Book the First

I have a lot to talk about today, so perhaps I will do so in pieces. I shall call this "Book the First."

Chapter 1: The Ear Infection

Thanks to horrendous family genetics (thanks daddy), my ear canals are defective and do not properly drain. The result? Frequent and extremely painful ear aches. Indeed, since I was a child, I have been prone to these attacks which cause me to feel as if a balloon was being blown up inside of my head. I usually get one a year. However, I got two in Thailand--one of which was the most painful in my life. The last one I had was a birthday present in Uganda. I ended up crying the entire night as I lay on the cool tile floor.

This weekend, I continued this tradition by getting yet another ear infection. However, this time the grace of God, a lot of love and a whole lot more common sense caused me to act in the much early stages of the pain. You see, the familiar dull throbbing pain started on Saturday. It proceeded to get worse on Sunday morning, but I tried to remain optimistic. My fellow teacher, fellow church-goer and close friend here told me that I should go to Urgent Care in Rapid. (R is kinda like my Auntie. Her hubby says that I would be the perfect daughter for her. I told her I was already happily taken, Mommy!) However, as you already know if you are a faithful blog reader, I despise Rapid City. I brushed her suggestion aside, citing my lost insurance card (which was true). However, when my other excellent friend, R, suggested that I go to the clinic, I thought perhaps I should. So I called R and told her I would make a search for my card. However, I only planned on putting forth a tiny bit of effort since I didn't really want to go. In fact, I sent up a Hail Mary prayer that went something like this "God, if you want me to go to Rapid, help me find my insurance card." I might as well have said, "P.S. Keep it hidden!" But, as you may have expected the very next pair of jeans I picked up had my card underneath. Now, this is a modern day miracle as my room is so messy, I half to part-time as a bulldozer to get to my bed! Needless, to say, I humbly asked R to take me to Rapid.

I can now say that I am truly thankful I went. I was able to get a diagnosis and double dose of Amoxicyllin for just $25! I love insurance! Also, the medicine prevented me from experiencing the most severe stages of the ear infection and I am happy to report that I am now on the mend.