The Stars and the Cookie Jar

I went to the doctor to check on a lingering chest infection with a little bit of a cough.

I came back three hours later with a prescription for an anti-bacterial, an order for an immediate chest x-ray right now, a referral to the cardiologist, a cardiac echogram, and a followup appointment at 4:30 on Wednesday.

I am never going to the doctor again. Why bother going to the doctor?!

Apparently my auscultation was icky and I have a funny sound characteristic of my valves thinning and having flowback. My pulse oximetry managed to be a respectable 94-97%, but that's because I've been gasping like a fish lately.

You should taste this medicine. Jesus. It's like cherry turpentine bubblegum of the damned.


My love drove me around diligently all afternoon and evening, from work to the doctor's to the hospital to the pharmacy. At one point, I observed her watching the tv loop in the waiting room -- CNN Health, as I later found out -- and I wanted to alert her to my presence but she was utterly absorbed in the telly, with an expression like unto a fluffy baby lowland gorilla who has just stepped on a tack.

I love my wife.