Syntaxtual Healing

Back in December, I had to go to the dreaded, time wasting, annoying, stupid annual doctor's appointment. Not the lady one, just the regular one. Oh, you're a healthy person? Let me explain. When you're a sickly human such as myself, and you require a multitude of medications, the doctor has the gall to ask that you show up once a year, let him make sure that your asthma medication and insulin haven't killed you (or whatever) and send you on your merry way.

Except, no.

I go, to my usual office, only to find that stupid past me, who made this appointment months ago with no regard for present me and my busy schedule, booked it at the office closer to my work...that I never go to...so, smart for past me, but past me could have thrown present me a bone and noted said change in my phone.

So, of course, no appointment at that office, reschedule. Bonus - got my flu shot. Double bonus - new subcutaneous injection that doesn't leave my arm sore for a week and a half. These are the things sickly people get excited by.

So I go back, yesterday, to the same office, where this time I actually have an appointment. I didn't make an appointment at the closer office, because I don't trust my feeble brain to remember not to go into autopilot and drive me to the office I'm used to going to. And if I pull that on them again, they'd probably charge me for the visit and hand me a referral for a cat scan on the ol' noggin.

And I wait.

...and wait.

...and wait. Totally a great use of my time. Played some games on the iPhone, read some tweets. Good stuff.

An hour after my appointment time, I get taken back to an exam room to wait some more. And then commences my 7.5 minute annual visit, wherein nothing out of the ordinary happens. Except one thing. My doctor tells me I should get a pneumonia vaccine.

Now, first off, I'm as pro-vaccine as you can get. I work tangentially in the medical field, and I know that this shit works. But aside from the course of vaccines we all get as kids, people don't usually need another pneumococcal (look at me throwing out medical terms) vaccine until they also have an AARP card in their wallet. That is, unless you have (cue booming voice of doom) comorbid conditions. Of which I have 2. So yeah, great.

So after my 100-yard dash style doctors visit, I got to wait for the nurse to come in with a big old vaccine needle. Kind of ruined the excitement of the tiny needle for the flu shot, although I won't have to get this one for at least another 5 years. By then I should also be able to start getting the senior movie price and an extra 10% off at Kohl's on Senior Citizen Wednesdays.