Frankenstein's Day Off

#7: A Doc for every Ick

I am defective. I can't believe I've gone semi-deaf again. This is the third time it has happened and while I'm not one who would go to the doctor for every itch and ick, this was definitely one ick I decided I should seek professional help with.

I dragged my dizzy self to the nearest and prettiest healthcare center this morning and was told that the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) Specialist would only be available at 4pm. It was only 11am. The receptionist asked if I would like to see a General Practitioner instead. Uh no. (Over my deaf ears!) Last time I took that suggestion, I paid Php300 to have a GP tell me to see an ENT Specialist. Yeesh.
I'll just spend that money on...

... a visit to the dentist! Ha! I went back to the dental office I discovered 4 months ago. They had really cool posters and because all people in their posters had nice smiles, I entrusted by molars, canines and incisors to them. They'll know how to make my teeth poster-perfect, I said to myself. Besides, the attending dentist had many many letters after his name and that's always good, right? So there I was needing an ENT but having my choppers checked and cleaned with that torturous instrument. I was bonding with my dentist. (Recalling my traumatic childhood experience wherein this wicked dentist strapped me down and blindfolded me so she can rip my tooth off with the maximum amount of horror possible, who would've thought?) An interesting day this was turning out to be.

I then checked out 3 other clinics to find an ENT who was already free. Guess what. All ENTs in all of those clinics were only going to be available at, gasp, 4p.m. Wha-? What is it with ENTs and 4pm?! I am seriously baffled. Is that like a vampire type of thing wherein they need to make sure that the sun is no longer at its brightest before showing themselves to the world? Absolutely strange. (The stuff of "Unsolved Mysteries.")

So I decided to forget about ENTs first... and just go to my dermatologist.

This doctor looks like an angel. Amusingly, waiting to see her is like going through eternity... in slow-mo. Once, I spent 4 hours waiting for her to do a 15-minute bit on me. (No, they don't accept appointments. You'd have to go there and waste a significant part of your mortal life to have a minute with her.) I came out all red and botchy, with a handful of pricey medicines and creams and an empty wallet; but in a couple of days, I was looking all radiant and angelic. Just like her. Amazing. Trust me. The wait is always worth it. Always.

So at 3:30, with my semi-bloody face and gleaming teeth, I went back to the first medical center and asked if the ENT was finally there. Thank God, she was. There was no way I was visiting another medical person to kill time while waiting for her. (A lobotomy is not something you do on a whim.) This particular ENT was very nice and very smart. Nicer than the one I went to a year ago the first time this hearing loss thing happened to me. And cheaper too! Plus, she didn't tell me to stay away from seafood. (Ah. That's it. I'm giving her a hug.) She prescribed a couple of drugs and asked me to see her again this Saturday. Sure. No problem.

I just hope I get her schedule right this time. And I hope she doesn't make me wait. Or else one brain surgeon will be one patient richer over the weekend.

P.S.
Did I say I don't go to the doctor for every itch and ick?
Ah. That was before Frankenstein's day off.