The doctor is in...

After almost 3 weeks of working sick, I finally caved in and stayed home. I haven't been able to shake this cough and was getting another cold, so I also went to see my doctor. Since I had no appointment, they sent me to Nurse Treatment. After a bit of a wait, a nurse took my vitals and called my doctor. He ordered a chest x-ray, so I went over to that lab and had that done. Then I took the x-rays back to the nurse as ordered. That nurse got me an appointment to go see my doctor, so I headed up to his part of the clinic. The front desk lady told me to go right in and give the x-rays to my doctor's nurse. She seemed surprise and said she'd get to me as soon as she could.

Did I mention this is all at Kaiser? Thank goodness for that, because every place I needed to go was right there in the same building. I used to detest Kaiser, but now I actually really like them. It's pretty convenient healthcare overall...but I digress. So I am waiting for about 45 minutes and decide to see approximately how much longer the wait will be. The receptionist calls back to the nurse and gets me right in. The nurse apologizes as she said she didn't realize I had an actual appointment until just then. So she takes my vitals too and I wait for my doctor. After examining me, he informs me that I have bronchitus. He prescribes me some antibiotics and two inhalers to deal with the inflammation and coughing. They told me my oxidation saturation levels were lower than normal due to my difficulty breathing. I guess that simply means that my lungs weren't getting enough air. Went to the pharmacy and spent $45 in meds, plus my copay for the visit, not a cheap day but at least I can start the mending process.

I was given a doctor's note to stay home for two days and rest. I had been pushing myself way too much on account of my solo teaching in the absence of my CT. With all that he has had to deal with personally, I felt that I had to be there no matter what. Well, my body agreed up to a point and then didn't give a choice in the matter. It was a good thing I stayed home actually, because my cold got a little worse. I struggled with whether or not to go in, but I am home again today and am trying to rest. I HAVE to attend class tonight or it will lower my grade. So I am trying to take it easy. I am doing a little homework so that I feel somewhat productive. I will return to work tomorrow and cross my fingers that these meds kick in. It's funny how we take our health for granted and one day we can't. My doctor said if you push bronchitus too far, it can result in pneumonia. That scared me enough to step back a little.