Jose sent a few others and me an article that talks about the key issues to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to fire your doctor. Thankfully, I haven't had too many bad doctor experiences. Though there have been those few doctors that seemed to not really care about what I had to say...I've only once had a really bad experience at a hospital. I won't mention the name, but I will say it was located in South Austin; if you're from around here, you probably know the place I'm referring to.
Anyway, I went there twice this year. The first time wasn't actually bad at all; it was the time I was sent to ER by a general practitioner who thought I had pancreatitis, right before I had my gallbladder removed. Anyway, that visit, like I said, went really well--other than the fact I was sick. It could be that the people who work during the day are a lot more knowledgeable and respectable than those who work during the late night hours? Who knows. The second time around wasn't so pleasant, it was the night following my gallbladder removal. I went to ER because I had the worst stomach pain in the world, it was literally so bad that two shots of demerol still didn't cut it (it has morphine-like pain killing properties)--in fact, it just made the agony of it all so much worse because I had an allergic reaction to the medication, so I was ridiculously itchy; I felt like I was going to scratch my face off.
Anyway, the first unpleasant experience came when the nurse was injecting me with demerol the first time around that night. Jose was right next to me and he told him (the nurse) that when I had a similar, strong pain medicine before, the nurse injected me slowly because it gave me a huge migraine type headache the first time. Well, this nurse said it wouldn't make a difference if he did it fast or slow (but the nurse before said it did)...hell yeah it did, I could feel it! In fact, that's why the nurse from the prior time injected me with the medication slow, because the first time she did it, I was writhing in pain, I thought my head was going to explode. Well, during this hospital visit, the jerk of a nurse did it fast, even Jose got upset because he was actually the one to tell the nurse to do it slow; Jose knew I was in pain because of how hard I was squeezing his hand. Tears seriously came to my eyes; don't ever have them inject you with a quick, huge dose of demerol, it leaves you feeling pretty disgusting in the process! Needless to say, this nurse actually did do it slower the second time he injected me--but even though I told him I couldn't stop itching from the first injection, he went ahead and gave me another hit. AND guess what? I later discovered that I was actually having an allergic reaction to the medication (aka the itching)! What a nut.
That's not the worst part about it. They had to do a CAT scan of my digestive system, to make sure my liver wasn't damaged, because sometimes that can cause the kind of pain I was experiencing. So, after not being able to eat after the surgery, and this was the doctor's orders, a nurse said I needed to drink a pint of this contrast solution that would make my innards pretty much "light up" for the CAT scan. I did it, though it did take me awhile, considering I felt like my insides were having problems even when they were empty. Still, while I was slowly drinking this solution, the nurse came in and told me I needed to hurry up, otherwise it would wear off. I told her OK, then I asked how much time I would have to finish it but SHE DIDN'T TELL ME! Next thing I knew, another horrible medical assistant with a lovely ghetto attitude came in with an evil grin plastered on a face and a tube in hand, then she said she was going to insert that tube down my nose if I didn't finish the remaining drink right then and there! She then walked closer to me as if she was preparing to do it (and she was because she actually brought someone else in to help her assemble that ugly tube machine!). I merely responded by saying she was being rude and her behavior was inappropriate. I wasn't unpleasant in my response, but I told her that the fact that she literally had the tube in her hand and said, word for word, "I'm going to stick this tube down your nose," without any warning and with the intent of scaring me, was completely wrong. Oh, and here's the best part, right after I told her that she shouldn't be trying to scare me into doing it (and that I would've appreciated it if they actually told me how long I had before I needed to be done with the solution!) I heard her gossiping outside my room...ABOUT ME! She was laughing with another nurse and then she said "she knows what she's getting, I just told her"! As if I'm some prisoner of theirs in a torture chamber instead of a sick patient recovering from surgery in an emergency room! Seriously, I was baffled, and I wasn't exaggerating because even Jose was disturbed by her far from professional behavior.
Of course, we confronted the doctor about the situation; thank God he wasn't that bad, but the nurses and medical staff that night were absolutely horrible. I think I left that night feeling more sick than when I arrived. Don't ever let this happen to you; avoid this place, and similar places with yucky hospital staff, like the plague!
Jose and I went to the Sunset Valley Farmers Market today, it was sooo hot outside though! It was fun going to see what all the local farmers/business folk were selling, even if some things were a little on the pricy side, like Jose's $3.00 chai tea...but we did pick up some worthwhile items that will definitely serve as lively ingredients in a few of this week's dinners. There were so many different herbs to choose from; I decided to buy a little bit of basil, sage, and oregano. I also came across a farmer who was selling these tiny garlics with a very powerful, almost sweet scent. In spite of their little size, their smell was a lot more potent than that of the much larger garlic cloves I normally buy at the grocery store. I can't wait to use them, even the herbs. I notice a significant difference in taste when using fresh as opposed to dry herbs, and I hope to eventually start my own herb garden, but that probably won't be for awhile. For now, I'm happy with the occasional visit to the farmers market, and here are a few pictures from this weekend's herb-buying-and-spotted-pig-spotting adventure 
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