Doctor Checkup

Logan and I headed down to Lahey Hospital yesterday for my checkup. The hospital was extremely busy. Typically there’s a line before checking in for bloodwork, but once you’re in the waiting room, it’s no time at all. This time, it was almost a 20 minute wait. Longer than pizza delivery! It seems like a rerun, but while we were waiting, I was recognized by one of the phlebotomists who drew my blood when I was in the hospital.

The hepatobiliary waiting room was also packed. Almost no seats available in the waiting room, and the nurses told us they were overbooked on rooms for all the patients. We were put into a room that I never knew existed. A student was shadowing the surgeon during his rounds and had reviewed my file before coming into the secret room. “He reminded me how much you actually went through”, was the surgeon’s introduction. Yes, as time passes, the memories get a little fuzzier, even for me.

We had our normal doctor-patient discussion and when I say normal, it’s normal for us. I wanted to know specific blood results and whether I could drop some medication. He wanted me to go on prednisone, a recurring discussion, and we laughed at him and told him he needed to duke that out with the other doctors. I was made fun of while getting a shot of Neupogen and we had some more laughs. Logan said in another post that going to see the doctors is like a reunion, and it really does feel like that. People kept filing out of their offices because they heard we were in the office and wanted to say hello. Logan and I made our rounds to see some of the other doctors including Logan’s surgeon. I’ve never seen Logan so willing to show someone her scar, but it’s a special relationship she has with her surgeon. They complimented each other on a job well done. At the end of the conversation, he said, “What is that fist bump thing, again?” and they proceeded to perform a special handshake. Who else has convinced their surgeon to have a special handshake?

I love them so much in the hepatobiliary clinic that I’ll be seeing them again next Thursday to check my bloodwork again and get my flu shot.