Before leaving the hospital yesterday, the nurse very kindly made arrangements for me to have my final blood test done at the hospital near the hotel.  She attached a note to my lab requisition that said, “Stop at the emergency desk in case you need a card.”

I arrived at the emergency desk this morning at 8:45 AM.  I showed the receptionist at the desk the lab requisition with the piece of paper attached and asked her where the lab was located. She looked at me like I was really silly and informed me that, “No you do not want the lab. You are to go to Cardiology.”  I told her that I had specific instructions to go to their lab this morning for a 9:00 AM blood draw. Again she said, “No, you are to go to cardiology.” We went back and forth like this a few more times before I finally took the lab requisition back and read the attached note to her.  Her only comment was, “Well!”  It was very obvious that she had only read one word on the note, namely card, which she mistook for being the abbreviation for Cardiology. She then asked me who the doctor was that had ordered the blood work. I told her his name and even spelled it for her. She entered a name into her computer and informed me that no such doctor existed in that hospital.  I told her that was odd because I had seen a doctor by that name yesterday and that he was an endocrinologist. She looked at me with an all knowing look on her face and informed me that they only had one doctor with that surname but a different first name, that he was Dr. So and So, and with added emphasis that he was in Cardiology. By then I could barely keep my laughter under control but managed to suppress it long enough to spell the endocrinologist’s last name for her again.  She entered the new spelling into her computer and finally acknowledged that they actually had a doctor by that name in their hospital. Shaking with laughter, I asked her if she could please finally tell me how to find the lab. This exchange between myself and the receptionist would have made a great Monty Python routine.

I had the blood draw done without further to do.  I went back to the hotel, packed and then left for the airport at 11:00 AM. My flight left at 1:10 PM and I arrived back home at 4:00 PM.  What a relief to be home again!