As I stood surrounded by the most powerful people in the kingdom arguing over , I wished more than anything that I'd just stayed in bed that day and missed my doctor's appointnt. The $50 cancellation fee would've been nothing compared to this.
An ironic thought crossed my mindI was like that character in one of my favorite cartoons as a kid; every ti his class ended up going on a magical field trip he always lanted "I knew I should have stayed ho today!" as they left.
too, kid. too.
My life got turned upside down on an ordinary Tuesday. I sat scrolling through comics on my phone in the waiting room of yet another doctor's office.
It was my third visit this month, not counting the biweekly physical therapy appointnts I had to go to for my back, neck, and shoulder pain.
Why was a twenty-three year old woman going to the doctor so often? Well, I'd been a bit of a dical mystery for the past five years.
I started getting dizzy, having constant stomach aches, migraines, and all-over pain my freshman year of college. Despite being on seven different dications and going to the doctor more than a dozen tis per year, they still hadn't quite figured out everything that was going on with yet.
I barely managed to graduate college working around my various health crises and, being a millennial, couldn't find a half-decent job without going back for more school. I had friends in grad schoolfrom what they told about the workload, my body would not survive.
So I took a part-ti job as the "librarian" (they couldn't technically call that since my degree wasn't in library science but for so reason they hired anyway) at an elentary school and tried to work my doctor's appointnts around my schedule as best I could.
It wasn't hard work at all but even the minimal effort of being at the school six hours a day took a toll on my already poor health.
The majority of my ti was spent cooped up in my studio apartnt, devouring book after book (though I occasionally shook it up by bingeing a new TV show or watching docuntaries). Fiction was so much better than reality! Or so I thought at the ti.
"Katie Pullman?" a nurse called from the door. That was my cue.
Hopping out of my chair with a wincemy knees really don't allow for hoppingI closed my comic about a girl who found herself inside the world of a novel and shoved my phone into my pocket.
After taking my height, weight, and blood pressure, the nurse asked the standard question: what brings you in today?
"My primary care doctor wants to get tested for autoimmune disorders," I said dully.
She'd already tested for just about everything else and said her hands were tied. My pain was honestly unexplainable by any of the usual culprits.
"Do you have your referral with you?"
I nodded. "I gave it to the woman at the front desk when I checked in."
The nurse smiled at . "I'll go check on that later. Would you please follow to the lab?"
Ah, the lab. I'd been to a bunch before and they all looked roughly the sa. As I thought. The usual reclining chair with a table on it used when drawing people's blood wasn't too far from the door.
My blood had been drawn enough tis to know the drill.
I obediently sat in the chair and didn't put up a fuss, politely requesting that the seat be leaned back so I wouldn't get as dizzy. No matter how many tis I got stabbed with one, I just couldn't get used to needles!
Squeezing my eyes shut before they even pulled the needle out was the only way I ever survived these sorts of things. It hurt, but it was the sight of the needle that made most woozy.
The nurse removed the needle and told to stand up slowly when I was ready. I got up quickly. I still needed to go to the library and check out the books I had on hold about flora of the southwest before crashing for the day.
Cacti are more interesting than you might think. Small succulents already lined the windowsill in my apartnt but I wanted to know more in case I ever managed to afford a real house with space for a garden out front.
The woman at the check-out desk told my results would be in 7-10 days from now. I thanked her before adjusting my purse strap and heading out the door.
It was a beautiful Arizona day. Blindingly sunny, blue skied, and so hot you could feel your skin lting. I couldn't wait for school to get out for the year so I could just stay in my air-conditioned apartnt all sumr.
My beat up old car roared to life as I turned the key and the brake light ca on instantly. It had been like this for the past two days but I hadn't had ti to take it to a chanic yet because of work. I was planning on doing it over the weekend.
A catchy song I knew most of the words to ca on the radio so I sang along as I drove onto the freeway ramp. The library (and my apartnt) was on the opposite side of town from the clinic.
This was my biggest mistake.
About ten minutes into my drive, the car in front of slamd on its brakes. Of course, I slamd on mine too but my car was old. The brakes gave out.
The wheel spun out of my control and despite my seatbelt, my limbs flew around like a ragdoll's as I hit the barrier on the side of the road before the car kept spinning and everything went black.
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