My Trip to the X-Ray Room

Last week I hurt my foot playing soccer. It wasn't too bad, but on Thursday I woke up with it throbbing. Since everyone had already been trying to convince me to get x-rays (even though I could walk on it), I thought I'd go ahead. Why not when it only costs about $7. I went with one of my friends to the local hospital. There was a room with a sign saying not to enter and a price list on the door. We asked who was last (the Kazakh solution to a line) so that we would know who we were after.

Upon entering the room, I saw what had to be one of the oldest x-ray machines I had ever seen (it looked like a mix between an old sci-fi and horror movie). I was a bit relieved when I looked to the left and saw a much newer machine with one of those moving tables underneath it. The x-ray technician asked my name and then told me to get on the table. She also informed us that there was no doctor there to read the x-ray (he had just gone home) and so she could take the x-ray and give it to us, but we wouldn't know the results.

I took my shoes off and went to use the small chair sitting next to the table as a step stool. Upon touching the table, it started moving away from my hand as if it were sitting on top of a skateboard. I was a bit nervous putting my body up there because I didn't know if there was some sort of mechanism to stop it from dumping me on the floor and causing a real injury. Well, I made it up on the table and even swung my legs up and onto the table (very cautiously) without being deposited on the floor below, so I guess it was fine.

There was no protective gear placed on me and the lady that was taking the x-ray just went through an open door behind me as she took the x-ray. She was extremely excited when I spoke Kazakh to her and informed me that there was a doctor down the hall that could read my x-ray for me. Afterwards, we waited in the hallway until she handed me the only copy of my x-rays. We took them down the hall to the doctor's office. When we talked to him, he went down the hall and yelled at the lady for sending us to him. I think she must have told him I was a Kazakh speaking American, because he came back a lot more friendly than he left. He told me that it was not broken and gave me some suggestions for the pain.

Overall, I think the $7 was worth it. I got all that entertainment for what it would have cost to go to a movie in the States. I also have a set of x-rays sitting on my desk as a memento.