FFF...AAAAA.....CK

For the first time in a long time, I got off work shortly after 6:00 tonight. Hopped on a cab to Taikooplace for a not-entirely-unnecessary visit to the dentist before they closed at 6:30.

The trip wasn’t necessary because I already went for my appointment last week. It was not entirely unnecessary because I had forgotten to get a record for my visit, which I need in order to claim the $400 dental scheme fee back from my company’s medical insurance plan.

Arrived at the clinic at 6:15 and, since I had called in advance to make the arrangements, I was outta there in 10 seconds.

One second I was walking out the door of Oxford House, the next second I was on the ground in excruciating pain. I don’t actually know what happened, but apparently I didn’t see the curb and had stepped off it, sprained my ankle and fell. I could barely get up from the ground. Thank God there were a couple of bystanders nice enough to help me up.

I sat on the curb right on the top of the slope where cars come charging up from the underground parking lot. Naturally, I caused a scene curled up in a ball on the side of the road while trying to think of the closest place I could go to for proper treatment. Before long, someone from the building management office attended to me. He was more attentive than the dream boyfriend. I mean, he had every reason to be nice to me considering the liability that could translate from my unfortunate incident. But he could’ve easily fooled me for being genuine and sincere.

He asked if I worked in one of the offices above, I told him I was only there for the dentist. Then it occurred to me the clinic I just came out of had an attending general practitioner (along with a Chinese medicine practitioner and a physiotherapist.) It was only a couple minutes before their scheduled closing time, so Mr Nice called the clinic and made sure they waited while he escorted me there.

I don’t know if it was the pain, or the adrenaline from the trauma, but I was so dizzy I almost passed out. So I caused another scene curled up in a ball on the lobby sofa for another few minutes before making my way to the third floor.

The doctor was ready for me soon as I filled out the patient’s info form. As ironic as I thought it was that I just happened to have painted my toenails yesterday to kill time in the middle of November which I consider way past sandals season, I was glad I did. Bless the doctor who had to miss his 6:30 off time to wait only to smell my stinky foot. He asked which way I sprained the ankle and I couldn’t tell him. The inside and the outside of the ankle throbbed about the same, and judging by the amount of pain I was feeling, I was pretty sure my foot had done a full 360, snapped off at the ankle and magically reattached itself all in that one second’s time. Dr Kwok said to me more than once that it’s rare for people get a fracture from a sprain. But I’m quite sure I’d be going back to prove him wrong two days from now.

Back to the lobby sofa was as far as I could get to unless I were to resort to crawling on my hands and knees. It’s starting to look like the $400 I expect to get reimbursed may not be able to cover the cab fares.