Thanks to all of you who have been keeping our family in your prayers. My mother-in-law is in a regular room now at the regional hospital in their town. She is responding to the high powered medicine to take care of her infection. She has shown some improvement but is not out of the woods yet. Unfortunately it is a situation in which we must just wait to let the medicine work and pray. God is the Great Healer and Comforter who is always at our side.
So yesterday, I had to go get a TB skin test and another round of my Hep B vaccine for grad school requirements. Being in a medical field family, I know that being a healthcare provider is not always easy. For instance, Trae works in the ER. Tough place to work. (I will request that Trae post his views of ER patrons later.) Anyway, one of the patients in the ER died last night. How many people go to work with the possibility of facing death every single day? This would be a legitimate reason to be sad or not excited to be at work. So in my getting tested and vaccinated, I had to visit the public health center for my shots. I was told to go there because it may have been cheaper than visiting the in town occupational health center. Well, the first building I enter does not have any signs on the outside, just a directory in the lobby. There is an open window in the lobby with an older woman inside. So what else would I think other than that this woman is here for general questions for those who just enter the building! Right? Well I walk to the window, it sounds as though she is giving instruction with regards to a piece of paper she is pointing at in front of her. I stand at the window for a minute or two before she acknowledges me, which is no big deal, because I am not in a hurry. When she does raise her head to assist me, she does not smile, but yet she is not rude, and she says, "Yes..." She asks as if I have wrongly interrupted her very important conversation to tell me that I am in the wrong building. Now I am not complaining because she was helpful, and her conversation at least was not just simple gossip/needless conversation with the others in her office. But with the tone she used, she might as well have told me to go ask someone else because she was otherwise too busy to answer my silly question. So I finally make it to my correct building, and walk to the only counter with a person behind it and the lady informs me she will be right with me and that I should have a seat. Five minutes later, she calls me up and helps me. She is not rude but not friendly either. The lady who administered my TB test was very friendly and chatty. A nice change! The next room I had to go to was just down the hall to get my vaccine. I went to the counter and the lady informed me that I had to take a number and fill out a form on the wall. Take a number??? Are you kidding, there is no one else in line and there are only 2 other people in the entire waiting room? SO I take a number and fill out my form. Go to give the lady my form and she tells me she will call me when she is ready. About 10 minutes go by. In this time, one person from the waiting room leaves with the person who was being seen. The next family leaves with their 2 rowdy, uncontrolled kids who speak no English from what I can tell. I am just sitting in the room alone with my completed form and my number waiting for her "get ready". She finally calls my number and I take my information and we talk about what I am having done and she asks how I am going to pay. I am not sure what role the number system plays in her day, but I am sure it comes in handy when the room gets busy, but on a day like that, take a number? Am I at the DMV? Anyway, all in all, the public health secretarial staff were not the nicest but they did their job and I am guess that is all that is asked of them. I just think that if you are going to a job every single day, try to make the best of it. Even if it is not your dream job and all it does for you is pay the bills, try to be happy. Put a smile on, a little happiness in your tone of voice. You have to be there so might as well try to enjoy it. But I guess that is the difference with us and other people. We try to have a great day, whether it is all going our way or not, at least we try! Who know, you might even smile or be happy on accident!
