{April 29, 2011}

I had a hard time falling asleep last night and even after I finally dozed off I woke up several times. Then this morning our guineas were being especially loud, our open bedroom window letting their irritating "We're being MURDERED!!" (even though they were completely fine and safe) screeching drift through at an obnoxious level. I gave up trying to catch anymore rest and got out of bed around 9 a.m., which sounds like total luxury to some--I know--but again, I was only going on a few solid hours of rest here. Seeing as how I had a doctor's appointment at 10:30 a.m. I jumped in the shower, grabbed a light snack, called the office to make sure that the address listed on the doctor's website (Hooksett) was indeed correct, was told they were in Hooksett, and drove the 25 minutes south. When I arrived they found me in their system...but wait...the doctor I was scheduled to see didn't work in that office. She was in Concord. Where I'd just driven from. A quick phone call to the Concord office to explain what happened, some hastily explained directions, and I was off again. I should have asked for more clarification as to where exactly I was going, however.

I thought I had the right place, parked, went through the first building...then the second...then on to the hospital...and still was unable to find the office. There was no one at the information desk so I thanked my lucky stars for owning a smartphone that allowed me to look up the number and call the office directly. Better instructions in hand, I walked back through all three buildings, got in my Jeep, drove to the correct parking lot, and was greeted by a lovely woman named Rosie who approached me and said, "Are you Laura?" When I answered in the affirmative, she smiled and said, "We've been expecting you!" Together we went upstairs where I got checked in, waited a bit in the waiting room where equally lovely staff members asked how I was, and then was taken back to see the doctor. The nurse, the doctor, and the rest of the people I came in contact with were all wonderful, warm, and caring. Plus I got the extra bonus of seeing my favorite Phlebotomist when I had my blood drawn. Seriously, the guy cracks me up and you can't hardly feel the needle stick.

When the appointment was done, the clock was approaching 1 p.m. I hadn't eaten anything, save for the light snack at 9:30 a.m., and it was over two hours past the typical time I have coffee, so a headache was starting to set in. I still had to drive home, pick up my daughter, and take her to a friend's house before I could eat or have my daily cappuccino. By the time I got home I was more than exhausted. But here's the thing... The doctor I saw today is an Oncologist/Hematologist. I do not have cancer, just a rare, weird blood disorder that only Hematologists really know about. So even though my day sounds really crappy, it's nothing compared to what the people I saw in both office waiting rooms have to endure every day. At the Oncology/Hematology place in Hooksett there was a woman who was around my age, maybe younger, talking to (presumably) her husband about an upcoming wedding they had to go to. I don't know if she was the patient, or if he was, or if they were waiting for someone, but it came across to me as if she was the patient. And I couldn't help but think that the shoe could have been on the other foot. Rather than me walking out at the end of my appointment knowing that what I have could only kill me in some rare circumstance--and even then it looks like I have a mild variant of it as is, making it even more unlikely to happen--I could be fighting for my life. If that doesn't make you look at your crappy day in a completely different light, I don't know what will. Granted, I have some serious health issues of my own, but those are of the "wait, watch, and monitor" variety. Much different.

Naturally, given my penchant for photographing waiting rooms I had to snap one of the chair next to me. It's a bit closer than I would have liked, yet I didn't want other patients to assume I was taking a photo of them...or that I was crazy...or a combination of both. Still, the fabric is pretty cool and it was in the Concord office where the people had me smiling the entire time, which just goes to show that it takes a special person to work in healthcare.

Taken with my iPhone using the Instagram app with the Earlybird filter applied.

On to the pic...{click to view full size}