I call my cousin on Wednesday, September 6th, ask her how she is faring. Get all the details of her accident, and hear how she was treated as a female motorcycle rider. There is discrimination there, subtle, but there. The ER doctor, also female, after running tests and imaging to ensure nothing broken or uncontrollable bleeding, tells my much battered and bruised cousin she can go home, she’s being released. My cousin asks about her hugely swelling knee and the doctor agrees that it should be wrapped; she’ll get a nurse to do it before my cousin leaves. Then my cousin asks about pain relief. This is some pretty serious bruising happening here. She’s been hit by a car, flown through the air, and landed then rolled down the freeway! The doctor kind of slyly smiles and says she can prescribe Flexeril, which is primarily used as a muscle relaxer. There is that discrimination….
We then talk about The Lump, the diagnostic mammogram I must have, and the follow-up ultrasound. We discussed how it’s tender and I’m worried they will be using the smaller paddles they used, when, thanks to my dense breast tissue a few years back, I had to go back for secondary screening on my annual mammogram. That was very painful, and I was imagining this happening on The Lump. I was cringing before it was even going to happen. My cousin said she could send me some Flexeril. I told her it was OK, I already have some. We both laughed, I felt much better.
Life is good.