Annual Check-Up

            On Wednesday I had an early morning appointment for my annual check-up. I felt anxious about it all through yoga, with tension in my chest. I was worried that my blood pressure was going to be over the top. During and after song practice the tension subsided a bit. It’s weird how I felt physically relaxed but also felt anxiety at the same time. After spending half an hour on a song translation I got ready to go. I went out on the deck to check the weather and it really was “fraîche” outside like they’d said on Radio Canada, meaning “a little cool”. For the first time this summer I put on my long sleeved shirt, though unbuttoned. It was just cool enough that the shirt made my ride more comfortable but I could tell by the sun that the shirt would be in my backpack on the way home.

            I was about twenty minutes early for my 9:15 appointment. I had time to work on some French grammar exercises while I was waiting. The patient with the earlier booking was a little girl of about three. Her father took her over to the tropical fish tank and she showed the fish her green dinosaur doll as she held it to the glass saying, “See? See? See?”

            The nurse called me into one of Dr Shechtman’s offices and I took off my boots to step on the scale. I weighed 89.4 kilos. I asked her to check what my weight was on last year’s physical and found out that I’ve lost 2.7 kilos since last year and now my weight is considered healthy for my height. I assume the stricter diet I’ve been on since Easter has helped but this summer I also went on two more long bike rides a week than the year before.

            Then she took my blood pressure and it was not only normal but it was lower than last year as well. She said that losing weight helps to keep the blood pressure down.

            She told me to strip to my underwear and left the room. Dr Shechtman came in right away. He gave me the usual once a year once over with the stethoscope and the listening to the cool music my body makes. Since he was my daughter’s physician too, he always asks how she is, which is nice. Then came the dreaded prostate check but it was nice to find out that the little gland is still little. Grant informed me that I am due for another colonoscopy in 2019, declared that I was in excellent health and told me to keep up the good work. I immediately went to the washroom and stole a small roll of toilet paper and another of paper towel.

            I went down the street to the labs at 800 Bathurst to get my blood work done. I thought the receptionist at the doctor’s office had told that it was room 603 but there were only five floors, so I went to the fifth where I found the imaging office and was told to go to the third floor. There I went into the x-ray ray office and found out that I was looking for room 306. The technician asked if I’d been fasting and I answered that it had been more than twelve hours since I’d eaten but I did drink some coffee 11 and a half hours before. That seemed to be all right. He gave me back my health card but was concerned when I slipped it between the pages of my book instead of back in my wallet. He told me that there have been lots of times that he’s handed people their health cards back and they misplaced them right away, then they came back and claimed their card hadn’t been returned.

            He took two containers of blood, and then asked if I wanted to see the results on line. That’s new. I said I would but also wondered if I’d understand the results. He gave me a pamphlet with the information and stuck my lab visit number on the back. He informed me that I could see my results in three days. He gave me a container for the urine sample but when I took it to the washroom I could only fill a third of it because I’d already peed at the doctor’s office. They probably only need a teaspoon to test anyway.

            When I got home I had a late breakfast, but not long afterwards I felt sleepy so I took an early siesta at 12:15. I wonder if losing blood had anything to do with it. When I woke up I had a late lunch, I did some writing and some goofing off and then decided to take a bike ride. Sometimes on a day when I’ve already ridden downtown and back I don’t go out again but since Dr Shechtman had told me to keep up the good work it seemed appropriate to go. There were only about two weeks until school started again and then I would be too busy for recreational riding.

            On my way out, my upstairs neighbour, David was coming in with a woman that kind of looked like both a drug addict and a hooker. I guess I could have been wrong; maybe she was a nuclear physicist. David bumped fists with me as usual and she said, “Hello sir!”

            A jazz band was busking in front of ManuLife again. After Yonge Street a big cyclist who looked like he was once solid muscle but was now a bit flabby around the edges, charged past me like a mad elephant. I caught up and got ahead of him several times. He would find the energy for short bursts and passed me a few more times but he seemed run out of steam at around Coxwell.

            I rode to Dawes and went north in order to explore the streets and alleys between Dawes and Barrington. There were a lot of new buildings in that area, especially one ugly co-op complex. The garages in the alley behind Danforth only had student murals mostly depicting various exotic animals. They weren’t very interesting, except for some that I saw reflected in a large mud puddle.

            There was a strong wind blowing from the west and slowing my progress as I rode back across the Bloor Viaduct. It also felt like it was going to get cool again like it was in the morning. I decided that I would keep carrying my long sleeved shirt around just in case.

            I got home at around 19:10.

            That night I watched an episode of Maverick that had a funny opening scene. Adam West played a tough gunfighter that was about to outdraw a cocky young kid. Suddenly though someone approached West and told him that Bret Maverick was in town looking for him. He immediately abandoned the gunfight, got on his horse and said he had to leave down on business. When the kid later met Maverick he declared that he must be a very quick draw if that other gunslinger was so frightened of him. Maverick said that wasn’t the case. West was just scared that Maverick would ask him for the money he owed him.