Philadelphia

In March I had an appointment with a new doctor in Pennsylvania. My friend said she had success with doctors at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, so I decided to give them a try. Philly isn't all that far away and finding out what's wrong with me is worth the drive. I looked a list of doctors on their website and chose one that was affiliated with them instead of one that works directly at the hospital. Maybe a bad choice? I felt pretty good about the decision and arrived to wait in the tiniest waiting room I had ever seen. There four of us sat across from one another with our knees practically touching. While walking back to the patient room I noticed everything looked antique. When the doctor (at this point I can't even recall his name - I wonder where I put that sticky note? Oh the joys of being extremely organized!) asked me why I was seeing him I spouted off a list of ailments from the swelling in my feet to the muscle pain in my legs. I even pulled down my sock to show him, and go figure they weren't that swollen at the time.

 Here they are on a bad day!  Maybe next time I should put a penny in the indent to indicate how deep it was.

Back to Dr. What's-His-Name. After telling him about some of my ailments, he said, "Oh, I know what's wrong with you!" in a voice that told me he was about to insult me. He then said he wanted me to receive psychological treatment before coming back to him, and to have the doctor send him a letter. I started bawling and said, "But I'm being treated for depression!" and he said, "It obviously isn't working!" I thought he was telling me I was faking all of the symptoms I described so I was devastated by his answer. He then had a nurse draw my blood with some old-fashioned method that didn't involve a syringe and I left the office. I later spoke with a friend who said a lot of health issues stem from depression, that it can cause actual physical manifestations of the illness and that he wasn't telling me I was faking anything. I feel a lot better about that now but I am not sure if I want to return to him, with him being unwilling to look for any other reasons first. I received a phone call about a week later and was told the blood work shows I am low on Vitamin D. I am now taking 4000IUs a day as per that doctor.

I bought a box of chocolate donuts on the way to my car and cried while eating two. Extra devastation requires extra comfort. After saying a prayer for comfort (I didn't want to feel like my world ended while visiting with a friend) I went to pick up my friend Aubrey who has been living in Hawaii. She was in town for a conference. She was one of the missionaries who taught me almost 10 years ago when I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Does she look extra excited? It's because she lives so far away and we never get to see each other. I asked her to bring me a lei. She is a very sweet girl. 

We went to Rita's water ice because EVERYONE falls in love with Rita's when they come to the East Coast. She has had to live without it for several years.

Yeah, I didn't look so cute in my photo so you won't see it on here :)

Next we went to Pat's and ordered Philly cheesesteaks. Besides one in a hotel restaurant it was my first ever and I thought it was okay. Is it sad that I prefer local sub shops?!

In the background you can see a vegetable garden Rachael Ray and Ty Pennington helped build for the community.

Then Aubrey ran up the "Rocky Stairs" at the Art Museum.

Just in case you've never seen the art museum

The view from on top

 In front of a nearby dam

Aubrey likes to see a temple each place she visits, so we went to see the parking lot where the Philadelphia temple will be built.

Looks like a pretty spot.

 Street art somewhere along our trip

We went to a Jamaican restaurant for dinner with her coworker Amanda. I met Amanda at a conference they went to in New Orleans last year. --- I told Aub I won't be following her to her conference in Dallas next year.

 The portions were HUGE. And they put the sauce from your meal on the rice. Mmmmmm!

Jamaican Ginger (Root) Beer

Two days later we met up again in Philadelphia, this time on a Saturday night. A lot of places were packed so we ate at the The Down Home Diner at the Reading Terminal. The food was edible...  It was the only restaurant in the terminal that was open. I can't wait to go back and try something else.