at the G.I. Methodist clinic

- What brings you here today?

 Young resident, end of morning. He's got a lean, hard face with blue eyes. Tall, thin. He looks harassed.

   kkk - I'm coming for the results from the sample analysis, and also for a renewal of...

  kkk- Let me pull the results on the system. You're not in the system. Have you been here before?

   kkk- Yes, I came in Jan...

   kkk- How come you're not in the system? Are you sure you've been here? Yes. You must if you have a chart. That's so annoying. Let me check what's happening.

He leaves. He comes back. Without a word, starts putting my info into the system, his back to me. The room is tiny, I'm sitting right behind him. I look out the window, Brooklyn under a grey sky. I see all the way to the Bay of New York. Packed with so many ships & barges it looks like we're at war. The doctor, his back still turned, pulls the results from the analysis.

   kkk- No infection detected, but chronic non aggressive gastritis. Were you diagnosed with GERD?

  kkk - Yes, I saw a throat sp...

   kkk- Right, I see it here, diagnosed a couple of years ago. Hey, could it not have been caused by taking too much Ibuprofen or another similar drug?

  kkk - I did get poisoning...

   kkk- Poisoning? What do you mean by poisoning? This is so confusing!

   kkk- Well the drug I was taking, similar to ...

   kkk- But that's not called poisoning. Anyway you have GERD. You need to avoid certain foods: spicy, caffeine, fats. Don't drink with meals. Don't eat late before going to bed. You look fit. That's good.

   kkk- Oh. Thanks.

   kkk- Why are you here today?

  I sigh. I waited 2 hours to be seen.

    kkk- To get a a refill of my prescription.

Contributed by  - -  Arabella Hutter