Today I had to return to the doctor for my second round of steroids, but George was at work and obviously I can’t drive. I actually haven’t driven since May 16th! Boy, that seems weird. Anyways, my friend, Neha, and her Mom, Amita, already planned to visit and bring lunch today. And Billie planned to bring dinner tonight so I devised a plan and enlisted their help.

I’ve never mentioned the ordeal we go through getting to the doctor,but thinking about how it took three people to do it today made it blog-worthy. Sometimes I just have to laugh about this sort of thing. Otherwise the flood gates could break.

Neha and Amita drove me to the hospital down the lovely highway 35 corridor complete with construction and bottle neck traffic. Upon arrival, Amita dropped me off with the valet so I could settle into my wheelchair. Usually at this point the valet guy that I befriended takes me to the lobby where I wait for George. This time, Neha then wheeled me to an elevator where we headed to the 6th floor. Once we got there, she wheeled me into the non-ADA compliant doctor’s office. You would think a doctor’s office inside a hospital would be ADA compliant, but nope. Navigating narrow doors and between waiting room chairs is a real treat. I checked in to get my steroid shot and we waited. Meanwhile, Amita navigated the gauntlet that is the parking garage. Once she got out of the garage, she descended the elevator to the ground floor then headed up the second elevator to meet us upstairs.

Billie also managed the parking garage gauntlet and traversed through the elevators. She finally met us in the waiting room and everyone had their parking ticket validated. The nurse finally called me back and Neha wheeled me into a room for my shot, which took a minute tops. All four of us reversed the previous steps of getting into the office. I ended up back with the valet while Billie picked up her car to take me home. This was roughly a two hour ordeal from start to finish. All that for a quick poke in the butt! Thank goodness for friends!

That being said, being temporarily disabled really makes you appreciate the little things in life like walking. While I’m not enjoying this aspect of the adventure, it is making me a better, hopefully more empathic person in the end. Many people that we brush by daily are not dealing with a disability on a temporary basis. It is their permanent reality and it’s not easy. They don’t want our pity, but may just need a hand every now and then or for someone to hold the door open.

Hugs,

Amber