Cough, Cough, Cough

Yes, I'm still coughing. It has been a month. Everyone is tired of my cough. I went to the doctors on Saturday, but the parking lot for a rather large medical building was completely empty. They were closed on Saturday--every single office in that building was closed on Saturday. Last year when I went, I had a Saturday morning appointment--what a difference a year makes. Anyway, I was busy yesterday, but coughed up a lung anyway, so I took this morning off and went to the doctor. Ok, I took the morning off and played with Matthew and Madilyn until it was time for them to leave and then took a side trip to Glendale Beautiful (where I didn't volunteer for anything I'm very proud to say, coughed a lot, yes, volunteered, no). After Glendale Beautiful, I found the right entrance onto the freeway and headed to the doctor. I figured that it would be easier to make an appointment by going in. I've waited on hold for my doctor's office--probably longer than I've spoken with her in person over the past 12 years. I was lucky to find a parking space--the lot was completely full--but someone was leaving just as I got there. I glanced at my watch and was a bit concerned that it was 20 minutes to noon. My doctor's office closes from noon to 1:30 for lunch (kind of like the courts). How long can it take to make an appointment when I'm right there in person?

So this story has a happy ending (of sorts--the real happy ending will be when I stop coughing). I said, I need to make an appointment because I've had a cough for a month. The girl said would you like to have a morning appointment with Dr. so and so. Remember, it is 20 minutes to Noon. Sure, I say. Have a seat. Five minutes later I'm called in. They weigh me and take my blood pressure (fat and normal). The nurse takes a really long time to check my pulse--I started to wonder if I didn't have one and is that a problem, but she was done and said the doctor would be right in. I pulled out my phone to check my e-mail and the doctor walked right in--I was shocked. I told her my ailments and described how the cough medicine that I was taking made no impact on my cough in the least. She asked about mucuse and I'll spare the details of her descriptive question, but my answer was pretty tame on the subject. And then she said "No one should have a cough for a month. You have a low grade infection and we are going to treat it with antibiotics." Now you probably don't know me well enough to know that I hate antibiotics. I'm opposed to them as a rule. I've refused them on many occasions in which doctors have said, you may have an infection, so we'll give you antibiotics just in case--I say no if it is I "may" have an infection. Do I have one or not. If you don't know, I'm not going to endanger the planet by taking unnecessary antibiotics. But this doctor didn't say that. She asked some very pointed, detailed questions about mucuse, after suggesting musinex (which I informed her did nothing to help my cough) and then she said definitively, "you have an infection." So I have antibiotics--"that's why God invented them," she said. Wow. I am really hopeful that my cough will be gone in three to four days (course of treatment).

I also have a very wierd bruise on my hand. Blood tests to follow--stay tuned.