BST9: The really good Doctor

So here I am. New haircut, slightly new wardrobe (remember, I brought nothing - all I had down there was whatever I had left/bought on my previous visits), and a pain in my neck worse than death. So where does a swinging, handsome guy with a pain go? The Doctor of course.

A nice trip to see Dr. Lewis, the doc of the lake. A Doc so cool, he rides his motorcycle to work. This dude is one cool doc. He has a knack for spotting things before anyone else does - and being right. However, directly outside his office is Dairy Queen.

Hard choice, huh?

Well, Doc was first - check in, wait, fill out forms. Stating I had no medical insurance, but payment was assured. Then I got called back, check the vitals.

Now I occasionally weighed myself when I was living in NY, nothing official mind you - just an occasional inquiry. I knew at one point I was racking up about 300lbs on my frame. Hey, its a wonderful life.

Well when I was weighed at Lewis, well - I had dropped nearly 100lbs in nearly 6 months. Well, I was on no weight loss plan - no diet. I was not working especially hard. I was just existing day to day, and somehow lost nearly 100lbs.

Of course, Lewis - not having seen me before, nor having any kind of chart to base things on - might not have realized how fast I had lost weight, or how much. I had not been to a doctor prior in roughly.. well, lets just say most Catholics make confession more often than I go to doctors.

So we sit in the exam room for a bit. Dr. Lewis themes his rooms, theres a fish room, a lake room.. yadda yadda.

In walks the good Doctor. Hello says I, hello says he. But the differences could not be more vast. Dr. Lewis grew up a military brat, living for a time in a town not all that far from where I grew up. But years and time have erased the NY from his voice, he is the very definition of calm. His voice exudes a warmth and confidence, a concern yet command of the situation. He sounds (at least) nearly unflappable.

My parents and I give him a run-down of the situation as far as we see it. I do not remember if he took an x-ray, or if he just went based on feelings. But he ordered a CT scan. The very next day in Rocky Mount at Carilion Franklin I had an appointment for a CT.

What a wonderful week this was going to be. I had the vaguest idea what a CT scan was, much less a decent understanding of what they would be looking for.

In retrospect, Im probably glad I did not know.

Tomorrow: BST10:How far? How long?