Alan has been having problems with his shoulder for about 2 weeks now; and I have been going to bed at night with the ben gay aroma strong enough to clear my sinuses and make my eyes water. As we leaving Cracker Barrel after breakfast this morning, the pain spread down into his arm so he agreed to go see a doctor. We went to this new urgent care/walk in clinic near for him to see a doctor. Alan was taken back fairly quickly so he did not get to finish watching Bolt in the waiting room. Alan was back there quite awhile so I was sitting in the waiting room quite awhile where sniffling, coughing and sneezing people were coming and going. I hope no one had the Swine Flu :) Oh yes I was able to finish watching Bolt but I won't tell him how it ends. :)
Perhaps its because I minored in Sociology in college, but I enjoy watching people and how they interact with the environment around them. I found this to be more entertaining than watching Bolt. People watching can be such fun especially you are not a participant. First there was the guy who came in wanting the doctor to write something that said he was well. When the girl explained that he would have to have a physical he said he did not want a physical that all he needed was for the doctor to fill out this form saying he was well. The girl at the desk tried to explain it was not possible to do without a physical. Once this was explained he pulled out an insurance card. This made her explain that his insurance would not pay for a physical from an urgent care facility and he would have to pay out of pocket for it. This "gentleman" grabbed his card mumbling that he would make some phone calls and be back.
The next guy to draw my attention was a bigoted buffoon that wanted to know if they accepted his insurance. when they confirmed that they did he wanted to know how much he would have to pay. The girl at the desk replied she did not know and but would find out when she contacted them. He wanted to know how she would be able to do that and why just looking at his card would not tell her. She explained she would either call them or find out on the Internet. The guy then asked who the doctors were and the girl at the desk told him which doctor was in today. Then get this, the buffoon leans over the counter and whispers (still loud enough to be heard in the waiting room) and asks if the doctors there were Americans. The girl at counter was obviously at a loss as to what to say as she stared at this man so the guy leans forward and says "you know are they Americans". After several minutes of silence the girl told him that the doctors at the clinic will all board certified physicians. The man nodded and said okay and left.
If you are going to be picky about the doctor you see, then you probably should go to somewhere besides an urgent care/walk in clinic. Since we have been here, I have encountered many foreign born doctors that have been excellent. One of the surgeons that operated on me in 2007, was foreign born but had been in the United States long enough that he had been a surgeon in the hospital in New York that my grandfather had been treated in for cancer. In fact it is possible that he may have been involved with some of my grandfather's surgeries. Keep in mind that my grandfather's last cancer surgery was the day I was born. Besides last I knew, at some point everyone here was not an American. By the way for those that may be concerned, Alan is fine, he simply has a pinched nerve.
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