#i got to see an actually competent doctor last night! who gave me a prescription for birth control meds that aren't super off-brand! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

betweentheracks · 3 years

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Heyo! Not to be too nosy here but you mentioned you're in bad health and recovering, and I just wondered what happened? Also how would it impact your career since, from how you've made it all seem thus far, it's a highly active and demanding job?

Hope you take care and get well! You appear quite strong and not like you'd take whatever has happened just lying down, so here's to you!! 🙏💓

No sweat and no worries here, I dont find this particularly invasive. If anything, I'm flattered you care to ask after me lol. 😁

A few weeks back I met a friend I hadn't seen in some time for lunch. This was against my better sense of caution that I've held firmly to throughout the pandemic, but I would feel regretful and dismissive if I didnt agree to see her while I had the chance. I should've listened my gut and stayed safely at work because this "friend" failed to mention she had tested positive (she knew already by the time of our lunch date, she has since admitted) and had figured since she had no symptoms there was no harm in being in public.

FF only a few days later and I was feeling a little unwell but had put it off as an effect of the winter blast that had just hit where I live. I'd spent half a day out in the cold and snow for a photoshoot only the day before and thought it was probably due to that since I'm susceptible to weather influenced head colds and bronchitis. Fortunately, my job mandates a rigid COVID-19 screening twice a week due to our high profile clientele and as an assurance of health and safety for us all. Mine read back with a positive and with the way I had been feeling I was immediately sent home and the company closed its doors while the building was sterilized and our clients notified.

Thankfully I managed not to infect anyone I work with nor my son. Regrettably, I did infect my best friend since we're horrifically incapable of maintaining personal space and have weak shit immune systems. We both agree it is a wonder we made it this far into plague times without it catching us.

So I went and got looked over and sent on my way with my prescription of potent anti-virals and steroids. I was well prepared to abide the quarantine guidelines and had sent my son to my mother's home for the duration so that he was out of the danger zone. It was fine, I was kinda cool and keen on getting a few days to myself to rest up and all that jazz. But it wasn't meant to last and I found trouble in the form of being unable to remain conscious much at all and would pass out constantly. After a few times of this I gave my brother (he's a doctor and vaccinated) a ring and told him that my fatigue was no joke dude and needed him to come give me a better once over than the one I'd gotten before bc I was sure I was not meant to feel this badly. He found me unconscious in the shower that night, my head battered from crashing to the basin.

After ensuring I wasn't concussed and jokes on what a hard head I have to take such a beating and show no signs of registering it beyond bruising (a joke between us due to him having once accidentally put a golf club into my forehead and fracturing my skull but that's a different story) he told me to call him regularly so that he can review how I feel and the progression of my symptoms and left. By the morning I had already had two more instances of sudden fatigue and collapsing in on myself. I had been posting on my main blog here about how I was doing and due to this I caught the concern of @peekbackstage and upon their suggestion to have my O2 levels tested it was revealed that I was having issues with my blood not circulating oxygen as it should and nearing hypoxia.

Here's the rub. I have a heart condition that is already very dangerous and bleak which limits my heart's capability of delivering blood through my body as it should. Cardiomyopathy or, as it seems better known, congestive heart failure. I've had surgery for it and it has been a while since it caused me any real issues as long as I stick to my routine of care and manage my health, but when COVID-19 infiltrated my body it immediately snagged upon this weak heart of mine and sank its fangs in.

Within a day of being admitted to the hospital I had a grand mal seizure due to the constant fluctuations of oxygen in my blood and the way my body was working double time to supplement for it. And only 2 days after that and when my nervous system had finally quieted down, I went into full cardiac arrest with a heart attack at my young age.

My next weeks were spent connected to machines doing more for me than my own body could. I developed pneumonia in my lungs, acute though it was it was still another complication that my wrecked body had to overcome as it made my already ragged breathing even worse. I was steadily shedding muscle tone and definition due to a lack of mobility and the fact that my body felt like a deadweight I could hardly take command of, and generally very weakened. My heart, the horrible thing, was inflamed and trying too hard by beating too fast, too hard.

FF some more and I was doing fairly well and treatments were showing some improvement. My heart was still being an ugly and gnarled beast in my chest and throwing weird spikes on the monitor that raised alarms. The pneumonia was retreating and I had no further seizures. It was the dawning light of my first signs that I was recovering!

It took a while more and so fucking many tests day in and day out for me get cleared for release. I tested negative for COVID-19 and was ashamed that I actually forgot that that was why I was even in the hospital to begin with, given all that happened. I have to undergo physical therapy and counseling; PT for heart happy exercises as well as to manage to my depleted muscles, counseling bc I was rocked mentally from all the almost dying and the depressive haze of being holed up in the hospital and surrounded by people who, like me, came in with COVID-19 but unlike me did not come out of it.

I'm home now. I had to have a pacemaker implanted and must stay vigilant for any showing that my heart is not performing as it should. I still have some severe inflammation and chest restriction in my airways as well as my blood vessels but nothing too daunting. I also have a full battalion of prescriptions, most for my heart, and a nebulizer to ease any breathing issues. The worst is honestly that I still am very weak and have severely limited reserves of energy.

My job is required to make me take 12 weeks of leave for rest and recuperation. This is very upsetting since I had been requested by name to be an assistant stylist at the Grammys this year which is truly a dream (especially with BTS in the mix 😩😩) and also bc I'm just a workaholic by nature and love my job. When I return I am expected to learn how to properly delegate tasks that do not directly require me to handle and slow down the pacing of my projects. My boss terminated a contract with a client that was nearing the scheduled end of our agreement and was also incredibly problematic to help lighten my workload. It's imperative that I reign in my stress levels or my heart will not last until the next surgery I'll need, so I'm gritting my teeth and letting my job be picked apart to reduce my responsibilities.

My post awaits my return but I will not be returning to full activity for a while after, which means no rifling through the racks for hours alongside the archivists in search of the perfect piece. I'll be welcome to meet with my clients and oversee the glam teams, will still be the command tower for final verdicts on which styles to use. But I will not be running around showrooms nor personally handling matters any competent trainee could be tasked with like I've always done. I will no longer be able to fly out anywhere for destination shoots or fashion shows.

If, after my next surgery, things are better and my heart stable to the point that they are hopeful of things will be reevaluated. While it is difficult beyond measure for me to relinquish the reigns of my career and be restricted in what I can do now, I am very thankful to be alive and upright when that wasn't a certainty just a little while ago. This is such a humbling experience to have survived when my stats kept dropping every day. I've been told to expect that I will never make a full 100% recovery and to expect to stall out around the 70%-90% range, with 70% being the most realistic.

My best friend (the one I gave the plague to) will be moving in with me so that I am never on my own if things go tits up and to assist in wrangling a toddler since I am currently without the energy to do so as my child is, sincerely, a crazy gremlin spawn with limitless battery life. Slowly, my life will regain some normalcy 💖

#racks asks #personal and long winded - read at own risk

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lexpressobean · 3 years

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Parent/Teacher Night

In which Shikamaru steps in as Mirai's guardian to help her complete her unofficial assignment of the night and subsequently suffers from nostalgia induced shock from unforeseen circumstances.

**Modern AU, Mild Swearing, late 20-something adults who simply care about the same 10-year-old kid lol

Edit: Now available on AO3 too!

•••

Shikamaru had gladly accepted Kurenai's request for him to attend Parent-Teacher night with Mirai in her absence. It had been his day off after all, and he hadn't planned anything anyway. Plus, it'd only take, what, half an hour at most back and forth? Maybe he could even treat Mirai to dinner, just 'cause it had been a while. Normally, Kurenai would have skipped it all together due to her schedule, just this one time, but apparently Mirai's teacher was offering extra credit to the students as an incentive for them to have their parents come. And Mirai was very adamant that she shouldn't waste such an opportunity. Not for this teacher.

Shikamaru wondered what seemed to make this teacher so special to Mirai anyway. When he asked, Mirai seemed confused.

"You don't know, Shikamaru?"

"... Well, it's not like I've met the teacher either Mirai. But this teacher must be really good at their job if you like them that much already."

Mirai gave him a gleeful grin, "Watch, you'll see!"

And see he did.

Shikamaru wasn't expecting to run into such a classicaly "tall, dark, and handsome" form in the classroom. He certainly wasn't expecting that man to BE the teacher.

"Shino-sensei!" Mirai called, running over to greet him.

And at that, something froze Shikamaru in place. Something almost urgent... Wait... Shino? Shino... Why did that name sound familiar...?

The teacher turned just in time to take her glomp's impact with a deep, "OOF!" into his abdomen, and Shikamaru got distracted by the sound of his voice. Wow, deep... but then Shikamaru noticed his glasses misaligned in the process, and Shikamaru then realized they were... sunglasses? Indoors? Ha, this guy... Shikamaru wasn't necessarily gonna dock him points for that. But the only other person Shikamaru remembers doing that unironically was-

...

... Oh wait...

Oh... Wait.

OH. OH, HOLY SHIT!?

WAIT, THAT'S SHINO!? AS IN "SHINO ABURAME" SHINO!?!?!?

...

W H A T ! ?

"Ah... Mirai, hello. I thought you and your mother weren't coming. I told you it's okay, sometimes people can't come."

"Shikamaru came with me! I didn't want to miss the extra credit!"

"Shikamaru?"

"He's technically my godfather, so it counts, right?"

Shino stayed quiet for a moment and looked over towards the doorway where Shikamaru was still standing. As he recognized Shikamaru, Shino straightened up, gave a brief wave and... a smile?

Shikamaru was dumbfounded. Just a minute ago, he would've simply held up an open hand in response as he subtley and respectfully checked him out. Seriously, how could he not? But, now the movement of Shino's wave snapped him out of his thoughts and Shikamaru probably waved more than really needed to acknowledge the teacher. And he cursed at himself inwardly as soon as Shino looked back to Mirai. Was he blushing? It was feeling kinda hot in the classroom all of a sudden...!

"Alright Mirai, thank-you for coming, but for now please wait your turn, okay?"

"Alright!" Mirai walked back to Shikamaru, smiling widely proud of herself.

From far away, he could hear Shino's voice, "Sorry for the interruption. You see-"

"Surprise, Shikamaru!"

Mirai knew. This whole time. And the more he thought about it, Shikamaru at one point knew too. He just... simply forgot... Wow, what a thing to forget. Damn it, why didn't Shikamaru ask more questions earlier? Why didn't she just tell Shikamaru? Hell, why didn't KURENAI tell Shikamaru!?

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

As Mirai led Shikamaru around the classroom, he started to try and recall more about Shino. It was all coming to him, slowly but surely. And if what he recalled was correct, this neat and organized classroom definitely would scream Shino. It was decorated with the typical posters meant to be both fun and helpful, and colorful and eye catching. Shikamaru even recognized many of the books in the shelves, though most he never actually read any of them. But there were traces of decorations here and there that were definitely conscious choices. Namely pictures of worms in apples, ladybugs, ants and bees symbolizing teamwork, things like that. Shino was a fan of bugs afterall.

Then Shikamaru found some board games and noted shogi was among them. He was tempted for a split second to pull it out and challenge Mirai to a game, but thought better of it. But what Mirai was most eager to show Shikamaru was her seat. Or rather, what was nearly right next to her seat.

In a terrarium, no doubt from Shino's collection if Kiba told him the truth, held a black and white worm. Except the worm had these orange like eye markings all along either side if it, and black dots in each eye shape... Shikamaru thought it looked kinda goth for a bug.

"We all decided to name it Daidai! Shino-sensei says this one will turn into a moth. Before Daidai, we had a catepillar we all named Marugao, because it's head was so big! But when he became a butterfly, he was so pretty, he almost shimmered!"

As Mirai gushed about how she got to sit next to Daidai, Shikamaru stole a glance at Shino once more. He was still making rounds, and it looked like no one else had come into the classroom either. Hm, looks like they were gonna be last.

Sunglasses had always hid Shino's eyes, ever since they were kids. Shikamaru couldn't quite recall if they were actually prescription or not, but up to this point, they had always been a constant. Otherwise... his former classmate really was virtually unrecognizable. And now that he thought about it, Shikamaru recalled that Shino had graduated from university with a teaching degree some years back, but this information had only been secondhand from Kiba on social media. Shikamaru wasn't even sure if Shino had social media...

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had barely been back in town for still less than a year. It wasn't his fault if he didn't know Shino's business. Medical school was gruelling, and anesthesia was no joke.

But still... Shikamaru had been expecting something similar from Shino. Maybe not a medical doctor, but a doctorate? Hadn't he been in the Environmental Club in high school? He seemed like he would've been very interested in the natural sciences, and definitely had the means... It was just kind if odd. He was an academic star that was always competing with both Ino and Sakura for top of the class as far as he could remember. And those ladies had gone to school to become a Pediatric Psychiatrist and Pediatric Surgeon respectively too. They were all a smart bunch, no doubt about that.

Yet, Shino had always been... different too. He had looked like a troublemaker with the beanies he wore, and his messy, nearly kinky curls always managed to find a way to stick out in the back. And he always had baggy looking clothing on in layers during any kind of weather. Plus he had a bad case of RBF Syndrome too, which would alarm a few others because he was always so good at blending into the background, yet when noticed, he looked like the kind of guy that would mess you up for just breathing funny. He had always been taller than most too, that probably didn't help.

But he wasn't a bad kid at all. Not like Naruto and Kiba anyway. Acording to Kiba, Shino's loner tendencies were due to simple shyness. And he would know, as Kiba and Shino seemed to grow close after they opted to join the Environmental Club separately in high school, which happened to be run by Kurenai-sensei. And that's all Shikamaru really knew, because when Kiba would come out and about Shino hardly ever came. Kiba could be pushy, which is how Shikamaru suspected the pair became friends in the first place, but apparently not enough to enjoy a party or things like that together outside of school... Maybe once or twice? Not even at Naruto's insistence could make him a regular, as Naruto was... an "unofficial" member of the Environment Club. Meaning he'd just crash the club's outings when they did plant specific activities. Naruto had a green thumb after all.

Actually, it always seemed like Kiba and Naruto were those extroverts that had the habit of adopting introvert friends so to speak. Funnily enough, their respective adoptees had already known each other too. But Sasuke was even LESS friendlier than Shino, and even Shino seemed annoyed with him, one of those rare times he let his thoughts show in his expression...

But today, in the yellowish glow of the classroom lights... something was definitely different. From his smoothed out hair tied up into modern bun on his hatless head and his open, light duty trenchcoat that really... accentuated his very... broad, adult figure... It was most definitely different... but the most dynamic change of all had to be that Shikamaru had never seen Shino so soft in the face before. Behind those shades, he looked... relaxed, and when he spoke, it sounded so... nice? Definitely not a bad thing at all...

And suddenly there was a hand in front of Shikamaru's face.

"-kamru...Shikamaru?"

"HUH!? What?"

... Oh... Hell, he spaced out.

"... Shikamaru, are you okay? Busy day at work at the hospital maybe?"

HUH!? How did Shino know that? "Uh! Yeah, kinda..." he shook his head, "Well no, that's not it, today was actually my day off. I worked yesterday. Still a little out of it looks like," he added with a casual chuckle. At least he hoped he sounded casual.

Shino frowned, eyebrows knit into concern. Ah man, how embarrassing! Had Shikamaru been caught starting with a dopey look on his face?

"... I'm sorry, maybe extra credit was a bad idea this time around. Mirai is so dutiful, I didn't mean for anyone to be dragged here."

"What? No way, I wasn't dragged here. Mirai is my Goddaughter, Shino, so I'm perfectly ready to be informed about her progress. I agreed to come, it's no big deal."

The now teacher looked at Shikamaru with a slight head tilt to the right... And then another small smile. Wow, he really had to stop doing that!

"Well, all in all, Mirai is actually doing very well. She already excels in her studies and is easily one of our most engaged and top students at this time. She's still young, but she shows a lot of scholarly promise."

"Ah, I see. Do... do you see any areas in need of improvement?"

"Well, there's always room for improvement of course. But in Mirai's case..."

Shino looked over at Mirai who was at the snack table. She had walked over to get a couple of cookies and was seemingly cornered by a classmate into a chat.

"... I think, she could benefit from some encouragement to be more social."

"More social?"

Shikamaru followed Shino's gaze and saw Mirai talking to her classmate, her expression showing patience more than anything... It looked like the other little girl was chatting up a storm.

"Don't misunderstand, she's definitely a team player and is very respectful. However, her maturity level is above many of her classmates. As a result, she tends to prefer to study on her own..."

Well, that rang a bell. Shikamaru could've sworn that Shino was the same way back then. But Mirai didn't resemble Shino at all.

"Is she quiet?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, no, thankfully she's still quite engaged. If anything, sometimes she may overthink things. I've noted she's a bit of a perfectionist, and so is actually a little slower on average during tests, but she's an avid question asker too. If she just had some more confidence in her self and would... relax a little more, I think it'd be good for her. She's still a kid after all, she should feel allowed to act like one."

That was a strange thing to say... Did Mirai... not feel okay?

"... She's Kurenai-sensei's daughter, so I try not to favor her. It's kind of hard when she used to ride on my shoulders during reunions and things like that though."

Shino gives a small, warm smile in Mirai's direction. And Shikamaru is kind of touched. Despite the shades, his fondness for Mirai is so obvious. It makes Shikamaru glad to know she has Shino to come to during school time. At least that was something....

Then, Shino turned back to Shikamaru, who was TOTALLY not staring just now.

"But it's necessary. She's... too comfortable with me... If earlier didn't make that obvious."

Shikamaru did have it in his mind to scold Mirai about that, but that was a talk for later. More private.

"I had meant to bring this up with Kurenai, but Mirai also... has had a habit of staying in the classroom during lunch and recess. I've had to move to the teacher's lounge during just to get her outside..."

"What? Really?"

Shino nodded, eyebrows knitted and a smile that showed a regretful sympathy.

"... I wonder what that could be about..."

"I suppose some kids find it hard to socialize, but she needs a more... balanced perception of boundries. In no time, she'll have her own mother for a teacher too. Otherwise, she's generally doing pretty well."

Shit. Shino was thinking way ahead, Kurenai was a high school teacher. But... he was right, this couldn't be allowed to go on.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Did you have any more questions?"

"Uh... No, I... don't think so. But, even though I'm sure you don't have to be asked, please, continue to take care of her."

Shino perked up a little at that before smiling at Shikamaru again! It made it hard to stare him in the face, "Of course."

... Damn... Was Shino's smile... always this cute?

"Shikamaru! I brought you a cookie."

"Oh, thank-you."

"Did you want one too Buggy... I mean... Shino... sensei?"

"... Buggy?" Shikamaru repeated.

"... Ah, Sensei I'm sorry, I did it again...!"

Shino pat Mirai's head, and gave a small chuckle even. Shikamaru was all ears, "It's okay Mirai, I'm know you're trying. No offense taken."

"I really am, I promise!" she assured, "So did you want one?"

"No thank-you Mirai, it's for the guests. You go ahead."

"Okay, sensei."

Shikamaru couldn't help it. He just had to say something.

"Hey Shino."

"Yes?"

"You must be pretty suited to teaching."

"Oh? What makes you sat that?"

"I mean... It's been a while. Actually it's been a long time, but... well, I don't think I've ever seen you quite like this before..."

"Pardon?"

"I dunno, you just seem... Very much in your element here. I'm glad the whole instructor thing really worked out. You've been here for a few years already, haven't you?

"Oh... Thank-you, Shikamaru... And yes, I have. I appreciate that."

This time Shino GRINNED. And Shikamaru suddenly was very aware of his... jawline... uh...

"Y-Yeah, of course! Well, I'm sure there's other parents you need to talk to..."

"Right, that is true." A couple more stragglers had come in.

"But here, hold on a sec," Shikamaru pulled out his phone, "I don't think we've ever traded information before. Wanna trade now? I'll send you a text back."

"Oh," Shino was a bit surprised, "Um. Okay, sure."

After getting his number, Shikamaru sent a text and could hear one of Shino's pockets vibrate.

"There, all set! Thanks for talking with me, Shino."

"Thank-you for coming. And if you're not terribly busy, I trust you will be the one to come when Kurenai-sensei is unavailable?"

"Yes. Yes, that'll be the plan," Shikamaru decided right then and there.

"Alright, thank-you Shikamaru."

"No, thank-you. C'mon Mirai, let's go. Goodbye, Shino.

"Bye Shino-sensei!"

"Goodbye."

"Shikamaru! Can we go eat something? I'm starving!"

"What do you want?"

"Yakisoba!!"

"Haha, alright, sure."

Mirai gave Shikamaru a sudden and huge hug.

"Whoa, what's up?"

"I'm just so happy you came, Shikamaru! So thank-you!" she beamed.

It tugged on Shikamaru's heartstrings a bit. She really had missed him, huh? "You don't have to thank me, Mirai, but your welcome anyway. C'mon, let's go."

"It was nice that you and Shino-sensei got to see each other again too, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, it was quite the surprise. But a welcomed one."

Hmmm... It looks like Kurenai was gonna have to be unavailable for the next few parent-teacher nights....

••

I kept tweaking it and tweaking it until I decided to simply stop. So sorry for any grammar or syntax errors, but I just needed to get this out of my system haha

#shikashino #anime: naruto #fanfic #ahhh I almost don't want to tag them seperately...#k here it goes #shino aburame #aburame shino #shikamaru nara #nara shikamaru #modern au version of a bigger and more canon based story I'd like to write...#but this happened and I guess I might as well post it #quite self indulgent #as you can see #shikamaru is prone to what we call #~•☆gay panic☆•~#dusk's fanfic

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paumeranian · 5 years

Text

Interview #4

13/3/19

Tell me about a time where you started feeling symptoms. What did you do? How did you feel in that moment? (How important is it to you to get these symptoms checked out? How long you do you typically wait before doing so? Why?)

Looking in the distance

Late at night coughing really hard and there was blood in my mucus (3 am), dad said to just go to sleep if I can and we’ll go to the doctor the next day

I couldn’t do anything

Didn’t feel life threatening it just felt a bad symptom for something

Next day I went to the doctor (missed out on school)

I felt scared, there was blood so I was panicking, crazy, I didn’t know what was going on so I wanted to get it checked ASAP

Did a blood test, doctor said it should be fine until results from that are received

Public hospitals: you wait, with a lot of people and they’re sick, I’m germaphobic and when people start coughing - like I’m already sick I don’t wanna get sick even more and w/ public hospitals there ARE a lot of people waiting, I was like 15 years old so I was “weirded out”

Tell me about your healthcare provider. Is your doctor/GP available via booking an appointment or is it a walk-in clinic?

Used to go to the public union health centre, went here when the TB scare happened

Transferred to a private one

How would you compare the public and private services?

Waiting for private is faster as it’s appointment-based whereas for the public you just walk in, which is handy in some situations if you forget to book it

With private, they’ll check you at a specific time and sometimes I do still wait about 10-15 minutes from my booking time but life happens. It’s still long but definitely not as long as you would wait at a public clinic (1 hr) and the doctors are in a rush… They’re just like “alright what do you feel? Blah blah blah” They do the best they can and send you off

Better accuracy

They can’t assume a lot of things immediately till they get blood test results

How important is it for you to see the same doctor?

I think it’s kind of important because you learn to trust the doctor and they get to know you a bit more - knows your previous health history and you’ve already explained it to them

But with new doctors you have to explain those again

People with no proper understanding of health and diseases tend to not tell enough to the doctor (symptoms) or miss out details that could be important while if you constantly talk to one doctor, if you miss something out the next time they’ll get to know what you missed out. The more you see him the more they know what you’re feeling and can give better accuracy in the diagnosis. So I think it’s very important

How did you find the process of switching from one doctor to another?

I personally didn’t do it, parents sorted it out as we have health insurance

Depends on the pack that you get but I’m pretty sure all my family gets health insurance and they pay for it

Once I had to pay my own money but mum said for me to ask for the receipt and “they’ll” reimburse me

I don’t know, living with parents they don’t really tell me anything I just tell them to book me an appointment

I’m not hands on with insurance, I just book the appointment and go do it. Pay if I have to and give the receipt to my parents and they do the paper work.

Imagine if your parents didn’t have to do that for you, do you think you’d have a harder time looking out for yourself?

I think I’d have an easier time, I’ll end up seeing doctors way more e.g. I feel this and that

But when you tell your parents about how you’re feeling they’ll just be like “it’s fine give it a day or two”

You can go to any private clinic all they ask for is your proof of residence (this is important) Tourists have to pay for more

That’s it really. It’s pretty simple

Mum told me to go on a website, it’s pretty easy and then you just pay afterwards.

Do you think if your parents weren’t in charge of your healthcare you’d be at the same doctor?

I’ll probably go scout for other ones, especially closer ones since that’s all the way down in ___

I’d ask people that have lived here their whole lives, they have doctors that they go to all the time, know more doctors

There’s a few people in the health industry that I know and would ask them who’s a good doctor

All doctors should technically be all good, but some are friendlier than others and that definitely helps with ease of talking and giving them your symptoms

When was your last visit to the doctor?

Last year, round about March, I thought I had UTI so I had that checked and the doctor said if it is, it’s very mild

It was pretty easy, they did a normal UTI test, gave me antibiotics and a week later he said to come back

After a week I was once and I came back for a follow-up checkup and that was it.

It was simple, clean, and probably the best experience - they just gave me prescription right away

How do you usually feel during your checkups?

It depends on the symptoms I got, when you’re coughing up blood you’re obviously scared, bleeding from your insides is pretty terrifying cause you don’t know what’s happening - especially cause there was a lot of blood

SO when you go to the doctor for that you’rescared that there’s something really bad going on

But with something like an UTI, little pain, you get it checked

It varies with what the symptoms are like

For the TB I was definitely more scared, what’s wrong with me am I dying, is there something wrong with my lungs

They do more things, put you through an MRI, x-ray, all these things - it’s definitely very scary

How long was the actual check-up?

20 minutes, made me do a bunch of tests including a urine sample

Talked me through it, explained what I could have, how to treat it - it was pretty fast all considering

We talked quite a bit, we’re the same ethnicity so he tried to relate to me asked me about my background

It was pretty fast, pretty clean

I generally take information pretty quickly, I don’t need a lot of time to process

Some people are way more curious and gonna ask more questions which is important since it concerns your health

But I only ask quick questions, how long am I gonna be on this medication, are there any bad side effects - these are basically all the questions I ask not like what if I have this disease

I am generally a curious person - I ask the extent of the treatment and how it will affect me, with very mild antibiotics it’s fine

Tell me about how your provider explained potential diagnoses and solutions. Were you able to understand clearly the benefits or side effects if any of medication you’re given?

Use UTI example

Tell me about a significant clinical experience you can recall (either positive or negative). Why was it significant? How did you feel in that moment? Why did you feel that way? Do most check-ups with your provider turn out like this?

Already answered this at the start

Can you comment on the quality of care you typically receive in relation to the cost of a check-up? Rate the cost from:

_ Very affordable _ Affordable _ Expensive _ Very expensive

4 - In my opinion price isn’t that high as there are more expensive things

I don’t have a lot of comparison, just the public one which is free

Private one now costs about $40 per appointment and I don’t know if they had a student discount of not

Booked online, but if I compare it to free $40 is quite a lot

I haven’t consulted other clinics so I wouldn’t know if the level of payment I’m giving is way too high or low

From what I can tell from their services, $40 is fine, it was quick and they were informative, they seem very competent, really good doctors, they tell you things very straightforward and clearly, good performance and facility

I don’t know if $40 counts as mid-range, but from my experience at least what I got it’s good

Check-up wise the service is pretty good

Have you tried asking if it’s cheaper for students?

No I didn’t even think about it to be honest

I keep forgetting that students can get things for cheaper because students are broke as hell

It’s not made obvious to me at least that I can

Usually there’s just prices everywhere, they just tell you the general price but somewhere down the list there’s usually a student price

Sometimes you just forget

I don’t use that since for buying food or petrol there’s no student prices

So I don’t think “oh I need to get the student price”

If they made it more obvious I’ll definitely get it

Overall, can you tell me how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with your healthcare provider?

I’m satisfied, I give it a solid 4

I think 5 would be like you go there and immediately go go into the room but usually there’s a bit of delay

Personal reflection: In my opinion, this interviewee provided me with the most insights about private vs public healthcare providers and how a person’s reaction to symptoms depends on how severe they are which affects their decision whether or not to take it to the doctor. Luke is naturally talkative which made it easy to just sit there and listen and observe. Because of this I didn’t have to ask some of my questions as he’s already answered them prior in detail.

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igiti2019 · 5 years

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Day 16 (6/3)

Last night right after I stopped blogging a group of three girls sitting behind me got my attention and introduced themselves. Their names were Fiona, Fille, and Angel, and they were at Java House celebrating Fille’s 23rd birthday! They invited me to sit with them, and since I was waiting for my cab to arrive, I agreed to sit with them until it got there. They were all hilarious and were freaking out over my new iPhone (which to be honest I am too still), and we all exchanged numbers before I left. Anyways then I left and wished that I had waited to blog until after that! Back to today – this morning we sat in on our first class at Kepler. It was a class for first-year Kepler students called Professional Competencies, and today’s objectives were about critical thinking and critical thinking questions. They started the class with an ice breaker that we, unfortunately, walked in during the very end of, so I’m not entirely sure what it was. They then launched into a two-hour class where they went in depth on the difference between critical thinking questions, clarifying questions, and probing questions. It was a really interesting class, I’m pretty sure I learned some stuff. I left work a bit early today to go to a doctor, because I’ve still been having the same digestion issues. I went to a hospital with Zodi that was recommended to me by Andrea, the woman from Stanford working at another hospital in Kigali! When I got there I gave them my AAA traveler’s health insurance card, and it took them about 20 minutes to tell me that they don’t accept that, and I just agreed to pay privately. Once that was established, a young man basically led me to the front of every line that I needed to wait in (paying, identification, getting vitals checked, and then seeing the doctor) and I heard more than enough people mumble something about “muzungu” (white person/colonizer) under their breath which didn’t feel good at all. Once I got to see the doctor, though, I felt so much better. He was extremely comforting and funny and put me at ease. He even studied in New Hampshire for a few months so he knew where Maine was! He quickly wrote me a prescription and sent me on my way. (When I asked what to do if the medication didn’t work, he just laughed at me.) After the doctors we went home and I went to Java House where Ananya was working, until we had to leave for dinner. Tonight we got dinner with Yale School of Management alumni who knows our professor, Bo! His name is Xavi, he’s from DC, and he and his girlfriend, who he met at college in Minnesota, have been living in Ethiopia and then Rwanda for the past 9 years together running a very successful tour business (the one that we did!). We went to a restaurant called the Green Corner which is all the way on the other side of town, and is very traditional Rwandan food. Ananya and I arrived before Zodi, and we met Xavi and his dog!!!!!!! It’s the first dog I’ve seen since I arrived in Rwanda, she was SO sweet. Zodi arrived shortly after us, followed by Eliza, and we all talked while we waited for the food to arrive. Xavi had ordered the food ahead of time, because as this was a very traditional Rwandan restaurant, they take FOREVER to serve you. But the conversation flowed very smoothly because Xavi and Eliza are both VERY interesting and impressive people, and we all have a ton of shared interests. When the food did come, I can’t even DESCRIBE how happy I was. He had ordered a plate of cooked bananas, a plate of potatoes, and a whole fish for us all to share with onions and lime. JUST LIKE WE ATE IN MOROCCO. Oh my goodness even though I had eaten a whole meal at Java House with Ananya because we thought there were no vegetarian options, I dug in to this meal happily. We also learned from Xavi and Eliza that the reason potatoes and other root vegetables are so darn delicious in Rwanda is because of the volcanic soil! Who woulda thunk… Dinner ran really late, but we were all so happy to make that connection. It turns out that Ananya and I actually saw Xavi and Eliza at Inzora Rooftop Café recently, where they go often because they’re best friends with the owner, an American woman! We didn’t knwo it was them at the time, but we just saw a guy wearing a Yale hat and debated saying something but decided not to to avoid embarrassment. But yeah, Eliza and Xavi are both awesome people and I’m so happy that we made this connection tonight. Alright tomorrow is Eid, so we have the day off, but I’m still going to bed early because I need to wake up relatively early to take my medication!

Peace

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