Pray for Paris, Peace, and Humanity - Day 2

Day 2 was a bust.  Well, kind of.  At the appointed collective praying time, I was waiting in line at the pharmacy. I’d spent the morning at the doctor’s office for unexplained recurring headaches, the last of which knocked me on my arse for 4 days. Since I don’t have typical migraine symptoms but have had increasing memory lapses and decreasing vision and hearing, the darling 14ish-year-old physician’s assistant, Saba Eslami, supposed they were tension headaches caused by stress, lack of sleep, etc. But, to be safe, she referred me for a CT scan of my brain. Not daunting at all. In the meantime, she prescribed 500 mg Naproxen, which I can take up to 2 of every 12 hours. After waiting 30 minutes in my warm car and unsuccessfully retrieving my prescription, I returned home to snuggle up in a minky blanket and OD on Netflix and leftover pasta. It struck me then that I truly have only first-world problems. In response to a relatively minor physical ailment, I took the day off my job, drove myself to a doctor who was affordable and accessible and for whom I have a well-provisioned health insurance plan to cover. I received prescription medication. I was referred for further evaluation. I was in a warm home, on a soft couch, eating filling food and drinking clean water. Despite my pain, I was humbled. I am truly blessed, and am thankful and honored to live in America, where I am free to go to the doctor, and provide for my family, and eat and drink and pray.