Dueling Diseases
I was in the emergency room for five hours on Friday. My saintly boyfriend went with me and was much relieved to discover that all I have is a mild urinary tract infection.
I, of course, knew it was nothing and debated both Leon and my mom about going. My mom didn't even pretend to be terribly concerned and said that the only reason I should go to the emergency room was that she knew I wouldn't make a later appointment to figure out what was wrong. My discomfort was no emergency, she realized, but I should still see what was wrong.
It irked me a little that my mom dismissed my pain. She's been fretting over my sister Sara's abnormal pap smear results and biopsy. My mom thinks Sara must have cancer and is going to die. I'm pretty confident that it is nothing.
Still, a part of me wonders if I was trying to upstage my sister by running off to the emergency room in the middle of the night. Hearing that my mom had few concerns was definitely disappointing. Now that Sara is a mother, her life must be more important. That actually makes more sense than I'd like to believe.
Sara's biopsy returned precancerous cells on her cervix. I had an infection that has probably already healed. Something tells me that I'll be playing second fiddle for a while, and that this should bother me for much less selfish reasons.
I, of course, knew it was nothing and debated both Leon and my mom about going. My mom didn't even pretend to be terribly concerned and said that the only reason I should go to the emergency room was that she knew I wouldn't make a later appointment to figure out what was wrong. My discomfort was no emergency, she realized, but I should still see what was wrong.
It irked me a little that my mom dismissed my pain. She's been fretting over my sister Sara's abnormal pap smear results and biopsy. My mom thinks Sara must have cancer and is going to die. I'm pretty confident that it is nothing.
Still, a part of me wonders if I was trying to upstage my sister by running off to the emergency room in the middle of the night. Hearing that my mom had few concerns was definitely disappointing. Now that Sara is a mother, her life must be more important. That actually makes more sense than I'd like to believe.
Sara's biopsy returned precancerous cells on her cervix. I had an infection that has probably already healed. Something tells me that I'll be playing second fiddle for a while, and that this should bother me for much less selfish reasons.