Monday, December 19, 2011
Location: Berry Electric, Work
Task #26
Again, this one is not all that exciting, and is pretty self explanatory. However, I have been known to be somewhat long winded with the extraneous details. Not to mention, the simplest task can be quite the production for me.
I haven't been to the doctor in, um, proabably over 3 years. But I have told my Grandma it's only been 2. If she knew how long it has really been, I'd hear more nagging and scolding than I already do for the abbreviated time lapse.
This morning, after laying awake a couple hours last night fretting over it, I decided I better make the appointment. I was dreading it for a few reasons.
One, despite my extensive experience with doctors, and my affection for Dr. Griffin, I hate doctors. I hate going to them, I hate being examined, answering questions that I have the wrong answers to, and all the waiting.
Two, because it's been so long, I am a little worried about a negative review. My doctor has warned me about eating better, staying at a certain weight, quitting smoking... He may be a little mad to learn I haven't listend to s a single instruction.
Three, I hate making appointments in general. The person that answers the phone asks the dumbest questions. After seeing the same doctor in the same hospital for almost 30 years, they should have my birthdate and the reason for my visit on file.
Four, I am an indecisive procratinator. When is the best time to take off work? Do I want to use a full day? Do I really have to drive all the way the Orland Park? Is he going to make me stay for an echo, do I have time for that? All these questions generally make me put off making any decision, making the call at all, until it has been, oh about 4 years, and I start to freak myself out imgining there's some underlying issue.
And five, of course there is always the possibility that something is wrong. Generally this isn't a major concern, but there is a reason follow up visits are "required".
So after some further debate in my head I dug the hospital number out of my purse, stared at it for a while, considered whether or not I should be worried about my co-workers over hearing my call or if I should wait until my lunch, I dialed. My heart pounded as the phone rang.
The good news was that the doctor still has office hours at Illinois Masonic, so I won't have to drive all the way to Orland Park, the bad news was that there are no appointments avaialbale until January 19th. So I won't be able to get it out of the way, using my last 1/2 day off for the year, but that's a small price to pay for the shorter trek.
When I hung up the phone, appointment set, my heard started to slow and I felt relieved. It was a relatively painless process, aside from being on hold for a bit, and now what was done was done. I'm not the kind of person to skip an appointment; I realize I build things up in my head to be worse than they are, so I will feel much better once it's all out of the way.
