Medicool

I don’t like going to the doctor. I’d rather be found at home with a high fever over three days than have gone to the hospital. The reason for this is, for the most part, I feel like my body will just fight it out and be fine in the long run. A second reason for this is my distrust for casual antibiotic use, mainly from the gastrointestinal "friendly bacteria" balance perspective. A third reason is that hospitals are havens for diseases that are difficult to treat. A fourth reason is that past experiences at the hospital haven't been amicable. The people there are worn out, tired of seeing people, tired of helping.. it is rarely a positive experience. I’m definitely thankful that hospitals are there for emergencies and serious problems.. surgeries and all that.

This week has been a hospital week. I’m preparing to go to China in August and have needed to get a bunch of medical examinations done for my visa invitation. Soon after I returned from Korea my friend Mike Hamilton helped me sign up for a great temporary health insurance policy. I haven’t needed to use it until now, but I’m so glad he had me sign up when I did! Part of the chaos of working in the US medical system is trying to figure out which doctor or hospital will accept your health insurance and by how much. I spent a couple hours online, then making phone calls, and finally getting somewhere.. just to find out which doctor I could go to. Surprisingly, it was through calling the hospital (not my insurance) that I was able to get a list of doctors in my area who work with my health insurance.

So! So Monday I went to the doctor in the morning and was seen by a couple medical assistants and told, “The doctor will see you soon.” When I’d arrived at the office I’d seen some elderly patients waiting around, one who waved a gospel in spanish at another and said something positive. Good good. Well, another wizened person shuffled out and then went back. When the doctor came to see me in my examination room it was the same guy. Huh! I asked him a question and realized that he was very hard of hearing. Shuffling slowly around the examination room I got the impression that I might be the last patient he’d ever see. His medical assistants did all the writing work and signing off on my forms, plus writing directions for lab work that I needed to complete. If I was in the medical system I’d definitely want a retirement evaluation for the Dr. if there is such a thing. My grandma and grandpa are in much better health and function than he was in, and they’re actively retired.

So off I went from there to the actual hospital to get various radiology, electro-cardiogram and blood testing done. I visited three different hospital buildings and gave my information out three more times, but didn’t have to wait very long to be seen. A bit of trivia, the radiologist had to re-take pictures of my lungs because they were longer than she expected. They can view images immediately after the x-ray exposure. Cool. I’ve got long lungs. She was the most conversational of all the people I came across that day, and I only saw her for less than five minutes.

Where does that leave things now? I’ve got to get some corrections done on the form they filled out at the Dr.’s office, I’m sure my corrected vision isn’t 20/100 vs my regular 20/20 vision (they got it backwards). They’ll be receiving the results of my tests in the next couple days and will finish up the forms so I can scan and email them off to China. Phew!

Next week starts a new adventure!