swab the decks, then my tonsils
This was originally a post over at my skeptic blog, Some Canadian Skeptic. Why aren't you going there more often, and clicking on every single ad on the page? Pappa needs to get laid paid!
As regular readers of this blog know (both of them), I've been way sick as of late. Shortly before my birthday at the begining of May, I was struck down by a bacterial infection of my sinuses, making my head feel like it was a ballon filled with snot-berry jam. A couple of weeks of anti-biotics, I was back up my full strength in time to celebrate the earth's 29'th orbit around the sun since I've been on this pale blue dot.
Fastforward to a week ago, and a sore throat set in. Thinking little of it until it got too bad, I ignored it....then it got too bad on Wednesday evening, and I went BACK to the hospital (2nd time in 2 weeks), and was given penicillin (another anti-biotic). The doc took a swab-o-me-throat to test for strep-throat.
Fast forward to today, after spending 6 hours at the hospital (thanks drunk-pricks who monopolized doctors precious time fixing you up because you got into a few fights/was found on the sidewalk drunker/higher than a jack-tar aloft the top'sl), and a blood test, I finally had some concrete results, complete with a prognosis and treatment regimen to be begun immediatley. The results were:
Strep-throat: negative.
Mono: negative.
Random ill-defined viral infection which there is no treatment for and the body has no choice but to suck it up and let the immune system slowly purge the viral-invaders from my body: bingo.
Well, shit.
On the plus side, I'm glad it's not mono or strep-throat, as not only do I love to go around kissing random people (the more random and inaporpriate the timing the better), but I've always had a 'thing' for licking the rims of people's coffee mugs, beer-glasses, and open-wounds. To each his own.
As a way to lighten my own mood after the negative results came in (or face the drive home, now in the morning, sunlit hours, grumpy and pissed off at nobody in particular), I asked the doctor, "since you can't perscribe anything for me, do you think I should spend the money and take some homeopathic remedies?"
This doctor must be well-versed in quackery, if poorly versed in bedside manner, as he chuckled, "hahahaha, oh God no!"
I assured him I was joking, and that I knew it was all crap, and we both got a good giggle as we both left the hospital (his shift was over, and I was being cleared to leave....we didn't leave TOGETHER, get your mind out of the gutter).
I'm glad I made that joke, because despite the lack of a clear, treatable ailment, I was nonetheless encouraged to see at least this doctor have the correct attitude regarding homeopathy.