After days of suffering student turns to Health Center doctors for cure
COMMENTARY
Emilee Baker

Last week, as I lay on my deathbed, I did something I had sworn never to do again. I went to the Health Center.

I had been feeling bad for a couple of days, but I tried several different excuses. I was on a plane Sunday, so it was the re-circulated air. I went to Maine over the weekend, so it was the changes in atmosphere. I missed a couple of days of my vitamins, so my immune system was weaker. I had a wet head when I went to class Monday. Anything. I just didn’t want to be sick — and I really didn’t want to be diagnosed.

My experience with the Health Center in the past has not been a great one. Many times, because they do not have the appropriate equipment, I was sent to the emergency room for menial illnesses. It’s embarrassing when you sit in the emergency room for three hours simply to discover that you have poison oak.

I am one of those people who gets grossed out when sitting in the waiting room. I can practically see the germs floating towards me with menacing grins. I always feel like other people’s ailments are crowding me and I will end up more sick simply from being in there. So, I had an interesting dilemma.

Alas, Tuesday came and I couldn’t even swallow, much less did I want to leave my bed. My body was freezing, my head was on fire, and I felt like I had run a good 50 miles, knowing that I can’t even run a block. Something had to be done.

So, I went to the Health Center early, hoping not to wait too long to see a doctor because I had a test at 11 a.m. I wasn’t trying to get out of the test, but I was hoping for a miracle cure that would make my head stop swimming so I could focus and study.

Plus, in regard to the “other-people’s-germs problem,” I knew that I was the sickest person in the waiting room, and it would be my germs attacking everyone else. They were vicious enough to put me out of commission for three days, and I knew it looked that way. So, thankfully, no one sat close enough for me to feel threatened by foreign germs.

After a good discussion with the doctor, it was decided that I would be tested for two different illnesses, one treatable by antibiotics, one not. Thankfully, I only had to wait 24 hours to discover that it was not mononucleosis. I would have danced, had I felt like standing. And only 24 hours after that did I find out that I had strep throat. Luckily, I had already been medicated with an antibiotic Tuesday, so I was already back on the path towards health.

Granted, antibiotics will almost always have side effects. But being able to swallow and eat solid foods after a day and a half was worth it. The weekend allowed me to fully recover, minus the stress of tests.

So, here I am, almost completely recovered and amazed at the Health Center. They were able to successfully find the problem and fix it. So my point is: don’t be scared to go to them when you’re feeling like death. They may not have the best track record in my personal experience, but when they are able to help, it’s worth it. I am eternally thankful to any person who can make me well. So, kudos to you, Health Center and personnel, for fixing me up right and making me feel much better!

Emilee Baker is a senior anthropology and sociology major from Sheridan, Ark.