It didn't seem like it at first. I had scheduled all 4 diagnostic imaging procedures my doctor requested for this particular day, needing to arrive by 8:30 and spaced enough I shouldn't be back home until 1:00 or later. So of course when I show up, I'm informed I have no appointment until 10:00, that they only have 3 procedures scheduled, and that my doctor hadn't sent the paperwork through for two of those.
Huh? I know the doc sent the stuff through because the process is first he does that, and then their scheduler calls me to set the dates/times up. She had to know what she was scheduling for. We also discusssed that the company has lots of branches but only one in this area which can handle all 4. None of these are absolutely urgent, so I was willing to wait for her call. As it was, it took almost 3 more weeks out from her call to find a day when all would fit into a reasonable same-day schedule, as well as happening on a day when I was free. How the heck did she know what to schedule if she didn't have the orders? The check-in staff, those people who hand out clipboards filled with pages of forms you have to guess how they want you to fill out (and always, ALWAYS need to know the date of my last period), tried to call my doc to get verbal orders for at least the other two they had knowledge of. Doc's office opens at 8 AM. His phone lines don't. So I ended up getting only my first ever bone density test.
I had to research that one. My imagination invented several ways of them coming up with how to measure that, none of which was correct. Which is actually a good thing! There are times my imagination is a fearsome thing. Turns out to be an x-ray procedure where you first prepare by wearing nothing metal, which I knew about ahead of time though had forgotten for which test that was. For me this means one pair of long pants in my wardrobe fits the bill. No bra in the house comes without some metal. At least today is unusually cool so long pants are no problem to wear for a few hours. No comment on the bra, other than it feel just like ongoing quarantine, but out in public. There was a long decision process over which top I could wear discreetly. Then you also prepare by not taking any calcium supplements, multivitamins, or calcium rich foods for 24 hours ahead of time.
(Oops, forgot to take those upon return, back in a mo.)
That one I hadn't heard, at least not in time for the full 24 hours ahead of the test. Just long enough that I woke up around 2 AM with those ankle muscle cramps again, the ones where my foot tries to twist around like Linda Blair's head in The Exorcist. Always the left ankle.
Be happy if you don't get those.
Anyway, you just lie down flat on a padded bed while a machine moves over you, stops to get your hips, then you bend your knees up with your feet pigeon toed while it gets your lower spine. Or maybe it's the other way around, but it doesn't matter. They know how it works so I don't have to.
The pigeon toes are a stretch. We had a nice chat about how doctors give kids (mostly) weird shoes to keep them from having pigeon toes. Now suddenly they're a requirement.
I stopped at the desk again before leaving to see if my doc had either faxed or verbally given the orders for the two other procedures which had a chance of happening today. No chance of course. So I headed home.
About a mile away from home I started hearing this thunk thunk thunk as the car slowly rolled ahead after a stop. I pulled over, put it in park, and looked around the back of the car for any possible reason for it. Nothing. By the time I was back in, my "fill tire" light was on. I hadn't seen anything looking like a flat, but decided to get a second opinion. Once home, I had Rich observe my car in motion in the driveway. He pinpointed the noise, rear driver's side, but no clue why. So I pulled up and parked.
This time the cause was brazenly sticking out. It was a sort of "s" shape of steel, about 9 gauge, with one end bent and impaling my tire. I had never seen anything remotely like it in my path on the drive. After a quick stop in the house to let Steve know what was happening, and a 5 minute search through the pack of info in the glove box where I keep proof of maintenance, batteries, inspections and cab cards, insurance proof, oil changes, repairs, and... NEW TIRES, I was on my way. Less than a year old, under 10,000 miles on them, and proof that I'd decided to get the warranty with the purchase.
It also had the name and address of the tire place, because I'd forgotten both in the meantime. I drove immediately, though slowly, there to get the tire either repaired or replaced. No sense in letting any more air escape, at least not enough to give me a flat or even a damaged wheel. Note, please, that this car has no jack, lug wrench, nor toy tire. 10 years ago I would have changed the tire before heading out. Today, had the proper equipment been included with the car, I would have had Rich change the tire. Hey it's one of the reasons I taught both my boys how to change one.Today I lucked out and got to the tire place just 3.7 miles from the start of the impalement, including the quick stop home.
Under an hour later, and not a penny poorer, I headed home for the day. I was even back earlier than I would have been had all 4 procedures been done. Now I get to wait a few days for the scheduler to call again. I can ask her a couple of gently worded but pointed questions. But the calendar is so crowded right now that I can't possibly set any appointments without checking it first.
This'll be fun.
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