Dear Daughter paranoid of germs arms herself with lysol wipes for her trek to emergency! Lysoling all the chair arms while I parked. Only a few people ahead of us, when a middle aged man dressed in outdated short shorts hobbles in with a sore on his leg. DD automatically thinks flesh eating disease. The leg is really swollen. He plops himself on a chair close by. We chat. It's a puncture wound from a rose bush. Both DD and Son in law offer up a band-aid from their bags. I lecture him on the dangers of an open sore! Later his sweet wife informs me she has warned him continuously but he won't listen. It was his mother that forced him to come to the hospital. Soon DD, stupid guy and his wife are shuffled into the next room. I have the waiting room to myself.
A pony tailed, extra large, confident woman struts through the automatic door garbed in uniform, plunks her cooler down in a small room at the desk. I thought she was a paramedic, oddly wearing half leather gloves with bare fingers. I was intrigued with her confidence at such girth. Later I noticed she had a bit of a beard. I brushed it off as a possible hormone problem. I've noticed it on women of her size before.
I’m a very large woman too, but shaped quite different than her. Hmmm…I pondered it more when a loud obnoxious kid escorted by a police officer interrupted my peace. Bleeding from the head he was wondering aloud if he could leave. The gentle officer advised him not to, but said he was free to do as he pleased! The bold eighteen year old repeatedly complained that two hours was too long to wait. Cocky one moment, yet vulnerable when asking if he really needed to stay. Clearly he was inebriated! Switching to a young punk once he realized it might not be wise to leave. Demanding like a spoiled two year old that he should get immediate care because he’s bleeding to death. Pointing to me, and another couple waiting for a family member, suggesting we probably only had a cough anyway! It was quite laughable
He'd been in a brawl, but told the officer he fell. We could hear him informing friends on his cell while urinating in the washroom. Exiting with blood stained hands he managed to touched everything in sight! Later dear daughter heard him yelling repeated drunkin yahoo's followed by crying as they stitched up his nasty gash!
More people trickled in. I popped out for a coffee and food since neither son inlaw nor I had any dinner. It was nearing midnight with no idea when we’d get her results. I sipped coffee in the quiet of my car, tunes streaming in the background. Son in law joined me to quickly eat his chicken club. I asked if he thought the large pony tailed person walking to their 1970’s boat sized gas guzzler was a male or female. He thought female, figuring a male that big would shuffle along with less confidence. The vintage car owner drove past us in a very masculine manner. Hmmm…more doubt...
Son in law left to join dear daughter. I stayed behind avoiding hoopla of the emergency room. Thirty minutes later, the very large entity in a crispy white shirt and black uniform pants assertively walked towards my car. I thought he left? It was strange. I jarred my window. He mentioned I’d been sitting there a while. His voice seemed surprisingly masculine, but then again mine does on occasion too! My eyes curiously searched for breasts, they were there, sort of, or was it just fat? He told me every Friday he washes his car inside and out and noticed there were finger prints on the window as though someone was trying to break in. " Didn't I see you drive away?" I asked.
Apparently he had to checked another parking lot. That's when I realized he must be security. I assured him I never saw anyone trying to break in….thinking, besides, who would? He left me still perplexed…male or female? I’ve concluded he’s socially inept male who plays too many dragons and dungeons. I’ll never know for sure. Later that night I saw him having a smoke….we left at just after 2 A.M. slept a few hours and came back for dear daughters ultra sound and CT scan but what an odd night!
The feared appendicitis turned out to be a ruptured cyst on her ovary. Thankfully she is out of the woods, and it should clear up in a week. I'm so grateful to be a Canadian with free health care! Even if there are punk kids who sometimes abuse the system and stupid men who won't wear band-aids!
