"A knife would have been free" I explained to my friend when he questioned how my doctor's appointment went.
I explained to him how much I hate needles but even more so how I hate that here, I have to pay for nurses to attack my veins with sharp objects.
It's been almost a month since I first discovered that I had a problem.
The first infection was in my throat and I'm not sure I've even felt that much pain breathing before.
The hospital I went to charged me to see the doctor and then of course to get my meds.
But these meds didn't work. After 5 days of antibiotics I felt much better, but not being at all trained in the medical field, mostly because anything medical related makes me queezy, I didn't realize that my persistently runny nose meant that the infection wasn't fully gone. So it was alarming to me when my ears started hurting but I decided not to wait too long to get checked out this time.
Even with my haste, my ears were well along in the infection stage and I was given the option: Pills or injection.
Naturally, I chose pills and would happily take them, along with my bag of over the counter pain killers.
But 2 days later, as the antibiotics were subbed in because I was not strong enough to fight anymore, the pain in my ears was beyond any of the dulling that these lame pain pills could muster. With about 1400mg of ibuprofen in my system I still had a hard time sleeping.
So on the third day I went back in for my check-up and filled the doctor in on all that had gone on since I last saw her. Her response was injection. That was the only way, she told me, to make sure that this infection would be on the run completely.
So me, being somewhat used to vaccinations, though I still don't enjoy them, assumed I knew what I was in for. Boy was I WRONG!!
I watched the nurse fill up a giant syringe with 2 vials of clear liquid. (I think I heard the words "20ml" and then "not that bad") And as I was losing the battle of a sure-to-come panic attack, I asked where exactly he intended to stick me.
"In the vein", was the response I got and I nearly keeled over as I thought of bruised up IV hands. But I had to be tough, so I just whined a bit rather than full on sobbing.
He was good though. Explained what was happening as it happened and treated me just like a 3 year old, like I asked. I was thankful. But I did ask him if he though it was backwards that I had to pay him to stab me. He just laughed.
So I type today with a belly fully of drugs, two puncture wounds and empty pockets
Healthcare is expensive and I found myself thinking more than once about the people who can't afford the doctor's fees, let alone the drugs they are prescribed.
Please pray for me.
For this infection to leave me completely so that I would be healed and healthy and energized to serve.
And pray for those who are sick and can't do a thing about it.
