Hump Day…

Wednesday was cool and overcast, with occasional showers here in Redford.

I called the hand doctor and got an appointment for 11:30 AM. So, I took an early lunch.

The doctor was located in St. Mary’s hospital. Unfortunately, the two don’t “share” and I had to fill out five pages of information about myself. Between that and waiting, it was over an hour before I actually got into a room. I sat in that room for over another hour before actually seeing the doctor! And, he was there, not at lunch or in the ER.

At one point, I had to go to the bathroom, so I opened the door and asked a nurse where it was. She walked me over to it and said, “Thank you so much for your patience.” I said, “Believe me, its running out!”

When the doctor finally came in he said, “Well, Mr. Goerlich, why are you here?” I said< “I have no idea. Personally, I think it’s a complete waste of time, apparently more my time than yours!” He knew better than to laugh.

He read the chart and said that he ER doctors had seen something in my hand last night. I asked if it was in the wound and he said he hadn’t seen the x-rays yet. He said he couldn’t pull them up on the computer in my room and would check them out. So, he walked out the door, shut it and called out to a nurse to pull up my x-rays.  Then he walked into the next room and said “Hi, I’m Doctor _______, what can I do for you!”

I was blown away! If my finger wasn’t unbandaged, I would have walked out then. But, he did leave that exam room when the nurses called him. I was starting to understand:  He was what my Mother would have called a “scatterbrain.” 

He came back in my room after a bit and said, “Well, no, there’s nothing in the wound. But it would appear that you broke the tip of your little finger and there’s some sort of metal object in the base of your thumb.” I said I did break the tip of my finger so 30 years ago and asked how big this metal object was. He said it was about the size of a grain of sand! I told him I worked in a factory for 16 years and it was quite possible it was from an injury back then. I said, “So this is why I had to come in?”

He said that the ER doctors were just being cautious. He repeated the instructions they had said (which I was already doing before I went to the hospital) and said that the most dangerous time would be after I stop taking the antibiotics. He suggested I make an appointment for two weeks from now and cancel it if I’m feeling okay.

So, he left and, after a nurse dressed my finger so did I. The checkout lady said, “Well, he wants you to make another appointment.” I said, “He said that was only if I wasn’t doing well, so give me his card and if I need one, I’ll call” (fat chance, LOL) and left.

I got back to work at 2:10 PM. Over two and a half hours for a doctor visit that was a five minute drive away! And, for nothing! I was also starving, but here’s where I lucked out. They had some lunch meeting and there were leftover boxed lunches from Jimmy Johns so Michelle saved me one.

I drove home after work in a steady rain. I putzed around doing little things, like the Wednesday night wash, while I watched the nightly news.

My Brother Carl called me and shared the story of his cat bite (on the ankle) when he lived in Lansing. I told him I knew they are nothing to fool around with (cats teeth are like needles and drive bacteria deep into wounds, I have learned). We talked for a bit and I thanked him for calling (Thanks again).

I was getting tired of meatloaf, so I boiled some Buitoni wild mushroom Agnolotti (like ravioli) and warmed up some Bertolli (confusing, right?) Alfredo sauce. I put the two together and had an excellent dinner. I watched one taped show and then switched to reading until bedtime.