Followups and throat-cams
Sep. 5th, 2007 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebitterguySo, today was my followup appointment at the ENT clinic at St. Mike's. My illness had abated by last Monday, but I figured it couldn't hurt to get a followup in, right (hey, is that foreshadowing?)?
So, I decided to take the Go Transit into town and TTC it up, instead of paying for gas and parking right downtown, in addition to the hassle of the actual drive. Well, of course, I forgot there were other hassles inherent in the trip. For example, upon arriving at the Milton GO station, I discovered that the line was not moving, due to what seemed to be intense discussions between the cashier and a customer that occupied her for a good five minutes.
Seriously, a GO ticket must be the most idiot proof purchase imaginable. Where you going, what ticket do you need (i.e. one way, round trip, ten rides, or monthly pass), and how you paying. See? Only three of the WHs. To be honest, I think they really need automated ticket machines for these for the rush hours. Just slip in your debit card, select where you're going, and a little ticket pops down. So very, very easy.
So, yes. I missed the first train I wanted to take, but that was part of my cunning plan, and would have just gotten me there foolishly early. So, I hopped the next GO train, and motored down to Union. Of course, I had no idea that the lines to pay for transit at Union station don't actually move, but sit there, immobile, like a giant rock formation. YHB thought that there were only two fives in his wallet, until he checked it and saw there was, in fact, a tenner. Whee! Tokens!
Oh, wait. Now I line up to get to the token dispenser. Rass frassa.
Eventually, I make my way up to St. Mikes (only 15 minutes late. Le sigh) and find out which building is Cardinal Carter (interesting note: Wall maps have not been updated to reflect that name for the north building! How delightful!).
Eventually I get to the ENT doc, and tell him what happend (woke up, throat blocked, couldn't talk, could breathe and eat). He looked around (taking care to also look in my nose and ear because, hey, specialist!), even using a throat cam (which he dipped in lubricant and snaked through my nose into my throat) to take a look around. He pretty much confirmed that he suspected what I suspected (uvula swelling) and that he had no idea how it happened, although he suspected I may have had a viral infection because of the sudden onset and gradual 'going awayism' (that's a term of Scienceology, kids!).
I totally should have gone to Med School.
The NT cam (which I suspect would be useless for ear issues, but two out of three ain't bad) was an interesting experience. He made sure to remind me to keep breathing, and I turned the seat so I wasn't actually looking at the screen. I'm a strong believer that no person should ever see live video from inside their body. Call me superstitious.
The doc did a good job, even if I was coming in exactly ten days too late for him to see the actual situation. I'm sure that I relish not repeating the experience of trying to spit out my uvula when it's swollen to the size of a golf ball.
So, I used one of my other tokens to get to work, and have immersed myself in a big vat of my daily routine. Yay.
(Nope, guess it wasn't actually foreshadowing)
So, I decided to take the Go Transit into town and TTC it up, instead of paying for gas and parking right downtown, in addition to the hassle of the actual drive. Well, of course, I forgot there were other hassles inherent in the trip. For example, upon arriving at the Milton GO station, I discovered that the line was not moving, due to what seemed to be intense discussions between the cashier and a customer that occupied her for a good five minutes.
Seriously, a GO ticket must be the most idiot proof purchase imaginable. Where you going, what ticket do you need (i.e. one way, round trip, ten rides, or monthly pass), and how you paying. See? Only three of the WHs. To be honest, I think they really need automated ticket machines for these for the rush hours. Just slip in your debit card, select where you're going, and a little ticket pops down. So very, very easy.
So, yes. I missed the first train I wanted to take, but that was part of my cunning plan, and would have just gotten me there foolishly early. So, I hopped the next GO train, and motored down to Union. Of course, I had no idea that the lines to pay for transit at Union station don't actually move, but sit there, immobile, like a giant rock formation. YHB thought that there were only two fives in his wallet, until he checked it and saw there was, in fact, a tenner. Whee! Tokens!
Oh, wait. Now I line up to get to the token dispenser. Rass frassa.
Eventually, I make my way up to St. Mikes (only 15 minutes late. Le sigh) and find out which building is Cardinal Carter (interesting note: Wall maps have not been updated to reflect that name for the north building! How delightful!).
Eventually I get to the ENT doc, and tell him what happend (woke up, throat blocked, couldn't talk, could breathe and eat). He looked around (taking care to also look in my nose and ear because, hey, specialist!), even using a throat cam (which he dipped in lubricant and snaked through my nose into my throat) to take a look around. He pretty much confirmed that he suspected what I suspected (uvula swelling) and that he had no idea how it happened, although he suspected I may have had a viral infection because of the sudden onset and gradual 'going awayism' (that's a term of Scienceology, kids!).
I totally should have gone to Med School.
The NT cam (which I suspect would be useless for ear issues, but two out of three ain't bad) was an interesting experience. He made sure to remind me to keep breathing, and I turned the seat so I wasn't actually looking at the screen. I'm a strong believer that no person should ever see live video from inside their body. Call me superstitious.
The doc did a good job, even if I was coming in exactly ten days too late for him to see the actual situation. I'm sure that I relish not repeating the experience of trying to spit out my uvula when it's swollen to the size of a golf ball.
So, I used one of my other tokens to get to work, and have immersed myself in a big vat of my daily routine. Yay.
(Nope, guess it wasn't actually foreshadowing)
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 06:52 pm (UTC)What time do I pick you up tomorrow? And do you know how to get to where we're going?
no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 07:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 07:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 07:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 08:06 pm (UTC)BTW, there's no way I'll be up for the entirety of the evening as scheduled - I'd want to bow out by 11, at latest.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 08:26 pm (UTC)Of course not. 11 at the latest.
{taps side of nose}
no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 08:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 11:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 02:59 am (UTC)::B::
no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 01:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 03:58 am (UTC)They have those in Europe - very slick. That's probably why they'll never catch on here, they're too European. Actually, they had them in Singapore too. In fact, I think most everywhere except here has them. My bet would be because the GO Transit people are a bunch of tight-fisted tightwads, but that's just me. And yes, I'm aware I just used the word "tight" twice in the space of half a sentence.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 01:56 pm (UTC)I, personally, won't be happy until I can be scanned at entrance and exit and automatically debited without having to interact with any person or machine, but I'm just funny that way.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 02:05 pm (UTC)The most likely way to do that is to implant some sort of microchip in you that is read by a scanner. I have two issues with that sort of idea: first, it would be damn easy to make a copy of your chip, and second, it's just a little too creepily close to the raving loonies you see on the street corner with the "do not get the 666 chip embedded in your palm or forehead, it is the mark of the Beast".
no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 02:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 07:12 am (UTC)Glad you're okay though; sudden mystery illensses are no fun, having been there. And St Mike's know their onions; they certainly got me sorted out when British GPs couldn't give a stuff.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-06 03:00 pm (UTC)Transit is slowly but surely starting to get better. I think they're working on single fare cards that'll get someone on GO trains and onto the local transit systems. I think they're even working on doing fare zones in TO, too.