LAKEFRONT APPOINTMENT

Today was a busy day … which was a good thing because it rained all day long – and the business kept the drowsiness at bay ;-)

Dave stopped in early this morning for a visit: and we visited for about 4 hours – just shooting the breeze, talking about his globe-trotting adventures/our families/our kids/the past/remembrances of Bob/the present/ and hopes for manana :-D

I laughed a LOT.

The laughter kept my mind off the doctor's appointment.

It is GOOD to spend time with friends.

After, Dave left, I hopped in the car and ran across town to make my a 2:10 PM appointment with Dr. Landry at Lakefront Clinic. I loathe doctors, clinics, and hospitals; but I made the appointment because I can’t get a relief asthma inhaler without a personal physician’s okay to receive one. Dr. Landry and I are familiar with each other – Peace Health Hospital assigned her to Bob’s case in November of 2018. Even though we know each other, I was still nervous meeting with her today.

For lots of reasons.

Walking through the Clinic doors brought back a lot of memories I’d rather not be faced with in the moment – and age specific questioning that humored me; and irked me at the same time:

Geriatric Query Sheet. Looking at that sheet of geriatric questions, I refused to cave into to age discrimination; I left it all blank.

I was put in the same room Bob had been in when doctors were trying to figure out why he was dying … and I did cry, thinking about the last time I was in that room.

Thankfully, Dr. Landry came in after the short vid was shot; and I got an easy In-Out visit.

THANK YOU, YESHUA!

She got into the Hospital Data Bank and asked a few quick questions – did I want reminders concerning mammograms? NO Colonoscopies? NO Blood testing? NO Fu Shot? NO: I told her, “I’m basically here because I need a relief inhaler and this is the only way I can obtain one; I don’t do drugs – anything that can’t be got from Country Village, I avoid.” So, she said, “I’ll just delete all these things from the data bank then, and you won’t get pestered with reminders.” We both laughed – and I thanked her. She did a quick physical check – and asked if I saw a holistic physician, and I said, “No; I know what is wrong with me, and I pay attention to my body vibes. If something needs attention, I treat it organically. If I can’t figure it out, then I will come here, and you can help me treat it with organic measures.”

She agreed. She said all my vital stats were perfect. I told her that I don’t use the relief inhaler all the time, and that I’d like to get off it completely because it makes me feel like I am tripping on speed tablets (she didn’t inquire – and I didn’t explain), and she asked me if I have always had asthma, and how I am dealing with my asthma now. I told her that I have always been short of breath and that I never used an inhaler until we started living in Longview: my asthma attacks are triggered by the poor air quality here – she nodded in agreement; and asked how I am managing my asthma. So, I told her that I am careful to monitor my immediate surroundings and take measures to make sure I remove as many toxins as I can … anything that will hurt my lungs; stay indoors when the air quality is dangerous; eat foods/use herbs that are healing food stuffs to my lungs; and I cut stressors out of my life as much as I possibly can, including family members that live to stress me out. She was nodding her head, and said I was doing what needed to be done, then she called in a prescription for a relief inhaler (to be replaced x3) to the Wal*Mart Pharmacy on Ocean Beach. When I mentioned the anaphylaxis reaction, that I have to bee stings (wasp, hornet, and yellow jacket too), she was concerned, and said, “You do self-pay, right? An EpiPen can run as high as $700. Buy some Benadryl and keep it on you – then call 911.” I thanked her. But I knew that if I suffered another anaphylaxis reaction, there would be NO WAY I could swallow a Benadryl – my throat swelled up so fast the last time that all I had time to do was run into the house and show Bob my grotesquely swollen face and lips, and say, “I can feel my throat swelling: start praying H.A.R.D. Or I am going Home (Heaven) in a matter of minutes.” Then I mentally separated my thoughts from what was happening to my body/calmed down/and relaxed. The swelling eventually went down and here I am: alive, still ;-) But, I have been told that if the same thing happens again, I probably won’t survive without an EpiPen.

I’m not going to spend my life freaking out about death.

What will happen … will happen.

I am 63 years old; I have lost everything that ever meant anything to me. I am okay with whatever direction Elohim decides to take my life: either I will continue to live here on Earth – or, I will meet Bob beyond the clouds.

I am okay with either.

Dr. Landry had pulled up whatever medical notes Peace health had in their Hospital Data Bank, and knew exactly what meds I am deathly allergic to (penicillin and sulfas: will send me into heart-attack mode in a heart beat)/that I am dangerously anemic/and that I am lactose intolerant; so it stands to reason that when she ran my Hargand Name through the records, she also knows how I stand on the DNR issue. I didn’t have to mention it. And I carry my wishes about that in my purse at all times - just in case I ever find myself being asked about that by an Emergency Team.

There was no public showdown; and no harassment about future follow-through & follow-up appointments ;-)

I got to Wal*Mart and asked for my inhaler … and was told they hadn’t received the prescription; so, there was no pickup. I’ll check again tomorrow.