medical exam --> blood and pee2x (gross to)
I had the usual blood-urine-x-ray tests combo today, to fulfill ISCAHM's requirements that I be disease-free, drug-free, and basically OK. I had it all done at Best Diagnostic (B.D.), a clinic on East Avenue in Quezon City. It would've been simpler, really, to have the tests done at Makati Medical Center or at Fort Med but them cooking school wants it done at B.D. (incidentally, CCA also requires their students' medical exams to take place at B.D.). At least we didn't get lost.
So, as blood tests goes, you have to have a 8-12 hour fast, right, so nothing to eat or drink within those hours--which is fine except that when I got up in the morning, I was really thirsty. But I couldn't drink so I settled for practically submerging my lips in a bowl of cool water. How sad. Anyway, I knew the tests wouldn't take long: blood drawing first, then peeing, then the x-ray. That would all happen within an hour, inclusive of waiting in line.
When I got to the their clinic--their small, smells-like-someone-peed-right-by-the-corner, but relatively clean clinic--the nurses told me that the I had to go to their other, more larger (and odor-free) clinic.
Now, having had woken up at the crack of dawn so I could ride with my sister, not allowed to drink, had to go all the way from Taft to Diliman, and then be told that I was at the wrong place, plus having a full bladder and all...you get the picture.
Turns out the clinic was just across the street, sort of. It was a short walk, maybe from the lib to Berchs. So I trot over there (trot...how doggish), to this tiny white two-story building, whose front doors reminded me of this house in our village--French doors, I think they're called. Anyway, I walk in and a lot of people are in the waiting room, their behinds on blue plastic seats, and their eyes trained on this television set up in one corner of the room. It had Dolphy and Alma Moreno in it and if I'm not mistaken, the title was "Balimbing"--it was on Cimena One. Weh.
I go to receptionist girl, I give my request slip, she gives a bunch of papers to fill out and sign, then calls my name later to tell me to wait my turn for the blood test. I was already bored and tired and thirsty as hell but finally, my turn came. Once I was on that seat next to a table filled with cotton, tape, and syringes, I relaxed, coz it was one down, two to go.
I'm not really squeamish about blood and I have no problems looking at my blood being drawn out. The one thing I hate about getting my blood drawn is the part when the nurse is making pitik and looking for my vein. I've had bad experiences about stupid nurses or nurses' aid, with the needle already in my arm and then suddenly she goes, "Ay, mali, sorry po." And then she goes poking at my other arm...argh.
That sort of happened awhile ago. I got stuck with an aid/trainee and it started out well. She flicked the area, saw the vein, and then poked me. Suddenly, it hurt. It never hurts, not really, whenever I have this tests. I turn my head and look and see that she's sort of moving around the needle and mutterning, "Naku, naku, naku."
Hay, to make that long story short, the nurse, the actual nurse, when she saw that the gaga girl was having trouble, actually pushed her to the side (pushed softly but a push nonetheless) and said, "Tsk, ako na nga." Taray. So my blood was drawn, blahblahblah.
Then had my xray, blahblahblah.
Here comes the good part, the urine. Turns out, the smaller, smellier clinic? That's where I had to go to pee in a cup so I trot back there. When I got there, I told this nurse-dude that I had to pee in a cup for my drug test. Then he asks, "Ihing-ihi ka na ba?" I was bewildered. So I go, "Ha?" And he goes, "Feeling mo ba na naiihi ka na talaga?" I wanted to say, well tchaa, what do you think. Before I could say something, he goes, "Kasi hindi lang yan (referring to the small cup) ang iihian mo. Pati ito." He reached behind the reception desk and pulls out a small bottle.
"Ha? Dalawa? Paano kung kumulang?" I ask.
"Gusto mo, uminom ka muna ng tubig tapos bumalik ka kung na iihi ka na."
Ano pa ba ang masasabi ko doon kung hindi, "OK."
I go out the clinic and sort of stayed rooted just outside and walked in a circle, searching for a place to buy water. There was a sari-sari store across the street. I walked over there and bought two 500mL bottles of water. I figured the first could be the one to quench, the second for the flood the nurse-man was expecting me to pour out.
I went back to the clinic and drank the first bottle and it was, really, a testament to how thirsty I was coz I drank it straight up. If I drank and that was beer, I would've made beer-drinkers proud. ANYWAY, I took a breath then drank the second bottle more slowly. When I finished, I waited for that feeling to come. You know, that feeling, when you meet someone, you feel all tingly inside, and you also feel warm, and the next thing you know you're running for the nearest bathroom? Haha.
So I waited, right?
And I waited...
I waited...
Still sittin' on a bench and not on a throne...
It was as if my bladder decided to give me a break. It took so long for me to feel that way that I was able to start a new movie on Cinema One (the smaller clinic also had a TV and also had it on the same channel). I forgot the title but it had Rudy Fernandez and Sharon Cuneta as the lead, with that guy who died in his sleep as one of the bad guys. Miguel Rodriguez? Tisoy, pogi? Basta, I was able to watch the start of the movie and I was able to finish it--so that's about a little over an hour and a half. I was sitting there, trying to feel squirmy and pee-y and nothing. I tried sitting by the aircon and nothing. I tried standing up and nothing. I tried pushing my tummy in and all I got was a puke-y feeling, from drinking so much water in one sitting.
Finally, because it was almost 11am (I got at the clinics at 7:30am) and my poor sister was waiting for us at school, I told the nurse-dude that I'd try peeing now. Kung kulang, fine, I'll just go back another day. Nurse-dude blushes, and says, "Ay, si Nurse Myrna ang sasama sayo, sabihin ko lang." Ah okay fine, was not hinting that you go watch while I try to aim. Duh, can you help me solve some cases?
I sat, I held, I aimed, and filled both right up to the brim. I guess drinking a liter of water works after all.
Oh, and thank goodness they had tissues and soap and alochol.