Doctor’s Appointment

I had to go to the doctor the other day – not because I was sick, thank goodness, but because I had to get certain forms filled out for my Africa Expedition.

The office is just down the road from me, so I was able to walk there. I arrived with about 5 minutes to spare, so sat down in the waiting room and looked thru the expedition briefing that I’d brought along. Soon enough, the nurse was calling my name and leading me back to the exam room.

She took my weight, my blood pressure, and asked all the normal questions. I handed her the paperwork and explained what the doctor needed to do for me, then sat back and waited for him to arrive.

The office where I go for medical attention has many doctors working there, with many different specialties. When you make an appointment, you can specify which doctor you want or just take whoever is available. I chose the second option and ended up with a doctor I hadn’t seen in quite a while. He is German by descent, and unfortunately has inherited a few of the least desirable qualities of that race; namely the appearance of being rude.

I say “the appearance” because I know that Germans really are not rude – they just appear that way to me because of their abrupt nature. They tend to say exactly what they mean with no beating around the bush, and are very direct in their manners. And I should qualify my use of the term “they” = I have known perhaps two Germans in my life. That’s not really enough to make sweeping generalizations, but I work with what I have and apologize if I offend anybody because of that.

Anyway, the doctor finally walked into the exam room with my paperwork in hand. He was looking thru it as he asked me a few questions, and never once actually looked up at me. He stuck the thingy in my ear, then listened to my lungs, asked me a few more questions, and signed the paperwork. All that for $130.00 (and no insurance).

It just amazes me that he could conduct the entire exam without once looking me in the eye. But, hey – he signed my paperwork: that’s all I really wanted.

So now that the forms are faxed in to the Earthwatch Institute, I can get busy on the next step towards my journey to Africa = getting all the inoculations required!