The day my lunchbreak got hijacked

I thought it would be simple. I had it all planned out. I’ll just go over my lunch break, still have time to tan, see Dawson and be back in my office with minutes to spare.
But that is NOT how life goes now is it?

This is the account of my lunch break on Monday. My very planned, yet hijacked lunch break…

I had a cold a little over a week ago coughing up the good green stuff. I basically got over that but this tightness in my chest would not go away and it was hard for me to breathe. So I decided enough was enough and I would just run to Redimed over my lunch break, have a little once over, get some meds and be done with the whole thing. Did anyone shudder at the word Redimed? Because you should. They will hijack your plans and give you heart problems. Probably.

Here is the play by play of my hijacked lunchbreak.

1. I left the office and stopped in to see Dawson for a quick minute, basically to drop off a family photo we forgot to give them on Friday and they needed. Gave Dawson hugs and kisses and headed to go tan. So far, so good.
2. I went to tan. I am now up to 12 minutes folks! I started out at 3 minutes (because I am a fair maiden) and look at me now! In another 2 weeks or so I’ll be up to 20!
3. Redimed…

I went in, gave them my license and new insurance cards, sat and read a People magazine and ignored the annoying Soap Opera that was on tv. There really was no one else waiting. So what was the wait?! (I’d still like to know). But about 10 minutes passed and the nurse called me into exam room #3. That’s right. I even know which exam room I was in. Instantly I was hungry and had to pee. In that order. And I kept thinking “I hope they hurry because maybe I can go grab a bit to eat and have a little more time with Dawson before heading back) I mean hey-I get a whole HOUR. The nurse asked me my symptoms. “I think I’m over my cold but for whatever reason I have tightness in my chest and I’m not able to breathe real well. It’s worse when I exersice, I cannot breathe deeply or catch my breath while I run. It’s only been like this for about 4 days”. Okay. She took my temp. no temp. She took my blood pressure. Found out I have blood. The pressure on my blood is good. (I’m sure Ashley can fill me in on what that one means) and left to go and get the doc whom she said is very good. So I waited. There was another People magazine in Exam room #3 lucky for me! Doc came in and had me repeat what I told the nurse but first with a series of questions, do you: smoke? No. Drink? No-but I just may take it up after the day I had... any chance you’re pregnant? No. So she decided to listen with her stethoscope. She found out I have a heart. BUT, she could not hear anything wrong with my lungs. And this is where my doctor’s visit/lunch break gets hijacked!
She says, “well, I really don’t hear any rattling or other noise in your lungs that would suggest you have bronchitis or any fluid or blockage, so this is what we’ll need to do: (in this order)
1. Run an EKG

2. Nebulizer (breathing treatment)

3. Chest X-Ray

 

4. Blood Test.

 

WHAT?!I believe she may have been able to tell by my distressed look that perhaps I was a bit overwhelmed by her suggestions. So she said “well, this may seem a bit overboard but I need to eliminate all possibilities of you having any kind of problem with your heart, or blood clot in your lungs.”
Hmm. I just wanted a Z-pak really. (but I didn’t say that, I sat nervously and kept my peace and wanted to cry and please… isn’t there a cookie or something I could eat? What about a bathroom? Maybe the pressure from my bladder is causing my lungs angst.)

So. Before I could say anything, in walks the 2 nurses with the probes for the EKG. They put it all together stuck to my chest and stomach and they had to do it all AGAIN because the first reading was bad because probe number one was not stuck sufficiently. Chalk that one up. I got 2 EKG’s in one day. Neither of which I needed. I didn’t even know what one was to be honest. I thought I’d have to lay in some claustrophobic contraption why they took scans of my insides causing cancerous cells from the radiation.

On to the nebulizer… I sat and breathed in liquid air for a good 5 minutes but I’m pretty sure the nurse forgot about me. And actually once it was over I could breathe MUCH much better. So I told the doctor that when she came to check on me. She made me promise I wasn’t lying so I could leave (she’s a tricky one, that doctor) but I assured her I wasn’t. She still wanted me to get the chest x-ray. So I headed in to the nurse and panicked once I saw the table. It was a scary table. And I didn’t want to lay on it and I was hungry, had to pee and now cold! So I begged and pleaded. She talked to the doctor who told me she understood and I could skip the chest x-ray and the blood test and she would prescribe and inhaler for me so I could breathe better and if I still didn’t feel better by Wednesday I could call her directly and she’d get me a Z-pak so that I wouldn’t have to pay an additional $20 co-pay for a second visit. Hmm. That day I decided I would from now on, just begin my Redimed experience with a SECOND visit. So that I can just get my Z-pak and get out.
Oh, and I never went and got the inhaler because now I’m just fine. Thank you mister nebulizer.