Now What?

My wife and I got into the car after exiting an urgent care facility. As I turned on the car, my wife turned her head away and proceeded to cry. It wasn’t the discomfort of her illness , but the carelessness from the employees working there. “You just have to ride it out” was their diagnosis. The bigger issue was this wasn’t the first time my wife was treated this way as a patient. 

My wife is a type 1 diabetic. She was diagnosed at the age of 8. Her life changed forever after that initial doctor visit. Her mom thought she was going to die. That goes to show the lack of knowledge shared in reference to this disease during the early 90s. This is a vital detail every primary doctor should know concerning patients with this condition and several others. While visiting urgent care , no one asked if she had them. Some could argue my wife should have volunteered the information. Maybe so , but isn’t it protocol to ask if one has pre-existing conditions ? If so, this place failed miserably. 

The staff was dismissive at first. If it wasn’t for my wife naming other symptoms, the receptionist would have never started typing. She was seen immediately after paying the $75 copay. The nurse came in , checked her vitals , jotted something down and left. A man came in, masked of course , asked what her symptoms were and cut her off mid sentence. He proceeded to read the symptoms of a 2nd vaccine shot (Moderna) off of his phone...VERBATIM. He said he experienced the same, stating he, too, had to wait it out. 

My wife had been feeling bad for almost a week now. She took the 2nd shot of Moderna on Wednesday. She explained that, but no further investigation was made. We were sent on our way with hopes of a safe recovery. While my wife cried and explained her frustration, I was clueless. I didn’t know what to say or do. What can we do for now is the question I needed answered. Their response was nothing shy of a shoulder shrug. They might as well have lifted their hands and shoulders with a blank expression. Something needed to be done , for my wife was feeling worse by the minute. 

Prior to us leaving, we were trying to eat dinner. I drove to Chick-fil-A and came back. She couldn’t eat. She curled up in one of our chairs, trying to cope. While sitting at our table , I realized what I wasn’t doing. As a husband, I was listening to my wife inform me of her discomfort, but as a believer in Christ , I wasn’t addressing the issue with the one person who knew EXACTLY what was going on. I needed to have a conversation with God. 

I slid over to my wife , placed my hand on her back...and gave it to the father. This may turn you off as a reader and that’s understandable, but many times we overlook the source of our healing and strength. We assume only people can fix our problems. That is far from the truth. If we stick to this , PEOPLE will fail us every time. Right now, my wife and I are not waiting for answers, but releasing action.

There’s a saying my mom taught me. It goes THINK. PRAY. ACT. We thought about what we wanted (healing). We prayed a direct prayer (for my wife ). We went to urgent care only to be sent back home short of $75 (action). God says He knows the desires of our hearts. Prayer isn’t just a way to release the request , but to release blessings . The urgent care facility may have been short with us , but God collects every word. He says our tears will not shed in vain. 

My wife will get better not because of what they said in 10 minutes , but because of what God has been saying since the beginning. “I’ll never leave you, nor forsake you.” My wife had a bad experience, but she has a good , good father. We will see the end of this, for many more storms will come. We must remember who allowed them to happen or created them. Nothing slips through His fingers, not even a $75 diagnosis we could have googled.