What I’m drinking – some sort of Starbucks Blonde Roast coffee, with milk… I forgot which type I bought!
My husband and I have known each other since college, freshman year, 2002. We got married the summer of 2007, right between his first and second year of medical school…
My husband has been a full fledged MD since 2010. Being a doctor’s wife, particularly in those early medical school years, means being a guinea pig. Aspiring young medical student needs to practice palpating kidneys? Helpful wife here to be a faux patient! Big exam coming up on how to conduct a lengthy, thorough physical exam? Katie, would you mind saying “aaahhhh” during commercials?
It always makes me giggle. AND I feel like I’m armed with behind-the-scenes secrets when I legitimately am a patient!
Until this last week…..
This may be TMI, but I use the Depo shot for my…. ahem…. birth control. As much as we adore our little girl, we don’t want a sibling for her so quickly!
Anywho, the Depo shot requires a trip to the doctor’s to get an injection every 3 months. This time around, I was (frankly!) too lazy to pick up the medication at the pharmacy and troop over to the doctor’s to get the injection. Such a pain in the tushy (literally and figuratively!).
So, Doctor Husband proudly declares, “Well, I can administer the injection for you!”.
Yikes.
This is a whole new level of guinea pig. It’s one thing to let him test my leg reflexes… it’s another to get a shot.
But, it’s cheaper than paying a co-pay. And, for the record, my doctor did say, “Since your husband is a doctor, he could give this shot to you!”.
So, a few evenings ago, he comes waltzing in, ready to give me a shot. (Shoot me now!) I watched him scrub up (it was up to his elbows!), and prep his “tools”. He then says I need to lie down on my side so my right hip is in the air. Lie down??? When I got this injection at the doctor’s office, I got to sit up!! What’s with this? Seeing my shock, my sweet husband offered these words of encouragement – “Well, then you may not have gotten the shot in the exact right spot. But, don’t worry. I’ve watched a YouTube video.”
I’m convinced he watched this one.
So there I am, lying down. He needed to palpate to find the correct location. This basically translated to lots of poking! It tickled! Of course, that means I’m squirming while he’s trying to find the correct spot to give me the injection!
About 10 minutes later, with spot located (and my finger “holding the spot”), he makes a small indentation with the needle cap so he will “know exactly where to put the needle”. Smart! I personally would have drawn a smily face with a sharpie… but I didn’t go to medical school! 🙂
The injection WAS successfully administered, BUT it seemed like the total time, start to finish, took about 30 minutes! He said I was a poor patient. I couldn’t help but tease him that I was stiff legged and could no longer walk straight. 🙂
This is why doctors don’t give shots. Next time, I’m calling one of my nursing friends!
Cup of Tea 