Exercise # 2 Imperative (also a true story that happened on Friday)
Take a deep breath. Take another. Hold your head., roll your eyes and pick up the phone. Call your Mom and make a doctor’s appointment. Talk to your boss and tell her about the symptoms. Close all the programs on your computer and shut it down. Take the elevator even though you always take the stairs. Lay in the drivers seat of your car and wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Ride to the doctor in your Mom's car. Take another deep breath. Drink Gatorade like it’s medicine. Eat lunch and hope to feel better. Walk into the doctor’s office and wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Fill out disclaimer and self pay forms so the doctor doesn’t have to worry. Worry about your lack of insurance and the possibility of having a preexisting condition. Read the National Geographic special Africa edition only to find there’s nothing in it you don’t already know. Show your Mom the pictures anyway since they are beautiful either way.
Hear your name called and stand to go to the second waiting room. Walk back, step onto the scale. Sit down and tell the nurse what’s been bothering you. Hold out your arm and push up your sleeve so she can wrap the blood pressure monitor around it. Feel the squeeze of the monitor and then the push of your blood with each heartbeat. Hear her say something about an EKG and hope it doesn’t have to come to that. Then wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Say hello to the doctor and shake hands. Tell your story over again. Remember the head in hands, blurry vision, sped up heart, gasp for air, light headed morning you’d had. Answer questions as he narrows it down. Listen to him explain the body’s need for iron to make red blood cells and what happens if you don’t have enough. Hop onto the table so he can check you over. Feel the cool stethoscope. Take a deep breath. Take another. And another. And again. Feel him press your sides then put his hand on your throat to check your thyroid. Swallow. Watch him leave after he says you need a blood test to check your red blood cell count. And again you wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Watch the nurse pull on latex gloves and set up to take your blood. Feel the cool alcohol pad clean your skin in preparation of the needle. Hear her say “Ready” and then feel the prick. Watch as the red liquid flows out of the breach in your protective outer layer into a small glass cylinder. Watch as the tips of her gloves turn red along with your finger. Apply pressure and wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Make small talk with your Mom over the whir of the machine spinning your blood. Hear the door open and watch the doctor walk in. Listen as he confirms the diagnosis, anemia. Feel relief that the rumors of EKGs and other possibilities are not needed. Listen to the doctor’s directions. Eat more whole grains and red meat. Take iron supplements in the form of ferrous sulfate for 6 months. Listen while he tells you it will take time and you’ll just have to wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Walk out to the front of the office. Pay the bill, $81.00, schedule a follow up appointment for a month from now, and begin the wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Ride to the doctor in your Mom's car. Take another deep breath. Drink Gatorade like it’s medicine. Eat lunch and hope to feel better. Walk into the doctor’s office and wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Fill out disclaimer and self pay forms so the doctor doesn’t have to worry. Worry about your lack of insurance and the possibility of having a preexisting condition. Read the National Geographic special Africa edition only to find there’s nothing in it you don’t already know. Show your Mom the pictures anyway since they are beautiful either way.
Hear your name called and stand to go to the second waiting room. Walk back, step onto the scale. Sit down and tell the nurse what’s been bothering you. Hold out your arm and push up your sleeve so she can wrap the blood pressure monitor around it. Feel the squeeze of the monitor and then the push of your blood with each heartbeat. Hear her say something about an EKG and hope it doesn’t have to come to that. Then wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Say hello to the doctor and shake hands. Tell your story over again. Remember the head in hands, blurry vision, sped up heart, gasp for air, light headed morning you’d had. Answer questions as he narrows it down. Listen to him explain the body’s need for iron to make red blood cells and what happens if you don’t have enough. Hop onto the table so he can check you over. Feel the cool stethoscope. Take a deep breath. Take another. And another. And again. Feel him press your sides then put his hand on your throat to check your thyroid. Swallow. Watch him leave after he says you need a blood test to check your red blood cell count. And again you wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Watch the nurse pull on latex gloves and set up to take your blood. Feel the cool alcohol pad clean your skin in preparation of the needle. Hear her say “Ready” and then feel the prick. Watch as the red liquid flows out of the breach in your protective outer layer into a small glass cylinder. Watch as the tips of her gloves turn red along with your finger. Apply pressure and wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Make small talk with your Mom over the whir of the machine spinning your blood. Hear the door open and watch the doctor walk in. Listen as he confirms the diagnosis, anemia. Feel relief that the rumors of EKGs and other possibilities are not needed. Listen to the doctor’s directions. Eat more whole grains and red meat. Take iron supplements in the form of ferrous sulfate for 6 months. Listen while he tells you it will take time and you’ll just have to wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Walk out to the front of the office. Pay the bill, $81.00, schedule a follow up appointment for a month from now, and begin the wait.