Getting Myself Inspected Again

With all the inspections being done on the prospective new house, I decided it was time for me to get in and get myself “inspected” again.  Well, OK, it was time for me to get new prescriptions for my metformin and lysinopril, and since Dr. Lee is two hundred miles away in Alabama, I needed to find a new doctor to call my own.

I hate going to a new doctor for the first time–the new patient visit is the most intense, and they always want to do all the blood tests and other stuff involved with being a new patient, and I understand all that. How could they possibly treat me if they don’t know what’s going on with me. But, still, I hate it because for the last 12 years, with the exception of being Dr. Lee’s patient for two years, I have always been the “new patient”.  Buying a house in this area will finally finally give me a doctor patient relationship that can go on for years to come!

So, it with all that apprehension that I arrived for my appointment with Dr. Howell at the Tallapoosa Family Medical Center.

I shouldn’t have been so afraid! This is my new doctor, Dr. Tara Howell. She looks like she is younger than my youngest daughter, but that doesn’t matter at all. She and I clicked right off the bat. She is smiley and cheerful, and put me at ease just by walking in the room! She seemed genuinely interested in me as her patient, and that is not something I have seen every time I have been to the doctor. And, she seemed quite knowledgeable about things that could be (well, ARE) wrong with me. Isn’t she just too cute to be a doctor? Ok, Dr. H, if you are reading this, please don’t be offended by that. You remind me so much of my niece, and that is a good thing.

After Dr. Howell got through with asking me questions about my health history, and discussing some options about that dang plantar fasciitis, she turned me over to the lab for blood work. And that where I usually DREAD sitting down. Those lab people, those, those, PHLEBOMOTISTS, they usually poke and prod and jab me a hundred times, trying to find a vein. I HATE that part of going to the doctor SO MUCH!  I used to tell a joke that went like this “I hate going to the hospital because they poke me with needles and make me take a baby home”,  and that was not far from the truth. I have actually had a medical person use an ultrasound machine to find a vein after she had poked me three times and I refused to let her try again.

But, let me tell you, MJ at Tallapoosa Family Medical is THE BEST PHLEBOTOMIST in the history of PHLEOBOTOMY! While I was telling her that people ALWAYS have a hard time finding my veins, she tied that rubber thing on my arm, gave me a ball to squeeze, poked the needle in and had the blood drawn and I DIDN’T FEEL A THING!. MJ, I could have kissed you on the lips! You deserve the  Phlebotomist of the Year Award.

If you are in the west Georgia area and need a doctor, I would not hesitate to recommend the folks at Tallapoosa Family Medical. I’m glad that I found them, and while I hope I don’t have to give blood often, I hope that MJ is working the next time I have to. Thanks, y’all! You made an other dreadable situation almost fun! (and thanks for posing for the pics!)  Oh, and I have to mention, Dr. Howell is NOT FAT! She is making a baby!