decidedlyodd

This morning I awoke fairly excited that I’d be able to actually try to see a doctor today after suffering with a fever all weekend and odd stomach problems amplified by the fever sickness for nearly 3 weeks. Unfortunately, the first call I made to my doctor’s office was nearly an hour and a half before they even opened. When I did get through at 9am, I was informed that the doctor was out for the rest of the week. I asked for a referral but was given an odd run-around by the receptionist who mentioned that there was an “emergency doctor” but no actual referral. As crappy as I felt, I knew my symptoms did not constitute an emergency (or I would have gone to the emergency room or urgent care days ago) and figured I was screwed. She did take down my symptoms to pass on to the “emergency doctor” and assured me she would call back soon. Several hours go by and no return call.

In the interim, my friend (and soon to be roommate) Ben suggested that maybe I could get an appointment with his doctor who he spoke very positively about. After waiting on hold and get transfered a few times, the receptionist for that doctor informed me that he was also out of town for the week. Fortunately, she was more helpful than the first receptionist and offered to transfer me down to main scheduling (it’s a sizable clinic an opposed to a two doctor practice like the first place) to see if they could find somebody for me. After explaining my situation to the scheduling people, they transferred me to some random doctor who was able to get me an appointment at 2.

When the doctor walked in the room, he looked familiar. The first thing he said was something like, “haven’t we met before?” He did look familiar but I honestly couldn’t place him. Later, I realized that I’m pretty sure he’s on my Master’s swim team. Small world. I have a hard time recognizing people from the swim team outside of a swimming context sometimes, largely because I’m used to what they look like in a speedo I think. Anyhow, the appointment went well. Regarding the fever and general weekend nastiness, he figured it was just some virus which has largely passed (my fever had finally broken although I was still super fatigued). Regarding the stomach nastiness, he didn’t know exactly what it was, but there seems to be a process of trying simple things before complex tests. Until Wednesday afternoon, I’m on a clear liquid diet, which means I can only drink water, clear soda and clear juices (like apple, cranberry, grape) and eat basically only jello. After those two days, I can start eating bland food like toast and applesauce. Ugh, it’s gonna be a long couple of days, but it’ll be worth it if it clears up this annoyance I suppose. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll probably get referred to a specialist who will do something oh so fun like a colonoscopy.

Did I mention I’m supposed to be moving on Wednesday? As much of a hassle as that will be, I’ve got to at least start my move on that by getting the large items over. I’ve simply already made too many appointments, ordered my utilities started/shut off, mail forwarded, internet access installed, etc. to go through the hassle of rolling it all back. I may end up only moving the big stuff on Wednesday along with some other essentials like clothes and bland food. Either way, it looks like I won’t be going to Vancouver this weekend because I’ll be dealing with moving in some way. If I’m lucky, I may be able to sneak up for Saturday but I won’t be able to spend the night since I’ll need all day Sunday to clean my current apartment I suspect.