Is there a doctor in the house?

It all started yesterday when I finally admitted that I should probably see a doctor as three days at home had yet to cure whatever was ailing me. So I spoke to Anneke who investigated the best way to get to a decent doctor in Doha. My guess is that she in turn spoke to the nurse at work and before I knew it she was calling me back with the names of two doctors, directions and some handy hints about what to expect. Armed with information and a dizzy disposition I called for Mr G and waited for my ride.

Things were going well really. We managed to find the HMC Medical Clinic, also known as the Omar Clinic or the "something that I've yet to understand" hospital with only one stop and additional call for directions. I was directed to the female entrance by the helpful driver and went to "registration". I asked for the two doctors that I'd been given the names of and was told that I needed to be on the men's side for that. The lady then moved away from the counter and went back to her conversation. I stood there making vain attempts to attract their attention through the glass to find out how exactly it was that I was meant to get to the men's side. It wasn't going so well. So I figured if I wandered down the corridor which led to the x-ray room (well, the "beware radiation room" anyway) that it might eventually curve around. That's how I ended up in the men's section of the clinic. Needless to say there were stares-a-plenty. Not to mention a total lack of queuing. The men queued vaguely with the other men. I was just non-existant in the queue unless it was to be stared at. Yup. I love going to the doctor most days. This just makes it more fun! Eventually I got to the front of the queue to be served by the same woman as before. At least I'm 99% sure it was the same woman, she was veilled so I can't be 100% but the voice sounded the same. I was then told that I'd have to come back later as neither of the doctors were in. Some people might wonder why this information wasn't shared earlier. I chose not to wonder anything and call Mr G again and go home to bed where my head would hopefully spin less.

It being Doha the clinic closed at noon so I ended up sitting outside the clinic - luckily it was only about 45˚ yesterday - waiting for the taxi. 20 minutes in the sun sucks. I forgot the golden rule about carrying a bottle of water while travelling too. Well, that's not entirely true. I considered carrying a bottle of water but figured I'd either be in a car or in the medical centre. Silly Sarah! On the bright side I spent the rest of the day drinking plenty of water to make up for it.

I considered getting back in a taxi at 16:00 when the clinic reopened but having spent QR40 and achieved nothing but feeling equally if not more dizzy. I decided to give up for the day and try again the next day. This is largely because I found out that the nurse generally takes you there and explains what's happening.

Today I bounded out of bed and jumped on the shuttle to work for the first time in a couple of days and it felt good. By bounded I mean I slid out of bed and held onto the furniture as I made my way to the door for added stability. By jumped on the shuttle I meant that I dragged myself up the steps and chose a somewhat reclined seat on the bus. Still, it was good to see Anneke, Mel & Hugh Jackman on the bus. Kelsey Grammar was there too, if a little blue and furry. I must say that X-Men 3 is a way that I could start my mornings, even though I didn't like it as much as the first two.

I forgot that there was a Ramadan presentation today so that it was good that I arrived when I did. It gave us pointers on what to expect and how to behave during Ramadan. It also advised us when the QDC (giant bottle shop) closed. You'd think that we liked to have a drink or something...

My day passed with a couple of spreadsheets, I'm a bit of an Excel convert, and life was good. I'd even managed to bring my own lunch to work today.

At 16:45 I met up with the nurse who said my ears looked pretty clear so it probably was a good idea to see the doctor. She then took me to the clinic while enroute to the hospital with a couple of other people (possible broken thumb etc).

Mary, the nurse, kindly walked me in the men's entrance and explained the colour coded numbering system and how it didn't always work. There's no waiting between patients. You just walk straight in after the person in front of you comes out. You have to keep an eye on your number because the guys tend to just walk in ahead of their number if you're not paying attention. The cards were colour coded to each doctor so you knew where to go. Even though they had our numbering system on one side, it was Arabic on the back. I really wished that I'd payed more attention to the Arabic numbers section in my Simple Arabic Writing book as most people had the Arabic numbers visible. After she was sure that I'd be right she headed back to the car to the other waiting passengers.

I waited... then number 23 went in... then I waited some more... number 23 exited and I made a run for the door (I had number 24). The Dr Ibrahim was very lovely and asked me which order my cold, dizziness and earache had started in. Pretty much that order I replied. Ah, he said while scribbling on a couple of pieces of paper. Take this page and go to your left and hand it to the lab and take this slip and give it to the nurse to the right then come back. I want to do some tests to find out what's wrong. I'll mark it as urgent and then you come back with the results. I must admit I wasn't really at my best thinking capacity so I nodded, smiled, reconfirmed directions and left. I decided to go to the lab first. Now, I'm not sure what I was expecting when I went to the lab. I'm really not sure why I was surprised when she took out a needle and asked me for my arm. Especially since that whole conversation followed my handing over a large piece of paper saying haematology. Suddenly this trip to the doctor was seeming more intense than usual. Apparently my blood sugar and red blood cell count was in question. While waiting for my results to come back I headed to the right of Dr Ibrahim's room to hand in my next slip. I knew this was to get my blood pressure checked. This was comforting as I wouldn't want to enter a room that says Vital Signs without knowing roughly what I was in for.

Happily all results came back normal. This meant that it was time to answer more questions, breathe deeply and say ahhhh. Apparently my ear drums are very clean. I think that was a compliment? Anyhow as nothing was visible he diagnosed me with an inner ear infection and prescribed some tablets for vertigo. Interestingly the little pamphelet inside the box of tablets states that they're not exactly sure physically how the chemicals seem to stop vertigo, just that they do and they have a hunch that it relaxes the capillaries nearby or something like that. Anyhow the medical system here seems to be excellent and exceedingly thorough!

Armed with my prescription medication and AU$20 less in my wallet I called for Mr G. I spent the next hour sitting outside the clinic singing Finn Brothers songs to myself for company. This was briefly interrupted by a man in a thobe trying to get me to get into his car so that he could drive me home. Taxi/limo drivers can be very insistant. At least they're polite and take no for an answer. Still, it was a little unsettling. Part way through Better Be Home Soon, harmonized with my iPod, my driver arrived and before I knew it I was sitting in traffic.

So here I am at home. Happy to be here. Still a little excited after my little adventure. Totally appreciating how much freedom I have back at home. Language is such a powerful thing.

That's the beauty of travel really. All these little experiences. Even simple things like grocery shopping, sending a letter or going to the doctor can turn into an adventure. I love it! I wish you all as many adventures in life as you can dream...