"Is this what has to happen to get you to write in your blog?"
I thought about it for a second, and I answered my mom, "Yes! I'm going to write about this in my blog. Yes, I promise I'll write about this in my blog."
I was speaking from behind a surgical mask. About ten or fifteen minutes earlier we arrived Dana Farber and the receptionist asked if I was experiencing any cold or flu symptoms. There was no way I could hide it. My voice was incredibly hoarse and my nose was running.
"How did you guess?" I replied.
"Oh, well we ask that you wear this mask while you're here."
Ugh. How embarrassing. They gave me this ridiculous surgical mask to wear while everyone else with a cough or a sniffle either lied or waltzed right past the receptionist because she was only asking patients! Come on. For every patient there is at least one or two supporters, and the statistical likelihood that I was the only person in that waiting room with a communicable disease was quite low. Yet I was the only one wearing a stupid mask. So, there I sat, looking like a SARS patient and grumbling about it the entire time. When I went to get my vitals taken, they even used a special ear thermometer instead of the one that goes in my mouth. Cue the eye roll. I don't handle these things gracefully, in case you didn't know.
As I sat there, fuming, my mom tried to lighten the situation by asking if I would blog about it, and here I am. A promise is a promise, even if the incident did happen over a month ago.
The whole time I couldn't help but think about how these other cancer patients deal with the real world. I mean, when they go to the grocery store do they ask the cashier to put on a mask? (I think I may have said this aloud a couple of times). I think if you happen to have a depressed immune system, it's your job to make sure you don't catch anything from anyone else. Ask me how I feel about it when I'm on the other side of the surgical mask. Gosh I hope I feel the same way so I'm not a hypocrite.
The irony is, I'm pretty sure I got sick at the doctor's office the week before. The good news is, they've started asking if anyone that arrives with the patient has cold or flu symptoms. The fantastic news is, I didn't have cold or flu symptoms the last time I went to the doctors office, so I didn't have to wear the stupid surgical mask again.
1 comment:
I work with hospital software and one of my contacts in IT at a hospital refused to get the H1N1 shot as it might jeopardize her health in terms of a chronic disease she was battling. So I knit her "the swine flu" mask as the hospital administration required that she wear a mask if she refused the shot. All the doctors were quite amused!
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