Would you like to know how infrequently I go to the doctor?? The last time I was at the health clinic, my Physician's Assistant was a girl named Sarah Jane. Apparently she's been gone for a looooooooooooong time. The receptionist on duty today wasn't even sure who Sarah Jane was.
In fact, I can tell you the last time I went to the clinic. It was for a pregnancy test to make sure I was indeed pregnant with Gracie so I could go to the OB-GYN clinic for prenatal care.
Grace is now two years old.
Yeah, it's been a while.
It's not so much that I don't like doctors. It's more that I am so rarely sick, and when I am sick, it's something minor like a stuffed nose or a persistent cough that can be treated easily with over-the-counter medicine. There was a time last year when nasal spray was my best friend for two or three days. Man, that stuff is awesome!!! Don't worry -- I won't get addicted to it.
So when I woke up at 10am this morning and completely felt like I'd been hit by a bus, I figured it was time to reacquaint myself with the health clinic. Fortunately Kurt was able to make an appointment for me this afternoon, and I showed up a bit early so I could fill out completely new paperwork.
The new PA, a girl named Jennifer, took one look in my ears and said, "No wonder you can't hear very well! You have a ton of fluid in there!"
Diagnosis -- an ear infection in both ears.
But I caught it before they became painful, so I really have nothing to complain about. I just can't hear, sort of like when you've gone on a plane ride and your ears refuse to pop, which is what happens to me every damn time I fly.
Now I have antibiotics to fight the infection, and they also prescribed Claritin for me, and I am feeling a little better already. The stuffiness in the nose has gone down considerably. And on the way home, we stopped at the commissary to get a whole chicken so I can make chicken noodle soup, and we also got a gallon of orange juice -- with pulp!!! (Right, Art??) Yum yum.
Drugs, oj, homemade chicken noodle soup, plenty of water to drink... what more do you need to fight a cold??
On another note, as we were sitting in the naval hospital to fill my prescriptions, I was chatting away to this girl who was wearing the most lovely coat that I had to compliment her on. All of a sudden, another woman comes up behind Kurt and starts saying hi to me... and I just wanted to shrink into the floor.
I used to be friends with this lady... sort of. She was the first woman I knew here in Washington because her husband was Kurt's boss and we bought our house from her (she's a real estate agent). We went to the movies a couple of times, and I helped her out with her errand-running related to her real estate stuff, but I wasn't too into the friendship.
Eventually we just stopped calling each other, and the friendship died, which I think was fine by both of us. So when she came up to us today in the pharmacy, I really had nothing to say to her. Since I'd last talked to her, my life had completely changed. She knew me before I had Gracie, before I was even pregnant! It was just really odd and awkward. I never know what to say in such a situation.
Diplomacy is definitely not one of my strong points.
Anyhoo, I have oj to drink and antibiotics to take. Have a great one!