As the weeks went by, the newness of
college wore off and homesickness settled in.
I worried about Oma. I missed my
family. I liked Lacey, Ian and Breanne
well enough, but it wasn’t the same as spending time with my old friends.
Every time I saw a girl with long black
hair I thought of Alicia. We talked on
the phone and texted, but it wasn’t the same. Whenever I saw the Japanese
exchange student, the only Asian on campus, I couldn’t help but think of
Quan. We were still “friends” on a few
different social networking sites, but I thought it would seem desperate and
lame to get in touch with him.
Mom and Kirsten called and left messages,
but after the second week of classes I seldom returned their calls. I figured the best way out of the
homesickness was to cut ties to home and plunge myself completely into campus
life. I participated in as many
activities as I could, but still felt lonely.
At least the Elkie Hi kept me from feeling like an outcast. Still, I only knew Lacey and Breanne well
enough to call a friend. Everyone else
seemed to be great pals with one another already. What was wrong with me that made it so hard
to have more than a few friends?
When I finished the antibiotics
prescription, I returned to the health clinic.
The lump was slightly bigger, slightly more tender. I’d been feeling more tired than normal
too. This time I saw a different doctor,
who confirmed that my temperature was still elevated, but not quite high enough
to be classified as a fever.
Another prescription, more instructions
to return if no change. Not the birthday
present I was hoping for. Normally my
birthday was the best day of the year, but this year was different. How I longed to celebrate it at home with
Mom’s famous chocolate-orange cake and my favorite chicken and dumpling
dinner. I longed for the salty air of
the beach, the bright lights of the city.
Even a traffic jam would have been a welcome sign of home.
One day a week from Halloween, I pulled
my down jacket tighter around my body as I left Warner Hall and headed down the
hill for my follow-up visit to the
clinic.
“Giselle!” a male voice called.
I turned and panicked at the sight of red
hair and a dimpled smile approaching.
Which twin was it? “Uh, hey there, uh…
Mr. Finley,” I said as he caught up to me.
“Mr. Finley? It’s Rhys,” he said with a wink. “Don’t worry, it happens. My brother and I should probably start
wearing name tags or something.”
“Sorry about that,” I said as we started
to walk together.
“Really, it’s no problem. But what’s with the coat? It’s only 50 degrees. If you’re that cold now, how are you going to
survive an Ohio winter?”
“Guess it’s my California blood,” I
said. Or was my fever really that high?
“Well, that’ll thicken up soon
enough. Here’s where I turn,” he said
when we reached a fork in the sidewalk.
“Where are you off to?” he asked.
“Health clinic.”
“Oh right. You asked us to pray for your follow up visit
last night. Hope they figure out what’s
wrong with you. Stay warm, California girl!”
Minutes later, I sat shivering in a
flimsy gown in the examining room of the clinic. Why were doctor’s offices always
freezing? And why did I have to get
undressed when the problem was on my neck?
The lump had definitely grown, and was
increasingly painful. Was it something worse than an infection? My mind swirled with horrible
possibilities.
Before my worries got any more out of
control, the doctor knocked and entered.
“Hi, Giselle. I’m Doctor Swanson. Let’s see what we have here.” She ran her
hand under my jaw. I winced as she
pushed on the tender mass. “Did you
finish the script for Keflex that Dr. Smith wrote for you the last time you
came in?”
“Yes.”
“Those are some pretty powerful
antibiotics. Have you noticed any
improvement?”
“Not really. If anything, it’s gotten bigger.”
“Let’s have you lay back for me. I want to palpate your internal organs, check
to see if there’s anything else unusual.
Tell me again, when did you say you first noticed it?” Dr. Swanson asked
as she continued the exam.
“The first week of school … so, a little
over a month ago?”
“A month and a half.” She flipped through my chart. “Hmmm … you
still have a low-grade fever.” Suddenly
she stopped and re-read something. “I
just noticed that you said you had your wisdom teeth out in August. I wonder why Dr. Smith didn’t make the
connection. It could be an infected
socket.”
I remembered the day I had my wisdom
teeth out and the oral surgeon’s instructions to swish with salt water. I knew I’d slacked off on that. But the pain wasn’t in my mouth. “Why would
an infected socket cause this lump on my neck?”
“I’m not sure, but what we’ve tried so
far hasn’t worked. It’s a possibility
worth investigating. You’ll need to find
a dentist or oral surgeon to open it up and clean it out. Dr. Foster down the street can probably take
care of it.”
“How do I contact him?”
“Judy at the front desk can help you make
an appointment. I’ll write you a
stronger dose of Keflex. Come back and
see us for follow-up when you finish it.
I’d bet anything you’ll be as right as rain by then.”
I nodded grimly. Another oral surgery wasn’t at the top of my
wish list, but if it might end this pain and fatigue, it would be worth
it. Judy explained the situation to Dr.
Foster’s office and got me squeezed in for an appointment at the end of the week.
