Curse

12th October (Wednesday) - Oh what a day, everywhere I go, it seemed that I had a curse. You know, there's a term called the Zidane curse, named after the famed Final Fantasy IX main protagonist Zidane Tribal. You see, everywhere Zidane visits, shortly afterwards the place get destroyed. Such examples are Alexandria, Ice Cavern, Lindblum, Cleyra, and when you advanced far enough, nearly all of the places due to the Iifa Tree's roots blocking nearly every place, making you (the player) unable to re-visit them. My case, instead of places being destroyed, whichever clinics I ended up with, I get blasted by patients.
Surprise, surprise, I ended up with my old doctor. Cheer. I thought it was too good to be true, so I double checked. Ah, the girl who usually takes care of there is on leave, no wonder. Three patients only? I don't believe. I had been with my doctor for so long, his clinic is unpredictable. Despite seeing only three patients for appointments, walk ins can just come flooding in like a tsunami.
I swallowed hard and went into the clinic and felt myself screaming mentally. What on earth just happened? It looked as though a hurricane had just burst into my doctor's clinic. Rubbish all over the floor, the clinic table was a mess, crumbs and used tissues covered with who knows what all over, the tissue roll for the bed empty and untouched, the appointment book which I had wrapped had its cover ripped off and the book is hanging dangerously on its spine, the pages dog-eared and torn. Couldn't even understand a single thing the person wrote. When I opened the cabinet to put in my bag, papers spilled out like an overflow dam. Jesus Christ, I know it's not my business, but I can't help feeling furious. I may not have been with my doctor anymore, but this little place was like a second home besides my original department. I grabbed the mop and broom from the housekeeping trolley (with permission), and you know what happened next. I had a hard time fixing the tissue roll because my doctor's bed is a little hard to remove the fixing, compared to his neighbour's. I even went to grab several non-bacterial wipes and wipe the whole table, mine and my doctor's. Only then I felt happier and ready to work.. To quote a doctor who I once worked with, cleaning up people's mess.
Patients came around nine, and my doctor usually comes in after ten, so there's the usual "Please take a seat, my doctor will be in shortly." As expected, there were several walk ins. No folders, big trouble because there are several loose notes. Argh!!!
And here comes my curse. A phone call came. A patient who had came yesterday claimed that my doctor did not give him a referral letter to another doctor. He insisted that he wants it now, that my doctor had forgotten. So I had to chase downstairs for the folder otherwise I won't be able to get my doctor to write the letter he insisted. Then there was patient who had to come for admission. Can't understand a bloody thing the girl wrote, but I managed to ask the patient, when he came, regarding his admission. He's a very nice guy, and he explained to me nicely that he hasn't done any of the paper works yet, so he's here to see my doctor and get admitted. Fair enough, I got his folder and prepared the necessary papers. Admission, OT slip, Consent, Prescription, Imaging, Insurance. Thank God.
My doctor did a double take when he saw my face. "No wonder why the sky looked funny today. It's you." "Me, what did I do???" I asked him. And he merely answered, "You came back , after all this time." Well, because your clinic girl was on leave, and I had to cover her, and as I reminded him, it depends on the assignment I was given. He gave a shrug and we got down to work. Just like old times. I called a few patients for him, although he called most of them. As usual, I ran back and forth from the clinic to the counters, to make sure my patients went to the right place to collect their medicines and make their payments instead of going all the way down to my department just to make payment. Of course it includes running to the photocopy machine. Everyone was shaking their head and said, "Just like how it used to be last time." Because concierge takes forever to come up, once I confirmed that there's no patients (at that moment), I escorted my patient to admission, like the good old days. He said, "You seemed to be quite familiar with the doctor." "Because I worked with him for seven months." I answered. Of course, he asked why I wasn't permanent with him, and I gave him my standard answer, it depends where the assignment throws me to. He then said, "I pity you, so you're basically running all over the place." And I just smiled at him. Because who am I to complain?
A patient called, anxious and demanding to see my doctor regarding her daughter who has scoliosis. I asked her where is she, and she's at a place where my doctor covers in the afternoon, but unfortunately, he won't be coming in today. She then pleaded to me to hold my doctor while she try to hurry over. Unfortunately, the place where she's in right now will take at least an hour, no matter how much she try to rush. To confirm, I asked my doctor how long does it usually take to travel from that hospital to here. He then told me, "To get over from there will take roughly 30 minutes if there's no jam, to find a parking and do an X-Ray of the whole spine will take another 30 minutes, assuming the X-Ray people are fast. By the time she reach here, I will be late for my surgery, which is outside." Oh, fiddlesticks, Seriously, WHY ME????? In the end, my doctor compromised. If she can reach by 12, he will see her. So I let the girl know, but I also warned her that I can't keep promises, because my doctor won't entertain latecomers. She then said she will try to make it here as soon as possible, but knowing her, she might not make it. Once I put down the phone, my doctor said to me, "I know you are trying to be nice, but in this world, you can't please everyone. Somewhere out there, there will always be people who hate you, no matter how nice you are. And here's something you should know, people often say they can come, but once the time comes, you will see all sorts of excuses left and right." That's the one thing I like about my doctor, he's honest and straight to the point, and he knows how to appreciate the effort people had put into. (For your information, I called the patient once 12 o' clock came, and she said she couldn't make it, and that she will come tomorrow to see him. I relayed this to my doctor and he said, "You see? I told you so.")
Remember the guy who called and insisted for the referral letter, I managed to get his folder, and I put it on my doctor's desk, who went. "What is this folder doing here?" And I explained to him regarding the situation. He then answered, "I forget? I didn't forget. I specifically told him to get a letter from outside clinic so that he can save cost, because he wanted to be admitted under the government side. If I gave him my letter, they may put him under the private side and he will blame me." Ohhh. Because the guy called me (again), demanding for the letter, my doctor got to work, shaking his head, muttering how some people just don't appreciate his help. While waiting for our patients, he then asked me, "I been meaning to ask you, how much was the gift you gave me?" I made the mistake of telling him less than hundred (Actually, the range was actually below fifty), which he immediately launched into how our economy is going down and I should not get him anything. I explained to him I got it in a sale, and it's a small appreciation, for letting me take care of him those past few months, and treating me and my family for free. And he said, "I don't want you spending money on me, it's hard to earn enough money as it is now. Next time, just send me a card." Which I intend to do, if I have the time (and if our relationship is still alright, like today). Maybe I should've made him a salad, like a doctor once jokingly told me to. (If you recall my old post, he's rather health conscious. And salad is cheap and healthy. Just toss in lettuce, tomatoes, onions, shredded steam chicken, drench in some olive oil and pepper and give it a good mix.)
It was just a half day with him, with less than two hours, but I'm happy to just assist him like the old days, and he was okay with it. Before he left for his surgery, he added, "Come back and assist me again if you have the time." I told him, it depends on my assignment. He nodded and gave me a farewell, leaving me to lock the doors, pack up and go. Even though the work was a little hectic due to the fact he's rushing, I was happy for that few hours.
Oh, he just have to poke fun at my social life.
"So, you have a boyfriend yet?"
"No."
"Well, if you do, please bring him to see me."
"Why?"
"I want to survey him and interview him first before I let you go out with him."
"!!! But what if he runs away?"
"Then he's not a good match for you."
And he said it all with a dead serious face. Ahhhhhh.