An interesting development since moving into university accommodation was the arrival of a strange spattering of bites that appeared across my calfs. Initially i assumed that i had had a particularly unlucky night in which i had unwillingly fed a family of mosquitos, however upon waking the next day i was concerned to find that more bites had appeared across my ankles and feet and they were very red and very angry looking. On the third day it was getting ridiculous and looked so unusual that i started to get a bit freaked out as my thoughts were now consumed with fears of Asian parasites and unknown infectious diseases (not that melodramatic upon inspection of my legs) and so after much discussion with other members of the group, i decided to take myself down to the local hospital.
As i approached the desk i noted i was one of the few people NOT wearing a face mask, but that aside somehow managed to register myself (for some reason it seems like the GP surgery is part of the main hospital - is that unusual or is it just me being stupid?) and was sent to hang out with a bunch of miserable-looking people that were waiting to be seen. I was called within 10 minutes by a nurse who set about weighing me, taking my blood pressure.
She asked me what the problem was and i told her i had a strange rash. She asked if i had a sore throat or fever. I said no, my problem was isolated to the rash, so she asks me if i have a cough, ear ache, vomiting etc. I tell her no, it's still only the rash, at which point i think she decided i wasn't suffering from Avian flu, and was thus cleared to go and sit in the company of the REALLY sick-looking people. Which was comforting. Getting pretty stressed out now i sit down in the only available seat between a woman who was coughing all over me and a guy laid out on a gurney (not moving but presumably alive). Grimmacing at the only sign that is in English, which reads 'IF YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM A COUGH, YOU MUST WEAR A FACEMASK' i decided that this was a good time to start reading my new book: 'Zen Therepy'.
Fortunately i was seen extremely quickly and so got to leave my healthy companions behind me, however i was not so impressed with the two second diagnosis of 'an allergic reaction caused by an unusual insect bite', but decided to leave and pick up my medication, which i also resented spending my travelling money on. However i decided to try and chill out and let the medication (which there was a lot of) do its magic.
Three days later i had finished the medication. Four days later i wasn't feeling any more optimistic. So i headed back to the hospital with my patient card and was seen again by another doctor, who made me feel a lot better about the whole situation. He said i was having an extremely allergic reaction to SOMETHING, and i figure it must be the bedsheets or the powder they were washed in because this all started the morning after my first night at the uni. He gave me another truck load of medication, involving steroid creme and antibiotics among other things. Again displeased at spending money on stupid illnesses, i at least felt better having a second opinion, sympathetic ear and understanding attitude, as the doctor agreed it did look like something far more worrying than it actually was. So for the next 5 days i'm taking this medication but now am very happy to have peace of mind, so i'm putting this one under 'interesting experiences' and looking at the amusing side of things. The whole hospital experience was pretty entertaining, and i think after not cracking under the pressure of the waiting room, i'm feeling the effects of 'zen therepy'.
