They made me wear those funky shorts for the x-ray. 30 minutes in the crowded waiting room was pretty humiliating. The peels of Jee Yeun’s laughter didn’t help much either…

I told the hilarious Dr. Yu about the leg pain I’ve been living with, described it’s onset and duration, and my fear it might be vascular.  He gave me a quick examination and then discounted the possibility of a clogged artery, saying the pain intervals were inconsistent with that diagnosis.  He thought it more likely it was muscular or a nerve problem.  So, he ordered up a blood test to check for elevated “CPK” and an x-ray of my lower spine.

My office visit with Dr. Yu was interrupted by a radio interview he conducted regarding the MERS outbreak here in Korea. He said he was going to try and tamp down the panic that has ensued as the result of two Koreans dying from the disease.  His view is that while MERS is serious, the potential for an epidemic is low and with proper medical care the fatality rate could be minimized.  Let’s hope he’s right about that.  And my leg.

So I gave the blood, got the x-ray, and reported back to Dr. Yu. He put the x-ray up on his monitor and declared my spine “a miracle”.  I confirmed that by miracle he meant no issues, and indeed that was his meaning.  He said my CPK level was slightly elevated (10-120 being normal, mine was 160) which confirmed to him that my problem is indeed muscular.

Well, he’s the doctor so who am I to argue.  I just don’t understand why it’s not getting any better, in fact, it’s a little worse, after three months.  So, he gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer and told me to soak in the tub for 10 minutes every night before bed.  And I guess that’s what I’ll do.  I wish I wasn’t such a pussy when it comes to pain, otherwise I’d just walk it off.

But by god, I’m still alive.  Which makes me luckier than my two friends in Columbia. As much as I love irony, I sincerely hope those don’t prove to be my famous last words.