Daily Prompt : Symptom

In response to daily post’s one-word prompt : Symptom

A visit to my physician

I remember going to a Physician, his specialty was, Internal Medicine. I was having problems I had no idea what was causing it. He was a very smart Doctor I was told, ‘you only have to describe your symptoms and he’d tell you why you are not well.’

With this assurance I went to see him. He told me to take a seat and let him know how I was feeling. I knew I wasn’t feeling well. But that was not enough for him to diagnose my sickness. I related I was exceptionally tired, when I tried to vacuum the room, I was short of breath, within seconds. I always walked to school, it was only five  minutes from my house. Recently after walking a few steps I felt my legs were exhausted. In my mind something was seriously wrong and to me it was a huge concern.

He listened and after a few minutes, he said,  ” you are suffering from Hypothyroid, and I’m going to take you off for six weeks from work, and I will prescribe  a pill which you’ll have to take for the rest of your life.”

‘It was all right if this magic pill will make me feel better, but how can I take six weeks off from teaching, who will take care of my kids?’ I asked  him.

He looked at me, and in no uncertain terms said, ‘Do not worry about them, your principal will take care of it, in your condition a patient does not get out of bed let alone go to work.’

He sounded serious. I knew my health was more important than work, and the best thing for me was  to rest and get used to the pill which he started with a slow dose and gradually increased it.

………………………………………… 😦

 

Daily Prompt: Take Care

pod-2016-sm.png (308×60)

When you’re unwell, do you allow others to take care of you, or do you prefer to soldier on alone? What does it take for you to ask for help?

Normally if I’m unwell because of a cough or cold, I take care of it myself. There are times I’d like to get help. A while ago I suddenly felt very ill, my legs were tired, I had difficulty breathing, I told my husband I really felt  sick. He of course did not take it seriously, he was of the opinion, I had gained weight therefore all I had to do was to lose the excess weight.

This feeling of being unwell went on for some time. One day  I  told my husband, I was really sick. I explained the symptoms, he got very concerned, he immediately made an appointment for me to see  an internist.

I went to see this physician one day. He looked at me and asked me to tell him in detail, how I felt. As I spoke he listened quietly, when I finished, he told me right away, I had hypothyroid, and I’ll have to take off from my teaching job for six weeks.

I realized it was too long, what will the kids do, if I’m off for so long.  When I told him how I felt about it, he explained I needed rest and I must not worry about the kids, it was the responsibility of the administration to find a substitute to replace me for that period of time.

This was the time I needed help, I could not fix my problem by myself.

……………………………………. 🙂

Daily Prompt: Hear No Evil

pad2015-s1.png (308×60)

Tell us about a conversation you couldn’t help but overhear and wish you hadn’t.

Sometimes when I visit the medical centre for a check up I overhear the conversations between patients and physicians, some discussions are not very positive.This is when I feel I wish I didn’t hear the bad news.

Then in the waiting room at the hospital there are discussions among friends about their in-laws, which is not very nice, those times I do think, I wish their family situation was not made so public.

I’ve had some personal experience, where my sister-in-law would be talking to someone about me. It not only upsets me, I also made up my mind not to talk to her.

……………………………….:)

365 Writing Prompt: Tell us your story

Tell us about a journey — whether a physical trip you took or an emotional one.

This trip was physical as well as emotional. It was one of those trips you hope no one will ever have to take. It was necessary for the family to find out whether there was any hope to get their most important family member get well. The first trip was within the country, where the physician without hesitation gave his verdict, it was pointless to have heart surgery because the patient would not be able to survive it.

Next step was to go somewhere else, the said patient was already too weak to undergo any kind of surgical procedure. The physician treating him was the best one, who admitted it won’t be easy, but he’d be able to operate.

The day of surgery was tense for the family members, on the appointed time the guy came to the hospital room to take the patient to the operating room  for surgery. As he was leaving he said, “do not wait in the hospital, go to your hotel, it will take hours to operate.”

The family members went back to the hotel but came back a few hours later. This is when the waiting game started. All the family members of the patients were leaving with a smile on their faces.

This family had no idea whether the surgery was completed, how was the patient, there was no one to give an answer. At about 10 pm the family was called, the physician showed up and gave his account of how the surgery went. The surgery was successful but the family needed to wait for seventy-two hours, before the physician would be able to say, if the patient will be okay.

After seventy-two hours the family was told the patient will be okay and he’d have to stay in the hospital for a month to recuperate.

A month later the patient was released and was allowed to take the flight home!

……………………………….:)

Writing 101 Day Seven: Give and Take

Today’s prompt: Write a post based on the contrast between two things–whether people, objects, emotions,places or something else.

Today’s twist: Write your post in the form of a dialogue.

There was a hot debate going on between Selfish and Selfless. Each told the other  it was better, I could not help listening in  to their debate.

“I have learned from experience it’s not worth helping anyone, I’m happy taking care of myself,” Said Selfish.

“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself admitting this hideous behavior, what exactly is the privilege  you gain by being like this?” Said Selfless.

“Privilege?”  “well for starters, I do not have to share anything with anyone, I live in this huge mansion, my servants are instructed not to  let anyone in.”Said Selfish.

“And this is how you plan to live your life, what happens when you are sick, no one will come to help you?” Said Selfless.

” I do not need anyone, I have all the medication I need with books to help me what to take when.” Said selfish.

“Oh give me a break, if books and medicine is all you need, why do we have physicians, they prescribe the medicine and tell you to use them with instructions?” Said Selfless.

“I don’t need a physician, I have a state of the art TV, I can switch to any channel and get my instructions from there , I do not  have to go to a physician” Said Selfish.

The discussion was heating up Selfish felt a pain in his chest, he didn’t know what brought it about, he lay down in the nearest couch, he was breathing hard, his servant came running to see what  his master wanted, but the master was having severe pains, therefore he could not find out what he must do.

He ran to Selfless and pleaded with him: “Please sir,” he said, “can you tell me what I must do?”

“Call an ambulance, take him to the nearest hospital.” was his reply.

……………………..

 

365 Writing Prompts: Seven days

You wake up tomorrow morning to find all your plans have been cancelled for the next seven days and $10,000 on your dresser. Tell us about your week.

I was shocked to know my plans for the week were cancelled, what I did not understand how the money on my dresser will compensate for the seven days I will lose.

I sat down to see if I can get another appointment with my physician. The cranky secretary told me, tough luck there is no opening, I have to wait for six months.

Next plan was to go to the hairdresser, she declined to give another appointment, she also found a large sum of money on her dresser, she plans to take a world tour, it is such a golden opportunity she has to use this to travel and relax.

I dislike disappointments, this time I hoped the secretary of the Ophthalmologist will be kind and will give me an appointment within two weeks. She declined saying: “I am sorry but Dr. Macky is booked for all of this year, if you want I can give you an appointment for 2016, remember to ask your family physician for a new  referral.”

Great I thought, now what will I do, suddenly I heard a teeny tiny voice, “Use me, take a trip to Disneyland, you’ll have fun.”

Really I thought take a trip, what about the appointments that are cancelled, I won’t be able to get a new appointment until another several months. I was in a disgusting mood, I yelled. “Why don’t you disappear?”

As soon as I completed my sentence, I saw the dollar bills make a swishy sound and disappeared.

“Well they were not mine in the first place, good they can entertain someone else,” I declared!

alink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/365-writing-prompts-seven-days/

Fiction: Falling

Lillie McFerrin Writes

Jack was a wealthy man, his wife and he made a lot of money in the stock market, they lived a life of luxury they had everything they wanted, they had two beautiful children, Patricia was ten and Nelson was five.

Patricia wanted to be a physician when she grew up, Nelson was too young to decide what he’d like to be, they were a happy family,money was not a problem and they spent it without thinking of the future.

Then came the big crash of the stock market, Jack’s shares in the stock market started falling, he told his wife, “don’t worry it’s only momentary, things will be fine.”

Jack was glued to the TV watching the prices of his shares going down swiftly, he still hoped it’ll come up when the correction is made, things were not looking good, all of Jack’s shares were taking a big hit,he started to panic, who wouldn’t it meant his life of luxury was coming to an end.

His palatial home, expensive cars, and all the assets he thought was his was taken over by the bank, he was unable to pay the mortgage, he ended up losing everything, he and his family had to leave their house and everything in it!

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/fiction-falling/

DP Daily Prompts: Greetings, Stranger

pad2014-s.png (308×60)

You’re sitting at a cafe when a stranger approaches you. This person asks what your name is,you reply. The stranger nods, “I’ve been looking for you.” What happens next?

I’m sitting in “Second Cup” waiting for my cup of coffee, it is crowded, I’m bored so I took out my book which I recently purchased, I read the title,”Atlas Shrugged” what a strange title I thought, I began reading it, told myself not bad, this will take me a while to finish reading, eleven hundred and six pages, wow, I said and looked up to see if the girl was calling me, no she wasn’t but I’m amazed to see someone approaching me, I never saw this woman in my life, what could she want from me. I stay seated and am pretending to look elsewhere, “Hello I hear a rather unusually hoarse voice.”

I look up, she is actually addressing me, “What’s your name, is the first question?

By this time I’m perturbed, “What?” I say, rather impolitely.

I want to know your name, she repeated.

What makes you think, I’ll tell you my name, I’ve never seen you before, I said.

Oh I am so sorry, I should have introduced myself before asking you a question, I was so  thrilled to see you I couldn’t wait to ask you your name, I am your student Heather, I was looking for you to give my good news, I’m finally ready to start studies in the school of medicine. You know how long I tried to get in.

Heather I’m so pleased I said, my name is Ranu. Yes I taught you in grade school, how wonderful to know you’ll prepare yourself to be a physician.

We talked for a while, I told her I was waiting for my coffee, she invited me to go to a restaurant, so we could talk. I found out she was engaged, would be married in a couple of months and I must attend her wedding.

I felt embarrassed I didn’t recognize my former student, she didn’t seem to mind. We had a delicious lunch in”Bistro Sofia” she dropped me off at my house and promised to get in touch with me.

At home I felt glad I went for that coffee I ended up not getting it but was pleased I met Heather, what a beautiful coincidence, is all I told myself!

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/dp-daily-promp…tings-stranger/

365 days Writing Post: Take Care

When You’re unwell , do you allow others to take care of you, or do you prefer to soldier it alone? What does it take for you to ask for help?

I was unwell many times, it was when I ate more hot chillies than anyone else in my family. After a week of eating the hot stuff I’d be so sick from stomach ache,I’d cry lying down, it didn’t help, the excruciating pain made me scream, this was something I could not soldier  alone. I promised I’d stop eating this stuff, a week later I’d eat the hot stuff and get  sick again. I was very young and didn’t believe the  pain will come back if I didn’t stop this bad habit. I knew the cause of my sickness and I was aware only I could stop it if I looked after myself.

Then a time came when I was sick and did not know why. I had severe heart burn, I was short of breath, my legs felt weak when I tried to walk. One day I tried to use the vacuum cleaner to clean the carpet, I turned it on, five minutes into it I felt I was unable to breathe. I told my husband I was feeling very sick, he took one look at me and said, “Nothing is wrong with you you have gained too much weight.”

He was a physician and didn’t take a second to diagnose my problem, in the meantime my condition was getting worse, I was alarmed how ill I felt. I took one last attempt and told my husband, “I’m really sick.”

This time I noticed he was scared, he immediately made an appointment for me to see a physician whose specialty was internal medicine. He was a very good one , he took his time and asked me to tell him my symptoms, he was patient and let me tell him how I was feeling,it took him a few minutes, he told me I was suffering from “Hypothyroidism”. According to him patients with this condition cannot get out of bed, he was amazed I was teaching. He gave me a piece of paper to give to the principal, where he advised I should be  off from teaching for six weeks. My immediate reaction was, “What about my kids?”

He gave one look at me and said, ” It’s your principal’s problem not yours.”

The pill he prescribed helped . I was able to carry on my work without any problem.

ink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/365-days-writi…post-take-care/

 

Memories

I grew up in a family of five, Mom,Dad , me and my two brothers. We were a happy family. My parents loved us and helped us when we needed them. My Dad was a surgeon and Mom was a teacher.

Our school was near our home,we were able to walk to school. My mom taught in the same school. Everyday we gathered together and watched TV shows . Mom and Dad loved the children’s shows.

We’d sit and do our homework in the evening, Mom helped us if we had problems.

We lived in a small town,there were seven thousand people. Most of the people knew us because of my parents jobs.

On week-ends we helped Mom with baking breads and cookies. We helped by tasting and gave our opinion.

Then something terrible happened. My Dad agreed to bring in his cousin’s children. He thought they’d get better education here. Mom had to work extra hours because of the two addition in our family.

We grumbled, Dad ignored us. I noticed my Dad was giving them more attention than us. I told my friends how these two have taken over our house. They sided with us, they said, “Get rid of them.” I know it was easy to say it.

At the end of the school  year those two cousins went home to spend summer holidays with their parents. We breathed a sigh of relief at least we thought we’d have peace for two months.

At the end of three years,they graduated and left. I was  glad because now I thought Mom and Dad would pay more attention to us.

One day I told my Dad let’s watch the comedy show, I taped , it seemed funny I wanted Dad to watch it with me. A guy was showing off a book he published. His friend didn’t seem to be interested. I tried hard to understand what he  was saying I thought he spoke with marbles in his mouth ,it sounded like Audrey Hepburn in ,”My Fair Lady.” Good gracious I thought at least in the movie the professor repeated the sentences, here I thought it sounded like a whole lot of gibberish.  I was curious I went  and played the tape a  few times, I got it I told my dad,” He said anaseptic frasmotic, pericombobulation.” 

“Really, what does it mean?”

“It means  , I’m sorry if I said anything to upset you.” It was a light hearted comedy. We enjoyed it.

Time was passing faster than I wanted. My brothers  left. I missed them. I found myself hanging out with Dad. Sometimes we played board games or listened to the news. My Dad’s favorite show was watching news. I’d spend half hour with him, then move on to do some work on my computer.

Life was good. One day  Dad asked, “What would you like to do after you finish your education?” I had no idea, what would be best. While I thought about it  he said, “You should work as a programmer.”

“Programmer? No Dad It’s a boring job, besides sitting in front of a computer is tough, I want to do something else.”

“Like what Dad asked?”

“Acting I said, I like it ,my teachers told me I’d excel in it.”

Dad was quiet,I saw his facial expression changing. I could not tell  what he was thinking.

Next day he told me, he knows what I should do. “Tell me now”, I was excited.

Well he said  , “go to medical school, You’d be a perfect physician you’re kind and thoughtful, the world needs you.”

I was unhappy I didn’t like Dad’s choice. We decided to take our time and  decide what was good for me.

The months that followed  were stressful. Dad became very quiet,  I often wondered what was going on in his mind.

One day he came dressed and sat beside me. I felt Dad would tell me something. He only said, “let’s go for a walk .” I was overjoyed I thought Dad wouldn’t push me to  medical school. We walked to the park,he told me to sit on the bench and wait, he’d be back soon.  I sat there and waited,but he never came back.

This is my entry for SPEAKEASY #146

Word count: 707