urgent care

after waking up in the middle of the night with pain that superseded my sleep medication, i knew another trip to urgent care was needed. urgent care is kind of like a lower level emergency room. the vibe is that you couldn’t get a doctor’s appointment so you showed up at urgent care. the staff sure make you feel like you were too stupid to not make or keep your doctor’s appointment so you will put up with whatever abuse we give you. in my case i missed my doctor’s because of work. which i agree with urgent care staff. that makes me stupid.

“you owe $359 before we can see you today,” the urgent care staff staring right at me.

“for what? i just got here today. i haven’t been seen yet,” with annoyance in my voice.

“you were just here right? you owe $359 from your last visit. is that a debit or credit card you will be using today?”

i wanted to argue with the urgent care staff, but i was tired and it hurt to walk. so turning around an waking out was not a great option.

“credit,” i informed her.

urgent care makes you do everything yourself. i walked to the lab to get bloodwork. i walked to the radiology department for a transvaginal ultrasound. the ultrasound tech was an incredibly smart kind man. i could tell the transvaginal ultrasound was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for me.

“yes, i was a doctor in my country. when i came to the united states my academics and residency did not translate. that’s why i am an ultrasound technician.”

he was much kinder and smarter than the urgent care doctor i just saw. he was a doctor recognized in the united states, but was disinterested in me or my pain.

“well, i am going to refer to you as doctor. what you have told me in the last 20 minutes doing the ultrasound is more than what the urgent care doctor mentioned in the last 2 hours.”

my new doctor seemed proud to share information about why i was bleeding and experiencing pain on my left side.

“my dear, you are almost 51. your are perimenopausal. you can have break through bleeding at anytime. that is normal.”

“thanks doc. no one ever explained that before.”

“the pain is being caused by an ovarian cyst. it appears to be partially in tact and partially ruptured. a cyst has many layers so that’s why part of it can be in tact and other parts are not.”

when we were done, i thanked him for his kindness and way of explaining things to me that made sense.

“I wish you were the doctor i was seeing in urgent care today,” i told him as i got my feet out of the stirrups. “sorry, i am bleeding alot.” blood was on the table. as a i looked down my blood was also on the floor.

“blood is a part of who we are. don’t be sorry.” i could see his eyes tearing up a bit. a slight smile through his doctor’s mask.