Hectic Goes the Morning…

About the time for me to leave for my injection, the HVAC guys and Lopez Landscaping showed up in front of my house both at the same time.

“I’ll be back in 30 minutes,” I told the both of them. “I have a medical procedure that must be taken care of.”

“I left the front door unlocked just please don’t let Maggie out,” I told Tony, the HVAC guy.

Thankfully, the house was presentable.

I quickly locked the dog door, threw on some much nicer clothes, and headed down through the Valley. I also prayed to the gods that be that everything would go smoothly with my injection.

Old Fuss and Feathers was standing at the front of the pharmacy with my injection when I pulled up surveying what I was wearing. He told me my shorts needed ironing. Things were looking up. Rebecca and Trina were waiting on me when I arrived at Kamath Medical as well. That was another notch in my belt.

“Come on back,” Rebecca said, showing her pretty pearly whites and standing at the door to the examining rooms.

She didn’t even give me time to sign in. I smiled, very glad to see her. I told her what all I had going on at the house and she said you poor soul. I laughed. It was a good kind of laugh. Not a nervous laugh. I am just so thankful that these things are getting taken care of. I sweated in my bed last night until the covers were wet and everything in my house is damp from the humidity including me and my clothes. Talk about a bad hair day!

My new air conditioning heat exchanger. Shiny and new!

Going Through the Motions…

I yawned deeply and rubbed my eyes while Rebecca prepared my injection.

“You are still half asleep!” she told me.

“Twenty minutes ago I was asleep in the recliner in my den,” I replied. “I woke up in a panic and hurried down through the Valley. I don’t think I fell asleep until almost 2 AM last night.”

“We’ll make this quick so you can go back home and get back in the bed,” she told me.

I was very ready for my shot. It seems the first week after getting it I feel so well and then I go downhill from there. It was time for a refill of those little microsphericals that keep me going and my schizophrenia at bay.

“You still writing your journal?” Rebecca asked me quizzically as she was administering my injection.

“Usually about every day,” I replied with a wince as the needle was inserted. “It is actually quite rare that I miss a day. It is a labor of love for me. I had a rough spot about a week or two ago where I just didn’t feel like writing.”

“I just can’t write like that and I admire you for being able to do so,” She said.

Rebecca gave me a man hug and told me I was clear to go about my day. I had to see Trina for my next appointment card which she had already prepared. I headed back to the pharmacy and was soon home with my Maggie dog.

Maggie is being very needy this morning – needing her various itches scratched. I can hit a certain spot on her back and it is sheer dog ecstasy.  She is also busy tending to the neighborhood's business as well.

Operation Bumfuzzled…

<------- I miss the old nurse uniforms.

Well my injection was growing increasingly FUBAR this morning. Dad forgot today was my injection and I called him at work yesterday to remind him. They didn’t have a shot in stock and had to have it delivered overnight. I drove down to the pharmacy this morning hoping for the best. Dad had called me and said my injection had arrived. I was kind of disheveled today and Old Fuss and Feathers remarked upon it.

“Let’s see how you fare with schizophrenia,” I snapped at my father with a tinge of anger in my voice.

My father apologized for his harsh words.

“Rebecca’s not coming in until lunch,” my then father told me. “A nurse named Mary is going to give you your injection.”

I drove down to Kamath medical deflated and expecting the absolute worse. I signed in, chatted with the receptionist, Trina, for a few minutes, and sat down for about 15 minutes. Then Rebecca poked her head outside the door and welcomed me back. I was so elated to see her.

“What are you doing here?” I asked excitedly.

“I had to take my daughter to the pediatrician this morning,” she told me. “It dawned on me that today was your injection so I hurried up.”

I just sat in my chair with a big goofy grin on my face at this fortuitous turn of events.

There is Going to Be a Slight Prick…

I was already awake and dressed when my father called me this morning. I had been up quite a while after this morning’s breakfast of grits, eggs, and bacon.

“We forgot your injection,” dad told me frantically. “Rebecca just called me.”

“I am already up and dressed and will be there in 10 minutes,” I replied to my father.

“Brag on Rebecca when you get there,” my father said. “I don’t know what we would do without her.”

It was around 10 AM when my father called so I was about an hour late. It was 10:20 AM when I stepped into Kamath Medical and signed in.

They are so good at looking after me at Kamath Medical. The receptionist, Trina, already had my next appointment set up when I walked in the door. I also only had to wait 5 minutes before Rebecca called me back to an examining room despite having a full lobby of patients. Dr. Kamath’s office was a very busy place this morning.

I practice my small talk skills with Rebecca as I feel comfortable around her. She has won my trust over the years I have been getting this injection. Small talk is just something that doesn’t come naturally to me. I always ask her how her computer and laptop are running and I give her computer tips. I then often ask about her kids as well.

“The kids are on spring break and with their grandparents this week,” Rebecca told me this morning.

This morning’s main topic was dieting.

“I’ll tell you what really helps,” Rebecca said. “If I get really hungry, I will go eat a pickle or two.”

“It is funny you should say that,” I replied. “I bought a jar of Claussen pickles last night grocery shopping. They were on sale.”

“Make sure they are the vinegary kind and not sweet pickles,” Rebecca told me cautiously.

I told Rebecca goodbye and headed back towards the pharmacy. Before I left, I stepped into the main office and told all the girls thanks for looking out for me. They all smiled and said thank you back.

The Great Scavenger Hunt…

I don’t know if you remember this, but Charlie was supposed to run by the Opelika Walmart and pick up some audio cables for me yesterday. Well, it got FUBAR and quick! He forgot the pages of the cable's name and type I printed out for him on Janice’s computer. I was trying to explain over the phone what I needed. There was a flurry of calls and callbacks piquing my phone phobias.

“I need a 3.5mm stereo mini-jack that Y splits into two male RCA jacks,” I told Charlie. “Preferably 4 to 6 feet in length.”

This was like talking Greek to Charlie. He then put me on the phone with a Walmart employee which sent my phone phobias reeling into extreme overdrive. They weren’t any help at all as well.

“Charlie, thank you so much for trying,” I told him. “I will just get Matt from the pharmacy to order them for me off of the internet.”

Charlie told me to wait one more day before I got Matt to order them. He was going to try the Walmart in Alexander City today. I hope we don’t have a repeat of yesterday and please god don’t forget those papers I printed out Sunday.