You know that feeling of impending doom?

Um, it was more spot-on than I anticipated.

I went to my doctor's walk-in clinic today because I'd been on Ceftin for four days and wasn't getting any better.

I wasn't worried about the flu, or pneumonia, because I'd been vaccinated a couple months back at a routine checkup.

Silly me.

With my convoluted medical history, I should know better!

Innyhoo, Hubby all but insisted that he and the twin Fries take me up to the doc's.  He would take them for breakfast while I got seen.  My not-better cough, my low-grade fever, my aching back...yeah, I needed to be seen.

Apparently, the rest of the world had the same idea, because the waiting room was pretty packed.  By the time I saw the PA, it was after 11a.  He asked about my symptoms and then listened low on my back, once on each side.

"Have you had a repeat chest x-ray since your pneumonia last year?" he asked, pulling out a form and filling it out.

"No...."

"Take this."  He handed me the form, and had me come with him.  He directed me down to x-ray, said I should have my x-rays done, and then come back to the walk-in waiting room and let them know I was back.  "No hurry," he commented.

Good thing.  There were a dozen people in there, already waiting.  It took an hour and a half before I actually saw the x-ray tech, who winced as I coughed (barked?).  Three pictures, then wait some more.

The nurse called me back about ten minutes after I got back up to the walk-in waiting room.  She put me in the same procedure room that my doctor had stuffed us all into last year, when I was squadded out for pneumonia.  I was really hoping to not have a repeat performance.

I was only half lucky.

I have pneumonia again!

He changed my antibiotic and gave me a prescription for some vile-tasting cough syrup with codeine, so I can sleep.

And my back pain?

Pleurisy.

Makes me think I'm 80 gazillion years old.

But at least I didn't need to be admitted.