Deafening Silence

I went to the Immediate Care place the other day.  Had been wanting to go there for quite some time, but couldn't find an ample time slot to follow through until the day before yesterday.  

A blocked left ear since Thanksgiving has remained stubbornly blocked through Nedi-pot cleansing, hydrogen peroxide swabs, cotton balls dipped in rubbing alcohol, one sudafed when two are prescribed (hate that stuff) and nasal spray antihistamines.  

Some days it's better than others; some days it feels like a slowly simmering pressure cooker.  Nothing major but definitely a change from its normal behavior.

Anyway, getting up the guts to go to any doctor takes a lot of thinking on my part.  That's ironic, too, cuz I spend a lot of time in doctors' offices------with my mother.  So, the phobia should be nonexistent.

It's the same weird phenomenon as this longtime school teacher who brews up days and months worth of nervous anxiety prior to any public speaking gig.  Doesn't make sense, but to use the great cliche of 2010, "It is what it is."

A fairly open schedule the other day gave me no more excuses to avoid seeing a doctor about my ear.  So, I conjured up the nerve, drove by the place, saw half a dozen cars AND an ambulance parked in the lot.  

Not now, I thought.  So, after some errands, I returned to fewer cars in the lot and even had the nerve to get out of the car. 

"Are you slammed?" I asked the receptionist.  

"Yes," she said.

"I'll come back later," I said, giving her my name. Leaving the facility, I figured this would be enough excuse not to return, rationalizing that I could say to myself, "At least you tried."  

Long story short, I later reasoned that I had only myself to blame if the ear kept feeling like someone had pulled a curtain within to deflect outside interference.

So, on my way home from another errand, I pulled into the lot, walked inside, sat and stewed quietly for about ten minutes.  Shockingly, they called my name in record time, and they were ready to see me.

Inside the exam room, I told the nurse of my doctor-phobia, just in case my blood pressure was high.  It was a bit, she said, but not alarmingly so.  She left.  Just seconds later, the doctor walked in.  I had time to spit out about 20 words describing the symptoms.  

He picked up his ear exam instrument, looked in both ears, then rubbed his fingers and thumbs on both sides of my head, asking, "Can you hear this on both sides?"

"Yes," I said.  

"I don't see anything wrong," he said.  "If it keeps up, I can suggest a specialist."  He told me to take Sudafed before going to bed.  

I talked to the pharmacist about that cuz I've heard Sudafed gives a buzz rather than sweet dreams.  The pharmacist suggested an antihistamine spray.

So, that's what I've done.  The ear is still a bit plugged, but I've gone to the doctor and done my duty.  

I can hear and I'm not dizzy so I'm figuring I'll follow another great cliche of  longtime wisdom, "Deal with it!"

That's pretty much what I do anyway with aches and pains.  Now, at least, I feel licensed to follow that path cuz I've got a doctor's appointment under my belt to go along with "dealing with it."  

So there.  

And, yes, there is deafening silence here this morning.  No TV movies downstairs, no humidifier rattling in Annie's bedroom, no snow rumbling off the roof and Annie Dog isn't even down there in the garage doing her demented arf-arfs. 

It's a quiet house again, for a few hours.  Willie will bring the dogs, and we'll probably keep them overnight.  He's headed in to Spokane today to pick up Debbie who stayed two extra days in Boise and then he has a basketball game to coach this evening.  

They probably won't get home until late,  so it will be doggie sleepover tonight. 

By the way, Annie and Bill had a little excitement on their trip to the airport yesterday----slid off the freeway near Liberty Lake.  At least, they weren't alone.  A state cop was nearby, monitoring and helping all the slide offs yesterday.  

Definitely a wild and woolly day on the road, and I was glad to stay home and take my big chances plowing the driveway.  That's enough excitement for me.

I'm going to savor the silence for the rest of the morning AND enjoy this beautiful day after the big snow storm.  

Happy Thursday to all.