| 15/1/2013 When I spoke to June yesterday (read her blog here) I lamented the fact that when I'm inspired to write something on here, it's almost always to do with video games. I really never intended this diary space of mine to even become a gamer-focussed blog, it just sorta...happened. Well, today I get to write about something momentous: today is the first day I've ever taken a sick day. I'm serious. Those times I had a cold last year and dragged myself to work anyway, I decided I really shouldn't do that again and actually stay home to recuperate if I have to this year. I got myself into work yesterday with a cold, but I just knew I wouldn't be able to manage the entire shift. My team leader looked at me at one point in the afternoon and just said: "Go home". I called Wioletta (pronounced Violetta, yup that's her name) up this morning as I was uncertain if I should go to work or the doctor. In the Czech Republic, you see, you need your sick days validated by a doctor, unless you're extremely sick, in which case you'll be off work at least 3 days anyway and you then get reimbursed by your medical insurance. But yeah, you need your individual sick days validated, or your employer doesn't pay you. So, having taken the little form with me from work yesterday, Wioletta heard my voice over the phone and told me to see the doctor. The doctor I'm registered with here is the company-approved doctor, who also speaks English. I prefer making an appointment with him before going over, but he has allowed me to get examined in an emergency once or twice. Hm, emergency is too dramatic a word. He has allowed me unplanned visits, that's better. I was surprised at how thorough he was being, asking me the colour of my snot, listening to my breathing with a stethoscope, measuring my blood pressure, examining my mouth, aside from the usual temperature-taking and asking if I had any joint pains. My body temperature turned out to be 36.6℃; that explains so much about my temperature preferences. My current blood pressure is 90/60. What stunned me was the medicine he was prescribing me. I mean, first off, I have a common cold, most UK GPs would just tell me to stay home, drink lots of tea and rest. No, he wrote me a prescription for a nasal spray, droplet medicine and some pills to be taken once a day. I never picked up those pills from the pharmacy, not only because I would have to pay for them otherwise, but also because I get the feeling I would take between 1-3 and would waste the remaining packet. My colds only ever last a few days, this is day 4. Also, I'm not a fan of using medicine as a quick fix, I just wait for the cold to go away. I genuinely believe this helps strengthen my strong immune system. But he thinks I'll be back to normal in 7 days. Pfft! It's been a long time since I took that long to get over a cold! |