Convenience Store Hotdog Healthcare Part Two

In my last post, I set up the scenario wherein my wife was complaining of a bladder infection, accompanied by a fever, chills, and rigors. We went to MedExpress and they all but scared her into going to the ER to be treated with IV antibiotics. However, she took a shot in the ass and a script for Cipro and went on her, only to end up in the ER the next night, no better.

The doctor took a look at her and ordered a chest x-ray after setting her up with an IV drip and I had gone home to fetch our daughter and waited for the phone to ring. So, do you know what the prognosis was?

Well, my one and only commenter guessed right. She had pneumonia.

We never would have guessed for two reasons. The first one, I gave. MedExpress listened to her chest and found no reason to think pneumonia. The second reason, which I forgot to add, was that she had just come off a round of Zithromax the day before she started noticing symptoms of the infection. So, there was little reason to think she would have developed pneumonia after being treated for bronchitis. Still, I was glad it was nothing truly serious and she called me close to 11pm saying she was discharged.

I gathered up our kid and went to pick her up, knowing that she would be sleeping in her own bed, not hooked up to tubes and wires. In the end, she was treated for both the pneumonia and bladder infection and has been much better.

So, to my original point, when you’re sure you know what’s wrong with you and you just need to get a script or confirmation, MedExpress or urgent care is perfectly fine. Your co-pay is more to get in there but you can use your local pharmacy instead of paying their higher prices for drugs. If you have the time and patience, your PCP is great. But if you’re going all out and need to get that excellent hot dog healthcare which is sure to harden your arteries and leave a smile on your face, go to the ER.

The great thing about getting that gigantic chili dog with cheese fries early in the season is that once you’ve met your deductible, you can the high class brand of healthcare for the cost of your co-pay… extra cheese fries at no additional charge. I managed to max out my deductible in the first week of the year with a blood test and other routine exams.

Sick Of It

You know your kid is sick when on Easter morning the little tyke doesn’t dive head first into her basket of candy like Ewan McGregor into a toilet in Trainspotting. I will let that image sit with you for one second… no more, or might not come back from that place.

Turns out, my kid was working on a fever. She had already been put on antibiotics for an ear infection earlier in the week, so the doctors thought to do nothing else as this was more viral in nature. We just had to keep her fever down and keep her hydrated. It wasn’t easy. She was hovering around 102-104 and my wife kept wanting to pull the trigger and take her to the hospital.

I was not as ready to jump on that path, yet. We’ve been down that path before. The kid gets traumatized, an IV drip with saline, Motrin, and a $100 bill for the ER visit plus the emotional trauma. Been there, done that.

I suggested we keep trying to bring it down with alternating children’s strength Motrin and Tylenol, wet facial cloths for her forehead and coaxing her to drink more fluids. And guess what? It worked. We brought her fever down and by bed time the little hustler was besting me two out of three games in Candyland.

By the beginning of the next week, my wife began experiencing a fever. By Tuesday, I had it. Finally, on Thursday, her father had it. Each of us with varying symptoms.

By Friday, I was spent. So, I worked from home and then had to take care of my wife. I took her go for a chest x-ray which revealed she had pneumonia in her right lung. She also had pink eye. They put her on a Z-pack, drops for eye, and neb treatments.

I went on Saturday with my father-in-law to MedExpress which revealed I had bronchitis, pharyngitis, and an ear infection. A strep test came back negative, but I was already cheating by taking two leftover Augmentin the day before. I was not originally going to go but considering I was coughing up bloody phlegm, it was probably a good thing. My father-in-law was not so lucky. He also had pneumonia in his right lung but his physician decided on a swifter course of treatment and gave him an antibiotic shoot in the ass. I got lucky. I managed to get through most of the week with a fever of around 101.

Now, the kiddo is coughing again and complaining her ear hurts.

Honestly, wtf? Was this mild Winter to blame for this rash of bad medical juju? Should we hope for three feet of snow, sub arctic temperatures, and hope for the best?

Ridiculous.