Day Thirty-Seven

20 September 2006
So, I miss my husband who has been MIA for a week at a conference. No email and he had his phone off (that or he forgot to bring his charger). I have felt so isolated--like I am halfway around the world in the middle of a hot ocean on an island filled with whiney people all surrounded by steal walls. Oh, wait, that is my reality! Ha! We were supposed to pull into port today and start my 2 day sabbatical off the ship, but alas. Here we are. Anchored off the coast, looking at an area that has wonderful restaurants with yummy food. It was painful dragging myself to dinner and could only get myself to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an unripe pear. The food being served, when you had been dreaming of steak perfectly grilled or fresh spicy sushi, looked absolutely terrible. I then proceeded to eat a milky way (the whole thing) while I sat in my stateroom and watched a movie…
Medical has been interesting (or not so much recently). Would you believe a girl came to medical (to see a doctor) because of ear pain that was caused by a zit near the entrance to her canal? I told her she will be fine in a couple of days with some warm compresses and she looked at me like I spoke Chinese. Are you sure that I don't have an ear infection? You know I got them quite often when I was young. (She says to me) No everything looks perfect except that small zit. (blank look like I was speaking Chinese) Are you sure that I do not need any medication? Nope, just come back in a couple of days if things get worse. Well, what are you going to do when things get worse and I come back? It will not get worse--Ok then you can leave... I wanted to die. Of course that was only about a fourth of the conversation we had regarding the zit in her ear and it was, I am sure, about the same conversation the corpsman had with her earlier before she brought her to me. I looked at my corpsman and asked if I was speaking in Chinese. Did God suddenly bless me with knowing a foreign language? Here is another: I had a wonderful girl yesterday that you would have thought was dying. For all of her amazing show of ultimate sickness, all she had was some sore muscles from doing some heavy lifting the day prior. I was (sadly to confess) pressing on her lightly just to get her to make excessive pain noises (it did not take long to make the diagnosis). When I finally thought I was going to break down into full hysterics and bring my corpsman (who had the chart up covering her mouth) down with me, I firmly told the girl to be quiet and stop making those unnecessary noises. You could not find any empathy in that room at that time even if you had a high tech detector. Sometimes I scare myself. When I told the girl she was fine, I again got that you-just-spoke-Chinese look. Then she said she had chills too and shook and then held herself like she was freezing (it was so convincing—yeah right). Last time I felt this way I had a viral illness and another time I had a kidney problem, she says. Are you having any changes with peeing, I asked. No. I think that some ice packs and Motrin will make you feel a bit better and in a few days you should be 100%. Again, the blank look. Ok then, have a good evening and when you have medical issues come back during sick call. (I had seen her twice in the evenings, apparently she get bored and needs some attention then). Blank look. Then I left. I wanted to die--again. So, that is what your friend is becoming, a prodder just to hear silly noises from drama queens. I feel so proud! I seriously have got to start recording myself to see if I speak another language. I am so interested in what people are hearing. And these are just two examples. The list can go on and I just shake my head in wonder...