As submitted to http://acanac.org/blogs/geek/

This week has been a real gem.  Not to sound like a negative Nancy, but wow, it really has been a challenge.  Let me share with you a glimpse into my week so that you too may feel my pain.  On Monday I had to go to the doctors for my semi-yearly checkup.  I have a bit of a sleep disorder and it's nicely regulated by medication.  This time around, my doctor thought it would be best to modify my prescription a little bit, so he wrote me the note and off I went.  That was easy.

A little while back I discovered a new efficiency for dealing with prescriptions; the Wal-Mart pharmacy.  Being that I live in a typical Canadian household - a wife, 2 kids, a dog, and a cat - I spend a lot of time at Wal-Mart.  In an average week, I make about 4 trips to Wal-Mart.  It's a double bonus that it's a few blocks from my house.  On any particular visit, I can easily request a scrip refill or drop off a new one and have it filled while I shop for the other household necessities.  Let me walk you through this particular visit.

It's about 5pm and I have had a long and stressful day.  I get to the counter and the non-standard employee is there.  I recognize her.  She is the lazy one that I usually see standing around chatting and not doing much work.  She doesn't know who I am.  Great.  "Last name." She says in a voice that sounds like the operator from days gone.  I give her my info and she manages to find it in the mess of a computer program that they use.  I tell her that I am getting a standard refill on my standing scrip and that I have a new one.  She looks over the slip of paper that I handed her and mumbles to herself that she can't fill this.  I ask her "Is there a problem?".  She tells me that the doctor has filled out the prescription wrong and she can't fill it.

Let me back up to my visit with the doctor for a moment.  When he wrote the scrip, he was unsure of what dosage I should be taking.  To conquer this dilemma, he wrote the script for 18mg, however noted that the patient may up this to 27mg if results are not satisfactory.  Sounds simple enough.  Fast forward to 5:10pm.  So this employee of the month is telling me that she can't fill the script.  I tell her to call the doctor.  She does.  He's closed.  I ask if there is an emergency number.  There isn't.  I start to freak out. 

I'm finding it really difficult at this point to contain myself.  A minimum wage pharmacy girl who has been taking prescriptions in at Wal-Mart for less than a year is telling me that my doctor, who has been writing prescriptions for 15 years, didn't write the scrip properly.  Wow.  My seven year old could figure out how to fill this prescription.  I press her a bit, but she won't budge.  I have to wait for the doctor to fax over a new prescription in the morning.  It's true that you get what you pay for.  So I take my standard prescription and head to the checkout counter.

"Can my day get any worse?" I ask myself.  Of course it can.  Guess who is working the checkout.  "So It's just the one thing today?".  I hate her.  She makes me feel as though Wal-Mart is running a social program to help those with mental disabilities get jobs.  It doesn't matter if I have one item, or a cart full of stuff.  She will consistently scan the first item, look me in the eyes, and then ask "So it's just the one thing today?".  Then she says it 3 more times.  I make sure to sarcastically respond with "Yes, it's just the one thing today." as I take my drugs and run. 

On the way home I wonder if Wal-Mart has a deal with the aspirin companies that helps them sell more aspirin by creating more headaches.  Seems like a good business venture.  Oh well, off to the homestead to discover what adventure lies in wait for me tonight.