rev:text
| - The last time I remember going to the doctor was after NYE 1998. I was celebrating the coming New Year with friends in our favorite bar in Detroit, Michigan, when I finished a mouthful of shrimp and told my BFF Ricky 'I don't feel well.' My next memory was being surrounded by a bunch of over-animated queens who could barely conceal their snarky attitudes because I was the shit and I ruled that part of town. I spent the rest of the evening in Ricky's car turning the engine on to melt the frost on the windows. Well, after we made it back to Ohio the next day, Ricky told my parents what happened and they made me go to the doctor. Something about thinking my epilepsy had returned. However, after several tests and a few thousand dollars out of pocket, they couldn't tell me what had happened and concluded it was just a fainting spell.
So, clearly, I was hesitant about going to a doctor once I moved out to Arizona and hadn't made any appointments with a doctor for about 8 years. Sadly, I developed a painful ear ache and was left with no choice, after almost 2 months of self-medicating, but to schedule an appointment with a doctor. Since I'm generally lazy and look for the easiest way out of something, I found the addresses of fie general practitioners covered by my insurance in our ZIP code, mapped out which was accessible by light rail, by light rail and one bus transfer and by walking distance during a pleasant month in Phoenix. That's how I decided to go to Dr. McRunels.
I was feeling a little uneasy about seeing a stranger and having to go through my medical history (back home, we went to the same doctor who delivered us so he was kind of along for the journey of our lives). But the staff and Dr. McRunels dissipated any concerns by being professional yet friendly. This wasn't what I was expecting. Even though I had gone for my ear ache, they were willing to discuss any other medical concerns I may have, whether my body was functioning any differently in the past few years, if I developed any new moles, and other conditions that may have presented themselves in the years since I last had a thorough exam.
Not surprisingly, I survived the appointment and was able to fill my prescription at Target in 20 minutes.
Now I can call my mom and let her know I now have my own doctor!
|