Maybe this will actually turn out to be the blog of medical discussions, possibly including the one about how I'm not pre-med, even though I look like I could be. Possibly a medical blog would be more interesting than a dance blog or a CSA blog. We shall see, because I feel entries on both of those topics coming in the near future.
But about medical issues. After my visit to Student Health earlier this semester, I decided to become a rounder, more experienced person by visiting the local hospital, too. The hospital is located on the same street as Student Health, and is actually closer to campus. I'd never been there before, so I figured Sunday night was a good time to go see what their emergency room looked like.
Actually, I was taking my friend there. Over fall break, she went to Kentucky to work on a service project. Among other activities, they painted a metal roof, something that I had a lot of questions about, but something that is also not the point of this post. While in Kentucky, she had her first experience with poison ivy. At Oberlin, the rash got worse instead of better, until finally one of her eyelids started swelling shut. Benadryl didn't help, so she decided it was time for the hospital. She would probably have gone to Student Health first, but it being Sunday night, they weren't open.
After a brief walk in the crisp night air during which I considered making pirate jokes, we arrived at the hospital. My friend tried to go through the "Ambulance Only" door, but I managed to steer her away from that and toward the appropriate pedestrian door. That's why I went. Someone needed to point out the right door and push the intercom button so that the door would open.
There was no one in the emergency room, so my friend got looked at right away. She repeated the poison ivy saga and her name and birth date to multiple people while I sat in the waiting area and made eye contact with the Jesus hanging on the wall. Once all the paperwork was filled out, I went with her to see an actual nurse, and then an actual doctor. Both were quite helpful and quite awake for the time of night. Ultimately, she was prescribed a couple of drugs with very exciting names and given some shots while I admired the hospital's fall décor.
All in all a good experience, I would say. The swelling on my friend's face has gone down enough that she no longer looks like Erik and I no longer feel the need to sing about the music of the night every time I see her. Plus, the fact that I got no work done on Sunday night is completely justified, this time.
