As far as I am concerned I have never had the real flu and I have never had strep throat. I get colds and sore throats relatively often I suppose, but they never amount to much. I've been tested multiple times for strep, but it always comes back negative. So last Wednesday when I woke up with a sore throat I didn't think much of it and got dressed and headed off to work. The tea I drank in the car did little to sooth my pain, but I took it in stride. The office was approximately -20 degrees on Wednesday. (editors note: an extreme exaggeration for dramatic affect.) Again, I didn't think much of this as a co-worker agreed that it was colder than usual in the office. As lunch time neared and my coldness turned into the chills I started to think maybe I had a fever. I pushed on. During my lunch break I went out to my car to warm up. When I came back in, I still had some time and a co-worker asked me if I'd walk to Shopko with her. I said sure. After all my throat was still killing me and I could use some throat drops. The block and a half walk was horrible. I've never been so dizzy from walking a block in my life. I pushed on. As the day went on my voice started to become unrecognizable, the chills picked increased and I was totally wiped out. I left a little early, barely able to focus because I was so cold. How I made it home, I have no idea.
Upon arrive in my lovely new apartment on the second floor I was grateful for the thermometer my mom gave me for Christmas. I waited patiently as the device measured my body temperature. As I took it out of my mouth and flipped it around to read it I was shocked by what the numbers read -- 102.7. I was one sick kid. I changed and fell asleep almost instantly on my couch. I woke up about three hours later, read a few e-mails and was in my bed an hour later. I slept straight from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. I got up, checked my temperature again and to see if my tonsils were swollen at all. Until Thursday, I did not know exactly where my tonsils were. I know now because I have never seen tonsils so swollen! This time my temperature was 100.5. Excited it had gone down a bit I laid back down in my bed until 7 when I needed to call work and tell them I wasn't coming.
I managed to make it to work on Friday, though I wasn't feeling exactly 100 percent. My throat was still hurting and a little swollen, but the fever was gone. I made it through the day and was happy to welcome the weekend. I took it easy all weekend, telling myself if my throat was still sore and swollen Monday I'd go see a doctor. During the course of the weekend my fever went up and down, but never was very high.
Monday came, my fever was completely gone. I decided I'd go see the doctor though. Coming from a family that doesn't go to the doctor for the sniffles, this was a big step for me. I called the number on the hospitals website to try and find a doctor. The lady on the phone kept trying to find a clinic that had an opening for me. After about 20 minutes she tells me they have two clinics that accept walk-ins and are open until 8 p.m. I tell her I'll just do that. So, I leave work and after making two wrong turns into huge traffic jams I make it to the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic. I sign in at 6:11 p.m.
While sitting in the waiting room patiently I was exposed to some of the most interesting characters. First there was the chubby girlfriend who was acting like it was this huge inconvenience to be there. Each time someone was called before her boyfriend she had to know why. They were sicker, idiot. Then there was the very large black man who was getting restless and kept switching seats. Shortly after moving closer to me he busted out his cell phone to check in at home. Now, this wouldn't be a huge deal, as a few people had made calls, but he chose to make his call on speaker phone. SPEAKER PHONE!! After he hangs up he proceeds to check his voicemail on, you guessed it, speaker phone. About 20 minutes later, after about an hour and a half of waiting, they call my name.
The nurse asks me about my symptoms and tells me about the importance of having a primary care physician. She does a throat swab thing for the strep test and leaves me to wait for the doctor. After another 20 minutes or so the doctor comes in. Not looking at the notes the nurse took at all, she again asks me why I'm there and about why I don't have a primary care doctor. The strep test is negative. She checks my throat, liver and spleen. "I'm going to have someone come in to give you another test. It will only take a few minutes. It's to see if you have mono," she says. Mono, just what I need. I wait another 10 minutes for the person to come in. She pricks my finger, gives me a bandaid and says the test takes five minutes. She leaves the room. I wait. It starts to get very quiet in the hallway. I start thinking they forgot about me and I am all alone in the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic. I wait some more. Finally after about 10 more minutes the doctor comes back. It's not mono. They are going to send the sample from the strep test in for a throat culture. I'll have to wait two more days to find out if it is definitely not strep. She tells me most likely it's just a virus and to keep doing what I was doing since I seemed to be getting better.
At 9:30 p.m. I left the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic. I didn't have strep. I didn't have mono. And that was my evening at the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic.
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