I got through all the trips to Vegas and thought I was freewheeling into a relaxing kind of kicking back, work at my own pace, not have to be anywhere or do anything for awhile.  But…as life always seems to find something new…I was in a for a feel bad time.  Chalk it up to a urinary tract infection that appeared from nowhere, haven’t had one for over 35 years so it was a bit of a shocker…not to mention painful and frightening too.  Having one kidney makes me stress a bit more over anything that can affect the kidneys. 

I almost went into the emergency room at 1amish on Friday.  I called and spoke to a nurse there and decided I would see if I could sleep the next few hours and be up and at a Dr.’s office by 8am.  That’s how it played out.  The Dr. was new to me and I still find myself shaking my head…it was more like visiting a Dr. back when I was pregnant with my first son in 1965, except that Dr. 43 years ago was more professional.  I kid you not.  This was nothing like any doctor/office I had seen in years.  Sure, your curiosity is up now, right?  First, it’s a new building setting in the hospital parking lot – or an old building refurbished and the hospital is new.  The receptionist was at least my age and really looked like she came out of the Beverly Hillbilly Series.  (perhaps she will read this and have a difficult time with my description but she didn’t strike me as a closet poker player so I may be safe).

My major concern was getting right in and getting treatment started – and I felt like shit which had something to do with it.  Fill out the forms after the first question all Medical Personnel ask, “What’s your insurance?”  It makes one feel as if they can’t be treated unless they have insurance, even if they have money to pay for the treatment.

The office was cold, not only temperature wise but also in terms of furnishings and looking like a medical office.  The Dr. that would see me arrived a few moments after I did, wearing black boots that rang with each step he took on the uncarpeted floor; all the way down the hallway into the back somewhere and the receptionist and he exchanged greetings – a bit too loudly I thought – and someone else arrived that worked in the inner regions and disappeared in the back and the three of them yelled back and forth at each other exchanging conversation that really had nothing to do with a Dr.’s office.  Yes, they yelled…more Beverly Hillbilly’s kind of action.

I was filling out my forms and seriously thought about just going somewhere else, but then I’m not familiar with anything much in Pahrump when it comes to doctors and I would have to start over somewhere else.

I did get right in, had my BP checked, the Dr. came to talk to me for a moment during this, asked me what the problem was, I told him.  I had also been to Walmart the evening before and picked up the test strips so I was positive that was the problem.  (Don’t you love the fact that you can test for anything anymore by simply hitting the local drugstore?) Then I was sent into the examining room where I waited for a few minutes.  The Dr. came in.  While we talked, his phone rang.  He answered it and talked to someone about some baby chicks he was getting for Easter.  Umnhnnnhh!  We talked some more.  His phone rang again, he looked at it, said he knew who it was and that he would call them back later and said he hated those things (the phone).  I simply said, “Leave it in the other room.”

Skip off to more conversation.  I would have to leave a urine sample and it would take 48 hours for the culture to grow.  He thought that was perfect, I did not.  I stressed the fact that I have one kidney and did not want to wait another two to three days to start action – and yes, my back hurts where my kidney is.  He decided to give me a partial prescription for the most common UTI bacteria and said we could follow up on the results on Monday and if it was another bacterial strain, he would give me a new scrip.  OK.

But as we talked, another Dr. (I assume) just opened the door and walked in, looked around like we were from Mars, and wondered where his patient was (aloud) and then walked out closing the door.

My Dr. wrote the prescriptions for me, then left the room, leaving the door open (he would make a copy of the scrips for my file).  As I stood waiting, the intruding Dr. came back into the room, hands full of rolled bandages and something else, “I wonder where our patient went?  Perhaps to the bathroom?” as he looked around the room that no one could hide in.

I replied that I had no idea.  He left.

I went out to retrieve my scrips and hit the hospital across the parking lot to give a urine sample.  Amazingly, the hospital thing went very fast and was very simple.  Off to the drugstore, scrips in hand, after which I went home to die for close to 24 hours…and pee orange.  Yah, one scrip was for the pain in the bladder, etc.

The Dr. that saw me was very nice, perhaps a bit too inquisitive with a few things but very nice, and at least my age.  The personal phone calls kind of blew my mind.  The other Dr. intruding twice was a real boggler.  I doubt that I will ever go back there for any reason.  Monday will give me news if I’m on the right track with this antibiotic…I hope so.  I did get a follow up phone call from the Dr. a few hours later, I definitely had a UTI.

Other than that, there’s always work to do.  And the stress going on at the old house in town is just never ending.  That should be a book.  I played one poker tournament and came close to the $ but not close enough.  I’m playing one now.  The truck driving duo and I are going to dinner tonight at the Winery here in Pahrump, they will leave Monday since the last I heard their truck was going to be ready for the highways again.

The wind is back…some things just never change.  Is MOI depressed…kinda.