Previously: The Medical Adventures of Sabian Chapter 2: Smooth Sailing (1/2)
Acknowledgement
I know I said in the beginning this would only be two parts, and now it’s at part 4 and is turning into chapters of that short story I said I wouldn’t be writing, but there is just so much that has been happening, and it’s affecting so many important things, that it just has to be told.
Therefore, now you get to learn even more, as the journey continues…
The Hospital
A few days after Michelle helped you set up your ultrasound with the hospital, you receive a call from the hospital letting you know the date you can come in to scan your left leg, which was luckily at a decent time in the afternoon.
On the scheduled date, you make your way to the hospital, greeted by Gagan who was handing out masks and giving people directions. She let you know to follow the blue line to the medical imaging department, and you smile and thank Gagan for her help, before putting on your mask. You start walking over, and once you reach medical imaging, you meet Ella at the front desk who is also really nice. She checks you in and lets you know where you can wait for your scan, and you thank Ella by name for her help as well.
At Medical Imaging
While you’re waiting, you see a dark hispanic guy who was wearing a Jurassic Park t-shirt. You told him “Nice shirt!”, and he said “Hah, thanks!”. Now, the imaging room is open, and someone calls you in for your scan. Her name is Tophia, and she’s doing the ultrasound for you. She lets you get changed, and comes back in once you’re ready to begin the scan. You get the jelly gel on your leg as she starts up the scanner.
The Scan Begins
It seems to be a simple procedure. Tophia presses the tool against your leg in multiple places and gets a complete ultrasound image of the veins in your leg. You ask her if ultrasounds can see bloodflow or just physical structures, and she says “Yes, they can also see bloodflow”, which you think is cool.
Once it’s done, Tophia says “It all looks all normal to me”, and “So from here, this will be sent to a radiologist for in-depth analysis, and then your doctor should get the results”. You thank Tophia for her help, and she leaves to let you get changed again.
The Scan is Done!
You make your way back to the front desk, and you ask Ella if the scan results can be sent to all the doctors involved (Mina Antonious and Kaitlin Stockton). She says “Sure, I can CC them in the email”, so you say “Thank you, Ella! And when you see Tophia, thank her for me, too!”, before leaving the hospital.
Two Days Later
On your way to your scheduled followup with Dr. Antonious, you meet a cool kid on the bus who has an electric scooter, and strike a conversation about it. Apparently, it’s only 30 pounds, much lighter than you expected, but it’s also $1,300. He says he’s even looking to buy a new one, and all you can think about is how you can get very nice components for a gaming PC with that budget.
At the Clinic Building Early
You somehow arrive to the clinic 45 minutes early for your appointment, so you decide to visit Sapperton Dental just around the corner. You used to regularly come here when you lived in the area, and even though the receptionists are different now, you see the co-owner who you know, Sandeep Sachdeva (husband of co-owner Sarika Sachdeva who was your awesome dentist), and you both smile and wave at each other before he goes inside with a patient.
Then, you strike up a conversation with one of the receptionists which somehow started becoming about Korea and Japan, two of your favourite places. One of them says she went to Korea on her vacation and had a lot of fun, but was lucky because she returned right before the pandemic lockdown. This leads you into mentioning how you went through Korea on your way to Japan and how you returned in February literally 1-2 weeks before lockdown too. You share about your exploration of Tokyo, from Zojoji Temple to Tokyo University, to Ueno, and her eyes light up with wonder. You check the time and with 15 minutes left, you say you should be going, and smile as you wave bye to them.
Shalya the Nurse is Amazing
You go to the washroom around the other corner, which is right beside a mini-café stand inside the building, and when you come out, you hear a nurse struggling to decide between two delicious pastries, so you just have to ask “Ooh, what are you talking about?”. She says “They just got a new blueberry pastry here and I’m trying to decide if I should get the apple one or this”. Then, you and her end up talking about banana bread. You say “My favourite is when the inside is spongey but the crust is—”. “CRUNCHY, right?! So good!”, she interrupts. “Yeees! Crunchy is the best!”, you continue.
You and her get along so well that she actually offers to buy you a pastry, which surprised you so much. No one had ever really offered to buy you anything in the past, but now that you’ve learned things about yourself, communication, and people, some random new nurse is out-of-nowhere offering to buy you food! You ask her name to thank her, and her name is Shayla.
You accept and thank Shayla for her offer, before she had to leave to speak with another nurse about hospital business, and you enjoy your apple pastry outside the clinic, 5 minutes before your appointment.
In the Next Chapter
Next in chapter 3 part 1: Dr. Antonious’ second analysis, a hospital emergency ward visit, an emergency doctor’s conflicting advice, and more…