SO I got a funny story for you. (well not so funny at the time....)

Last Tuesday, I had to get some bloodwork done.  I have to do this four times I year for my diabetes.  But since it's the Spring, it was time for my annual HIV test, so they took a vial for that too.

Thursday, I got out of the work and was on my way for my cut N color when I got a message on my phone from the doctor.  The doctor's office always calls me the day before my appointment to remind me I have the appointment, so I figured that's what it was.  Once I got to the my stylist's shop and in the car, while she was mixing up the color, I remembered my appointment wasnt until Monday, so the call shouldn't have come until Friday.  So I checked the message.

It was from one of my doctor's nurses, and she said something like, "This is Jane from the doctor's office and we got your test results, buuuut....I....don't....like to leave those on voicemails.  So call us back."  In all the years I've gone there,  they have NEVER called me with test results.  And this includes every year when I get the HIV test.  And now they did.  So naturally, I thought the worst, paniced and called them back right away.

But of course, now it was 4:20 pm, and of course the office closes at 4:00 pm.  So I had no way of getting any info about what they wanted until 9:00am Friday morning.  *SIGH*

Was I stressed?  Oh YEAH!

After freaking out inside my head, absolutely certain I was HIV positive, I came to the conclusion it wasnt a death sentence anymore, that it can be managed with drugs and stuff.  And people can live years with HIV.  So once I came to the conclusion I could live with being HIV, I had other problems.

1) Who gave it to me?  I mean, I knew I was negative last year, so I had to have been infected sometime in the last year, but who could it have been?  I dont recall doing anything that would have infected me in the past year...

2) How am i going to tell all my partners since I was last tested?  I mean, God, how DO you tell someone to get tested for HIV cause they might have it since I do?

3) Who could I tell?  I had to make sure whoever I told I could trust NOT to tell another living person.  Even accidently.  And HOW could I tell mom?  Her neighbor is dying, her mother is in the hospital going to be put into a home...there's no way I can burden her with this right now, right?

Surprisingly, I DID get to sleep easily that night, and slept the whole night through, but the evening before bed....not a good day.

Friday, about 8:30am I called the doctor's office.  They were actually open, but I was put on hold.  For nine minutes.  When the receptionist answered I told her I recieved a call the day before, blah, blah blah.  She put on hold so she could see if a message was left for me.

When she came back on she said, "I got it here.  Your HIV test is negative" -and after that, I'm not sure exactly how much I actually heard, cause I was smiling and chuckling, but I think she said, "You A1C was about the same level, but you can over all this with your doctor on Monday at your appointment."  I thanked her and hung up.

So I stressed ALL night over something I didn't have to stress over.  Today, at my appointment, I told the doctor that it was okay for her people to tell me ANYTHING on my voicemail.  She said they are not allowed by law to leave HIV info on an answering machine, but she said she'd make a note to not call me with results unless it was life threatening or an emergency.  She'd just discuss whatever the results were with me at my appointment.

Man I tell you what, nothing brings your life into HD-screen-shot focus like thinging you're going to find out you are sick with a nasty disease.

POLT