unroutine check up

it's been YEARS since i've had a regular physical and for the most part i've done fine without it. however, during a recent bout of coughing that persisted for weeks, i decided it was important to have a primary care physician that i could go to for whatever odd ailments arose.

my appointment day finally came- i was scheduled for 3PM. the office was a shared doctors/optometrist office. the reception room was cramped and a bit dingy. i checked in and after filling out all my paperwork the reception explained that there were two patients ahead of me. i mentally prepared to wait. afterall, it would be abnormal to go to a medical appointment and not have to wait, right?

3:15
3:30
3:45

the medical assistant asked to see my insurance card and asked me to pay for the co-pay. she looked at me apologetically and assured me that the doctor would be ready for me in 15 minutes.

4:00
4:15

my temper began to flare up as i heard the doctor chit chatting with the staff. after she i asked the medical assistant how much longer the wait would be as i had to get back to work. just 15 minutes, she said. sensing my frustration, the assistant took me to the room adjacent to my doctor's office which turned out to be the optometrist's office. she checked my temperature, heart rate, blood presure, and blood oxygen level. next i was lead into the real doctor's office where i was hooked up-all matrix like- to a blood flow tester.

4:30.

finaly, the doctor comes into the room with a chinese man. i pull my shift closed tighter and look around awkwardly. she talks with the chinese man for awhile about checks and bills and he finally leaves the room. i can't help but feel anxious and i mentally picture the piles of emails that are building up at work. she is a very petite woman in her 50's/60's with short, dark brown hair and wearing a full chinese ensemble. she makes conversation- asks me about my family, tells me how she was an activist during the vietnam war, talks about her daughter, etc. all i really want her to do is get to business.

4:45

my phone rings

em: are you ok?

v: oh, hey sorry. i just got into see my doctor. sorry i'm gonna be here for a bit longer.

em: you should just go home afterwards.

v: no no, i have too much work to do. i'll see you in a bit.

i hang up.

dr: oh, i'm sorry we're running so late today. usually we are more organized, but we are in the process of moving, etc. next time just call ahead and see where we are with the appointments.

v: oh ok. urm, isn't that what an appointment is for?

the doctor proceeds to check my heart, pulse, etc. she notes that my heart rate pattern is abnormal and asks me if i ever get heart palpitations or murmurs. finally, she suggests that i take an echocardiogram. she calls the chinese man, who turns out to be a visiting doctor from china, into the room. she explains that he'll be performing the echocardiogram. then she leaves the room.

wtf??? i thought there always had to be another female in the room for medical exams. the whole POINT of choosing a female doctor is so i don't have to deal with male physicians. ugh. i am told to lay down on my side as he uses this probe covered with gel to look at my heart. the procedure takes about 10 minutes but feels like much longer. and i'm not a happy camper.

the appointment is wrapped up. my doctor asks me to go get a series of other tests done in a nearby lab and follow up in a couple weeks. i ask dr li if my heart seems ok. he says it is probably "ok" but my dr will have the final word. so all in all, instead of feeling better, i leave my appointment with 2 more appointments to make and the sensation that something might be wrong with me. this is why i don't go to the doctor.