It all started so innocently yesterday morning with my need of a to-go cup of hot tea, a little chai perhaps. I did what I do frequently and put the kettle on the stove and went back upstairs to finish getting ready. You see the high schools here start at the crack of dawn so I had to be at school at 7 and had to leave home about 6:30, so it was still dark. As the kettle blows I head downstairs without glasses or light (I had been putting on make-up). I made it as far as the lading...I was almost there home free but no...it wasn't meant to be because there were still two steps left, and I had forgotten them. I stepped into the air and for a second I am pretty sure I was flying, suspended in air, living life and loving it. That's when it happened I fell to the ground straight on my ankle. I heard snaps and I cried out with intense pain. The 1 foot free fall was over and the pain was setting in. I sat on the kitchen floor for a moment. The tea kettle sill whistling. My boys all around me concerned about my well being giving me licks and paws to shake for comfort. It was at that time I began to wonder if J would have heard my fall or the tea kettle. I quickly received my answer...and the answer was silence. He sleeps like a log I knew he wouldn't wake up, so I being the strong woman I am, picked myself up and went back up the stairs to finish getting ready for work. Now one might think that it must not have been that bad, but I was in serious pain and a little confused about what to do. As a sub I needed to leave in about 5 min and I didn't think it would be that bad.
Driving to work was excruciating, and the day of work was long and tedious. I first sent a couple girls to the sports trainer for some ice. Then I decided to go to the nurse. There was a little swelling and bruising and she was confident that I should see someone because surely it could be broken. The rest of the day was uneventful...more nurse ice and students asking what happened. However, the school people really didn't seemed concerned about my pain. I'm sure their thoughts were stupid sub just trying to get out of work. So I stayed the whole day. That high school is now last on my list for considering a job for next year.
The final chapter in this saga plays out at the Oak Ridge Minor Emergency Clinic. Where I was sure I needed to go and get my foot checked out. J was convinced I had a sprained ankle and that this may not be necessary, but not quite confident enough to talk me out of spending an excessive amount of money to have a professional back up his suspicions. So we waited, and waited about 45 minutes in the waiting room until finally my name was called. Eureka that is a good feeling because one might think that it was almost over. Then we went to that evil place they call the exam room...where the nurse took my vitals and discussed my symptoms. Due to my lack of good insurance I also asked the nurse if I could talk to the doctor about the new quit smoking drug. I thought it would be best to kill two birds with one stone. After all I had just paid my $115 to see the doctor. I might as well make it worth my while. We waited and waited and waited for another hour before the doctor came to see me. She poked around and pushed the ankle too and fro and requested an x-ray.
Then she said...so you want to quit smoking "How much do you smoke a day?" I answered honestly "3 to 5 cigarettes a day sometimes more sometimes less." Her response to that was, "Well that isn't very much...here is the kicker...the stupid question...have you ever tried quitting?" To which I responded "Yes, quite a few times without success, I am just very good at cutting back. " "Well have you tried the patch?" she asked, "No, I just heard this has been very successful for some people." Well she didn't know how much the new medicine cost she just didn't seem to think that I shouldn't be able to quit. However, she did prescribe the Chantix for me just in case. This people I paid $12.48 for because I was receiving smoking counseling. That was my counseling...huh, you haven't been able to quit.
The x-ray tech came to my rescue quickly and we were in and out of that area pretty quick. Once my x-rays were completed we waited some more for the doctor to look at them. She stated there doesn't seem to be a break, but they send them out for an official check and the results will probably be back on Friday. Then we waited some more for the nurse to come in with the splint and crutches for my sprained ankle. A while later the nurse returned with child size crutches which were too small for even me. She wrapped my ankle put a gel support on it and went to find crutches that actually fit me. Yeah they were out of crutches, so she handed me my bill and sent me to the front desk. The woman there did not know how to charge me for some of my "help", so she promptly left to find help...it took 20-30 minutes for us to actually get checked out.
Moral of the story...after 3 hours...$265...drug counseling...and quite a bit of pain. I was diagnosed with Tobacco Abuse and a Sprained Ankle (yes this was on the receipt). I left the doctors office without crutches with a prescription for 500 mg Aleve and Ultram some sort of pain medicine...clearly not anything too great.
Driving to work was excruciating, and the day of work was long and tedious. I first sent a couple girls to the sports trainer for some ice. Then I decided to go to the nurse. There was a little swelling and bruising and she was confident that I should see someone because surely it could be broken. The rest of the day was uneventful...more nurse ice and students asking what happened. However, the school people really didn't seemed concerned about my pain. I'm sure their thoughts were stupid sub just trying to get out of work. So I stayed the whole day. That high school is now last on my list for considering a job for next year.
The final chapter in this saga plays out at the Oak Ridge Minor Emergency Clinic. Where I was sure I needed to go and get my foot checked out. J was convinced I had a sprained ankle and that this may not be necessary, but not quite confident enough to talk me out of spending an excessive amount of money to have a professional back up his suspicions. So we waited, and waited about 45 minutes in the waiting room until finally my name was called. Eureka that is a good feeling because one might think that it was almost over. Then we went to that evil place they call the exam room...where the nurse took my vitals and discussed my symptoms. Due to my lack of good insurance I also asked the nurse if I could talk to the doctor about the new quit smoking drug. I thought it would be best to kill two birds with one stone. After all I had just paid my $115 to see the doctor. I might as well make it worth my while. We waited and waited and waited for another hour before the doctor came to see me. She poked around and pushed the ankle too and fro and requested an x-ray.
Then she said...so you want to quit smoking "How much do you smoke a day?" I answered honestly "3 to 5 cigarettes a day sometimes more sometimes less." Her response to that was, "Well that isn't very much...here is the kicker...the stupid question...have you ever tried quitting?" To which I responded "Yes, quite a few times without success, I am just very good at cutting back. " "Well have you tried the patch?" she asked, "No, I just heard this has been very successful for some people." Well she didn't know how much the new medicine cost she just didn't seem to think that I shouldn't be able to quit. However, she did prescribe the Chantix for me just in case. This people I paid $12.48 for because I was receiving smoking counseling. That was my counseling...huh, you haven't been able to quit.
The x-ray tech came to my rescue quickly and we were in and out of that area pretty quick. Once my x-rays were completed we waited some more for the doctor to look at them. She stated there doesn't seem to be a break, but they send them out for an official check and the results will probably be back on Friday. Then we waited some more for the nurse to come in with the splint and crutches for my sprained ankle. A while later the nurse returned with child size crutches which were too small for even me. She wrapped my ankle put a gel support on it and went to find crutches that actually fit me. Yeah they were out of crutches, so she handed me my bill and sent me to the front desk. The woman there did not know how to charge me for some of my "help", so she promptly left to find help...it took 20-30 minutes for us to actually get checked out.
Moral of the story...after 3 hours...$265...drug counseling...and quite a bit of pain. I was diagnosed with Tobacco Abuse and a Sprained Ankle (yes this was on the receipt). I left the doctors office without crutches with a prescription for 500 mg Aleve and Ultram some sort of pain medicine...clearly not anything too great.
