May 1st, 2009

I wrote yesterday about how both me and Jen are sick. Well, she took the day off on Thursday (something she hardly ever does, and something that she has to go through a multi-stage process to justify doing) and decided in the late morning, after doing too much reading online about the swine flu, to go see a doctor. Knowing that her primary doctor’s office wasn’t likely to get her in on short notice, we headed to Med Stop, an urgent care office on the other side of town. We showed up there around 12:30PM. Jen checked herself in, and they gave her a SARS mask to wear. (She declined my offer to take a picture of her wearing the mask.) A few other people came in and a few others left. Things seemed like they were moving along at a reasonable pace, as Jen was called by a nurse to be seen, or so we thought. She returned a few minutes later, stating that they were simply taking her vitals, and that they didn’t yet have a room for her. So we waited. I played some games of Flight Control on the iPhone, listened to some podcasts, checked in on Twitter. Jen was eventually called again to return to Med Stop’s inner chambers. I held my ground in the lobby, playing some more games of Flight Control and checking my Facebook account.

Then, this dude came in, already wearing his own SARS mask. He went up to the main desk, informing the secretary/nurse seated there that he was, “Really sick.” She gave him the usual papers to fill out. Thankfully, he had a friend with him who was helping with that. After the dude turned in his papers, he headed right back out the front door. First, he took a seat on the sidewalk, resting his back up against a nearby brick wall. Then, in what was perhaps an attempt to make it clear that he was indeed really sick, the dude decided to stretch out and get some good rest. Right there on the sidewalk. I felt bad for the guy. Maybe he really was in need of a bed. Of course, the urgent care ofice had already established the fact that all of its rooms were booked. But still, having this random dude in a mask laying on the sidewalk, while an international flu pandemic is brewing couldn’t have looked good for business. It was funny. At one point the nurse/secretary (not sure how many of these vocational titles truly apply) noticed that it was the dude’s birthday. She looked up and said something about it, seeming somewhat confused because she couldn’t actually see the guy. I said something like, “He’s uhh… outside.” I didn’t want to just blurt out that he was curled up in a fetal position on the concrete. But, whatever. They got him in pretty soon after that.

A while later, Jen emerged from the elusive Med Stop back room area, sans SARS mask, carrying a handful of papers. On the way to the car, she said that she was diagnosed with a viral infection, likely some kind of flu. They considered giving her some medication, but decided against it, as her symptoms weren’t severe. They took some “samples” (I’ll spare you the details), explaining that they were doing so for anyone who came in with symptoms similar to hers. They didn’t elaborate any further as to why they needed the samples. But after reading this later in the day, we had some ideas. Regardless, the important thing is that Jen has official documentation of her illness, just in case. She’s also taken today off from work. That, combined with the weekend will hopefully give her enough time to recover before work starts again on Monday.

Otherwise, we may have to go back to Med Stop. And this time, it might be me trying to catch some nap time on the concrete. You can only play Flight Control for so long, after all.

Tags: California, Flight Control, health, iPhone, life, Med Stop, San Luis Obispo, swine flu, Twitter
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