SOL25: Doctor’s Visit

            I had a regular checkup scheduled for this afternoon, so this was my chance to discuss my cold, which lingers. My new doctor (after my old one retired two years ago) also teaches, so she had a resident take my history and answer my questions. The resident was young and nice, helpfully trying to deal with my problems. After he listened

to my chest and back and said my lungs sounded clear, I said I thought I could feel stuff rattling around. He then pulled up a diagram of the lungs on the computer screen (which has all of my information), to show me that what he meant by clear lungs referred to the branching bronchi and bronchioles, and that what I felt was most likely mucus in the trachea, which his stethescope wouldn’t pick up. Mucus in the bronchi and bronchioles could indicate pneumonia, so it’s good he didn’t hear that.

            Before the nurse drew blood, she asked if I was afraid of needles. “No,” I said, which is true, but it’s also true that I usually don’t watch when the blood starts flowing. Today, I did, and noticed how dark red it was.

            “Is that a good color red,” I asked, “or does it all look the same?”

            “No, blood has many different shades of red,” she said. “But I never thought about it,” she added.

            “Neither did I,” I said. “That’s the first time I noticed.”

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I’m participating in the 12th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 1 of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!