It's that time of year again. The time of year I get scolded for not having made my checkup appointment. For those of you that wonder why I put this off, let me tell you my experience thus far and then let you contemplate that question.
Last week I went to a new doctor here in OKC (just think SLC with OK instead of SL) just to get him to order the C/T scan. His name is Dr. Rodney Miles. He is an OU graduate and has been practicing for 20+ years (all this was in the profile that my insurance gives of doctors). Other than this information and the fact that his office was close to my work, I had no reason for choosing him over any other Dr in the area. Everything was going fine, my appointment was for 2:30 and I arrived at 2:15 knowing that I had a lot of paperwork to fill out. I got the paperwork, scanned the room and estimated that I should be in this waiting room for no more than 20 minutes.
I filled out my information (DOB, SSN, IGN, DOA, CYA, SOB, LOL, etc.) and watched several people go back. I made it to the finals, just me and one other person, and I was right on track for my estimation. This was when things came to a grinding halt! We waited and waited. It was like a staring contest except instead of staring at each other we had to stare at everything else (BTW I'm sure I won)! The clock ticked by, it was 3 o'clock and finally that mystical portal to the wonderful world of wisdom opened. We, the two finalists, sat up in our chairs in great anticipation of whose name would be called, who would win this contest we had never signed up for, who would get to GO SEE THE DOCTOR!
Alas, in the end there are no winners and losers at this office. Only those who are sick and the rare hypocondriac desporately trying to be ill. Once more I wait, but now I wait alone. Once again I attempt to practice my skills of staring from floor to ceiling and wall to wall without moving my head. The clock ticks.
Another half of a century goes by in waiting room time (this equates to roughly half an hour normal time) and finally, one hour after my scheduled appointment time, I go back to see the doctor. Once again I judge amiss. It is not to see the doctor but the Physicians Assistant. She speaks with me for a moment and then leaves me. Once again alone and having lost the epic battle in the waiting room I again practice my staring skills. Side to side, up and down I look keeping my head and neck rigid. Just as I'm getting good the door opens and the doctor enters.
We spoke about something, probably the reason I was there, and he babbled about all that he had seen in the last 20+ years and how whenever he sees something new like this he can't wait to examine it, I don't remember if he said it word for word but in summary he said, "You are a laboratory rat that I will poke and prod and examine until I am satisfied!"
After looking at the scar and pretending to actually feel for any lumps he finally ordered the C/T scan and sent me on my way.
Well, today was the day of the scan. I went to the hospital knowing what to expect having done this 5 or 6 times now.
I went to admissions filled out paperwork and waited. Then I went to imaging, filled out paperwork and waited. Finally I got back to the C/T scan and the first thing I'm told is, "Lie down, arms up and pants down to your hips!"
Aparently the nurse had seen that I had done this before and thought she would be a drill seargent and bark out orders. This didn't phase me becuase there's not much that can make the experience worse. The whole ordeal consists of first a mixture of saline solution and iodine being injected into my bloodstream. This mixture causes everywhere that has a high blood flow to feel warm and to tingle. My face feels flushed, head and ears feel hot, hands and toes tingle etc. Next, with the IV in I had to place my arms above my head and bend them so I can be slid back and forth through a little hole, all while being asked to hold my breath for 30 -45 seconds at a time. Needless to say, the nurse almost made it an inviting experience!
All this said, nothing compares to the waiting of the results. The "what could be's", the analyzing of all my bodily functions for any abnormalities. It's enough to drive someone to write about it all on a blog so that others would understand! :)
Whew! What a long entry. Oh well, the scan is done and the doctor will have the verdict in by the end of the week. I'll let everyone know what I find out.
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