll be hard, but how long before I'm back to my old self?
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B
El café, dos horas después. Si es constante, en dos meses ya habrá recuperado la hemoglobina.
Have your coffee two hours later. If you keep it up, in two months you'll have gotten your hemoglobin back.
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A
Dos meses de pastillas, ni modo. Y yo que me creía Popeye con tanta espinaca.
Two months of pills, oh well. And there I was, thinking I was Popeye with all that spinach.
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