Doctor visit

I went to see the doctor on Monday, to remove a wart on my finger. Gross, I know. I'd had it removed before - they just sprayed it with the stuff that instantly freezes things, and put a bandaid on it. They said at the time it might grow back, though, because it's by a joint on my finger.

So I arrived at the facility in Hollywood barely on time, and I parked in a big shopping center parking lot that's right next door. At times they've had a guy policing the parking lot for people like me, but that day I didn't see anyone. Yay! I parked and went into the building, where I saw a sign saying not to park in the parking lot next door, as they might TOW YOUR CAR AWAY!

Those of you who've known me (or my blog) for awhile might remember that last Thanksgiving we had soul-twisting experience that is "towing your car away", and since then I've been terrified of repeating it.

So, what should I do? I asked the security guard in the lobby if the sign was true, but she claimed to not know anything about it. Plus, I was late for my appointment, so I hurried inside and hoped that the procedure would be fast.

I checked in at the front desk, then again at the nurses station, and was actually called in very quickly. I explained to the nurse that I was worried about my car, and she said that this doctor (nurse practitioner, actually) was fast. She put me into a room to wait, which overlooked the parking lot and I could see my car!

This made me feel a little better at first, but then I started imagining that every man who walked by was getting my license plate number, and this made me even more nervous.

Then the male nurse walked in, and took a look at my finger. I told him its history, and he said, "Well, I'm not sure that's a wart." as he peered at it through a microscope device. "Then what is it?" I asked, but he didn't answer. Then he announced that he'd take care of it, and I asked, "Oh, are you going to spray it with that freezing stuff?" and he said, "No, I'm going to cut it open and dig it out."

What???

"Well, that sounds just terrible!" I informed him. Then I asked, "Do you think I should move my car?"

He asked why, and I told him. Then he surprised me by saying, "Yes, you'd better go move your car." "Really?" I asked. "Yes," he said with some authority, "you'd better go move it." He said he thinks that the shopping center people have a deal with the towing company for kickbacks, and I think most places that tow are like that.

So I escaped the building and moved my car. As I was moving it, I called K and told him about the doctor visit. "Do you think I should just leave?" I asked him. It was really tempting, and it wouldn't be the first time, either. K asked why, and I told him that I just wasn't prepared for him to "cut it open and dig it out." Someone needs to be prepared for something like that, and I didn't gear myself up for "surgery", just a little freezing. I reminded him that I'd nearly passed out just looking at an X-ray before.

He said, "No, honey, you're already there. Just go let him do it." So I said OK, and bravely went back inside. I had to wait a little while for the Nurse to come back, but not too long. When he came back I told him that I just couldn't look at it, so I pulled a book from my purse and determinedly focused on reading it. He probably thought I looked a little silly, reading a book while someone "operates" on her finger, but I know if I looked at it, it would be a big deal involving smelling salts and lying down.

K was proud of me, being so brave.

Before I went home, I stopped by Children's Hospital, which is only about a block away. KK was there again with her little boy, frustrated because they couldn't go home. After the boy's chemo, he had a fever, so they wouldn't let him go home until it got better. Then, he got a microbacterial something in his "line", and they took it out and were waiting for him to have a clean blood screen for an entire day. Meanwhile, she won't go home and leave him alone, so she'd been there with him for over a week this time.

I guess bravery is in the eyes of the beholder.