I posed for a portrait today

I had my picture taken today at a classy facility in Rancho Mirage. It is named after a former President of the United States. Locally it is simply known as the Eisenhower while its official title is the Eisenhower Medical Center. Their radiology departments are renown and I was privileged to take advantage of one of them.

While home for the holidays I somehow contracted one of the worst colds I’ve ever had. I assumed that a trip to a lower altitude with a drier atmosphere would help alleviate the shortness of breath and tremendous congestion I was experiencing at home. I was wrong.

In the past several days the condition has undergone several mutations; one of which had me believing I had all but recovered. I’ve been often accused of being a misguided optimist. Well, instead of being cured it suddenly got worse. I decided I needed some medical attention this morning and we drove over to the Eisenhower Urgent Care Center in Indian Wells. The doctor listened to me breathing, got out his stethascope and listened more and said, “We need a chest X-Ray right now. I “ It’s an old joke and he didn’t laugh. Unfortunately, their X-Ray technician had called in sick today so we had to go to the center at the hospital itself to get it done.

After returning to the Urgent Care Center the doctor looked at the X-Ray and said, “I see no pneumonia.” What you have is a severe bronchial infection and we’ll get you started on some anti-biotics.”

Well, I wish I hadn’t had to go to the Urgent Care Center but it was my first experience with such a facility. I left with a very favorable impression of this specialized medical facility. With the exception of their X-Ray tech being sick, I was seen quickly, the staff was friendly and considerate, and the facility was spotless. Their doctors have no desire to become your primary physician. They keep minimal records on your visit. Even the digital X-Rays which had been put on a CD were given to me for my viewing pleasure. I delayed seeking help for several days because I didn’t want to endure the whole hospital emergency room scene.

Living away from our primary medical doctors creates some complications. Simply having medical insurance isn’t really enough if you need help. To whom do you go to get it. The urgent care facilities fill that gap. If the doctor today had felt there was a need for more intensive examination, he would have referred me to someone at the hospital.