Dreaded Phone Calls

One of the most dreaded phone calls you get are from the doctor's office after you've had a battery of tests. Friday I went in to have all my blood work done and whatever other tests he'd recommended.

Yesterday morning I got a call that the doctor wanted to see me either yesterday or today. Wow. That was fast. Of course, your brain says, that's not good news. What can be wrong? Is it cancer? Why does he want to see me so urgently?

I booked the appt for today seeing as I had orders to deliver to the US yesterday and tried to be nonchalant about it, taking my bike south with me in hopes it'd be less smokey there. Looking for the rail trail, I couldn't find the trail head and after some time searching for it, then going to the bike store for help, I decided it was too late to ride it anyway.

So off to Giuseppe's, my favourite restaurant for a delicious salmon meal overlooking the harbour and all the sailboats. Unfortunately it was very smokey there as well, and even though there were some great photo opportunities with the smoke among the masts, my chest was so tight from lack of oxygen that I opted for just returning home.

Of course, in the back of my mind was still the question of why the doctor wanted to see me so quickly. A restless sleep last night, the air was a bit clearer today and off I went for my bike ride. It's become almost an addiction to need to ride it every day.

Finally, my appt time arrived and I waited somewhat apprehensively in his office. He came in and assured me it wasn't anything really bad, but I had an infection that needed immediate attention. Phew! He also asked if I'd ever had low iron.

I almost laughed when he asked me that, as a little girl (about 5 or 6) I used to fall asleep on my friend's porch waiting for her. In fact, I fell asleep just about everywhere, I was so tired. I had to go on some huge iron pills (I called them horse pills, they were so big) for months to bring my iron up. Even as an adult I had problems with my iron and wasn't allowed to give blood because my iron would be compromised.

Obviously the answer was yes, and he advised me that if I didn't start taking iron right away that I'd soon be anemic. No wonder I've been falling asleep in my chair several times during the day, and some days I'm just wiped out. He said three months of iron supplements at least. Alrighty then. I'm just waiting for some clients to pick up their orders from me, and then I'll head out to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled.

Thankfully, there was nothing to worry about and he wants to see me next week to ensure the infection is cleared up. I'm just thinking it'll be really nice to have some energy again, and not feel like I'm dragging my arse on a 6' leash behind me.

It feels good to have a doctor that's making sure everything's taken care of, but I can do without getting dreaded phone calls.