Doctors' Day

Last week, I went to see a doctor. No, I did not feel like it was malaria or typhoid or T.B or worse, breast cancer. My back was throbbing. My lower back to be precise. It has been agonizing for like two years now. I cannot bend and stand up like any other normal human being, I have to do it in phases because standing up instantly hurts awfully, I cannot lift heavy loads without feeling like the entire world is spinning right in front of my eyes and when I stretch, I hear those breaking sounds of the joints or whatever it is that makes those sounds. I get gutted every time I hear that noise. My very young and boisterous bones are now giving me reverberation when I decide to stretch.
I woke up very very early, at 6.30 a.m (yes...this is very early for me now that I am in for my fleeting holiday) and my mum dropped me off at the doctors place of work at 7.30 a.m. And she left. Gone are the days when my mummy used to accompany me to the doctor and elucidate all my ailments. Now I had to do it on my own.
When I got to the waiting bay, I was dazed to find a long queue with all kinds of people. When did this people leave their beds?? Did they even sleep?? I almost turned back and left (I am one impatient person, I hate being kept waiting) but when I harked back to the nightmare that I am going through with this backache, I sat down...like everybody else and resolved to wait.
One hour, two hours, three hours and I was still lingering the slow moving queue. These are the times I have those inner voices in my head that almost make me go bizarre...
"Go ahead and leave, you are slaying your time"
"No darling, a lil more fortitude and the doctor will see you"
"You could be doing what you love most you know....sleeping"
"Its okay...you will sleep after this"
And it went on and on until I wanted to scream, "back off both of you, its my life, I will do what I want to do" but of course everybody will think am at the wrong place... That I should be making queues at Mathare hospital instead, and not at a revered doctors place.
Anyway, I continued to wait.
Finally, it was my turn! I entered this gargantuan office filled with numerous books and all those equipment that a doctor requires and sat down. I explicated my quandary without leaving any detail, I even showed him how I stretch and hear the clattering, just in case it had slipped his mind how its done. I just had to be sure.
After paying attention to me and hearing my predicaments, he got a piece of paper and handed it over to me. A list of exercises with illustrations. Seriously? This? I waited for hours in a slow moving queue and paid consultation fee for me to be given a list of exercises to carry out??  I kept calm. Then asked, "why is there clattering in my back when I stretch?"
"Because at the point where your muscles and the joints......"
Obviously, I did not comprehend what he said next, but I just had to make my time worthwhile so I went on nodding like someone who was getting this whole concept of the bones and muscles being strained. He even got a vast book with illustrations to expound it even further. I lamented asking that question. After a moment of being lost in the doctors world, the dreadful moment was all over. I got my jacket and left a  disenchanted person because this is the modus operandi I expected after my heartbreaking explanation of how I was feeling, the doctor to frantically call an ambulance because this was an emergency, I mean, my bones were breaking! And an X-ray or a C.T scan done without any further ado. And I would go through all those machines just to get diagnosed and that thingamajig masquerading in my lower back discerned and expunged instantaneously. Clearly, it didn't happen as I had anticipated but its alright, at least I am not dying.
I felt that this doctor had not mastered his skills proficiently and these exercises would not be of any substantial help. So I went to see another doctor. A different one. There was no queue this time because I knew someone who knew someone and that someone knew someone who knew the doctor. After filling in a form with my details, he asked, "Is there anything that happened like 5 years ago?"
Uuuhhmm..yah! Barack Obama became the first black president. (I thought to myself of course) For pits sake, am supposed to recall what happened five years ago?? For the record, I have the memory of a tadpole. Call it memory lapse.
After thinking so hard, for like five minutes, I came up with...."No, nothing that I can remember". This one prescribed some medicine and asked me to go back after ten days to supplement the drugs with physio therapy in case there was no improvement. Now that's what am talking about. A professional. I did not need a list of exercises to do because I wouldn't do it on my own anyway.  I went home a blissful person.