Sound

Tick, tick, tick...

I have always found loud clocks to be annoying, but right now it is about the only thing to distract me. All I can really see is the ceiling. It's a pretty unremarkable drop ceiling with a fluorescent light fixture. There's a track for a curtain near the entrance, but no actual curtain. Thankfully the light is off. Between that and the dark green walls, the room feels dim.

To my left is a chair where I put my jacket and shirt. I wish there was some art on that wall. Even terrible art like the bizarre depiction of Regina and things south of it that was in my former dentist's office. I spent many a flouride treatment staring at it and wondering why the artist decided to include California in the picture.

To my right is the technician, the ultrasound machine, and everything else she needs. She's spending a lot of time examining the same area. She can't talk about what she's seeing but, perhaps sensing some concern on my part, says that the right side takes longer because there are more organs to image there. I'm not really reassured.

I can't actually see the screen while the exam is going on, but, at one point, she gets me to sit up and then for a while I'm able to sneak a look. I don't exactly know what I'm looking at, but there's a black sort of oval shape with gray around it. At times, there's also a white circle inside the black oval. I feel like the white blob isn't supposed to be there. Of course, the technician can't tell me anything. Determining what is in the image is done by someone else and then the result goes to my doctor.

When the test is done, the technician leads me out of the room and down the hall. There are a group of people chatting but as we approach they stop and duck off to one side. Then I'm back outside and on my way home for the waiting. The test results will show up on e-health first then there's the wait for the call from my doctor's office. After a few days with no call, it's clear he isn't concerned. The symptoms I had that provoked the test were fairly minor and I'll be seeing him soon enough anyway. So now I'm just waiting for my next appointment and while I wait, far from the exam room, I think I can still hear the clock.

Tick, tick, tick...