[read part one]
Having listened to no one’s advice about seeing a doctor, knowing for sure I’d seen the worst of this bug & it would be over soon, and just in general being stubborn altogether, fate had other plans for me when I awoke this morning.
Spots.
You can now add lovely little red polka-dotted spots to my list of symptoms.
Spots all over my chest; spots all over my back; spots on my neck & face…spots where spots aren’t supposed to be.
I took it for a sign.
A sign to see the doctor?! (ppffttt!) No….A sign that my time had come & at last I would finally be accepted into the ELE*!!!
*the Evil League of Evil – apologies for the gratuitous & most likely completely obscure Dr. Horrible reference. I thought it was funny.
From this day forward I would rule the world as Plague Girl!
[mwuah...mwuah...mwuah]
I know, it’s kinda lame – I’m still working on my evil laugh. So since I hadn’t yet heard back from the ELEÂ about my application I decided I better play it safe & go see the doctor.
There. Are you satisfied Aunt Terri? Val? Sandy?…who else? Are you satisfied?!
Yes, I went to the doctor.
This was my view for the majority of the time…such a lovely shade of blue.
But I didn’t start out there.
First it was number-number who’s got the number to actually make an appointment to see someone.
After being passed around a few times a lovely little KATUSA with a delicate voice informed me that my doctor was booked up for 2 weeks & that I should go to the Battalion Aid Station (aka – Sick Call).
KATUSA -Â Korean Augmentation to the US Army: Korean citizens who are serving their mandatory Korean military service as part of the US Army. They wear the US uniform but with a Korean flag patch.
Eric came home to get me & off we went where I was greeted with less than enthusiastic medics who were anxiously watching the clock – ready to bolt for the door the minute it was lunch time.
One medic finally decided he would step up & help and he began taking my history.
(I think it was the spots that got his attention. Other than a little pressure in my chest I was actually feeling better.)
As I went through my symptomatic saga he hooked me up to the vitals machine.
When the blood pressure cuff finally released I looked up to see it say:
157 over 104…pulse 107.
Ok, that can’t be right. He must’ve hooked it up wrong.
So as I asked him to run it again as he was just glancing up to see the numbers. His eyes got a little big & he said, ‘Oh yeah…we’re running this again.’
[pump..pump..pump..pump......phffffiiiizzzzzzz....beep]
160 over 108…pulse 109.
My less than enthusiastic medic suddenly became a bit more enthusiastic.
He finished writing up the numbers & said, ‘I’m walking you over to the medical center right now. You need to see a doctor immediately.’
There was some back & forth between him & Eric about the fact that it’s now lunch time & all the docs would be gone. But the medic was adamant that he’d find a doctor to see me right away because quote – ‘If this was my wife, she’d see a doctor right now!’
So off to the medical center we went.
My little medic was actually a great trooper. He marched his happy butt straight back into the ‘no access’ area to find a doctor.
A few minutes later I was whisked away to a trauma room & prepped for an EKG.
EKG – Electro-something-or-other-graph-I-think: You know – EKG. But did you know an EKG in Korean is still EKG? There’s not another word for it in Hangul. They actually say EKG. True story.
The best part was the look on the woman’s face who was prepping me when she suddenly realized two things:
- I had spots.
- She wasn’t wearing gloves.
It was classic.
That’s when I realized my evil plan to rule to world as Plague Girl was going to be much easier than I thought.
Now if I could just find an evil sidekick…hmmm….
I wonder if Leper Boy is available.
*I’m obviously fine – I’m sitting here writing away on the blog using humor to deflect the situation. But the truth is I’m getting pretty tired & need to stop. My head’s pounding again from the pressure; my neck is still killing me and I need to keep drinking fluids & find something to scrounge together to eat before I crash. I promise to tell you the rest tomorrow.
10°F
Glad you’re getting some medical help…..hope its nothing serious. They better take good care of you …. they don’t want ME to come over there! I can be such a pest about these kind of things. Get well soon!!!
So, did they find out what you have? I once got Scarlet fever; it came with spots too. I let a case of strep go on for too long. I hope that a hefty dose of antibiotics can help you. Just so you know, mom chews everyone out who doesn’t go to the doctor, it’s her way of caring. Since she used to work for the Army hospital at Fort Leanard Wood, in Mo, she knows how to get appointments, and get around Tricare issues. I hope your getting the rest you need and the right meds. I’ll be in Korea in less than a week now, but hubby has to in-process before we all come down to An Jung Ri. I started writing the blog. It is not fully in order yet, as we have been busy with the move. Check it out at Tribe of Stinson.com. Only do it if you can see straight, ok?
Little Girl, you don’t mess with your Aunt Terri!!! You may be feeling safe in Korea, but I will hunt you down if I have to, or better, get someone else to do it for me!! I have military connections, you know!! You scared yet???? Good!! (I’m sounding like a Mafia mom!) I’m betting strep throat, but the stiffness in your neck could be a sign of something worse. Never jack around with that crap!! It can easily turn to meningitis and that’s a whole nother sack of sh*t! I love you and I’m glad you finally went to the doc. Hope you are feeling better.
Okay, can I come and shake things up a bit there? What an unbelievable ER. Your blood pressure out of signt, splotches, no blood draw, no throat culture, not even a finger prick? nada, zip! I can’t believe these nincompoops! Basic, basic procedure. Nice that they did an EKG. They didn’t even give you a follow up appointment? Have they seen scarlet fever or rheumatic fever ever outside of a text book or did they even consider this? How about spinal meningitis? Did it even pass these peoples minds? Go back and have Eric be your demand person. I know you feel bad but you’ve still got your razor humor. KNOCK THEM DEAD WITH SPOTS!