Some time back, Scott messaged me at 3:11 PM, asking would I please call his doctor's office to request a prescription he needed. Now, he'd normally make such a call himself, but at that particular time he happened to be both sick and on the other side of the world, which complicated things just a little bit.
He was dealing with some cold/flu-ish type virus, and the resulting congestion and drainage necessitated the use of his steroid inhaler to hopefully prevent, or worst case scenario treat, asthma symptoms. He's been through this situation numerous times, and the inhaler he uses ALWAYS causes thrush (a painful oral yeast infection), so with each puff of the inhaler he has to swish and gargle with liquid Nystatin (an anti-fungal med). The problem was that on that specific day he didn't have any liquid Nystatin, and it's only available by prescription.
Scott figured some pharmacist overseas could fill it if he could just hand him or her the physical (paper) prescription, and that's where the challenge started. But not where it ended. After all, our ministry is called Take the Challenge.
His initial, out-of-the-blue text to me was somewhat cryptic: "Could you please call my clinic to see if they can give you my script for Nystatin?"
I asked some clarifying questions, but didn't understand his answers.
I called the clinic and got a v-e-r-y long answering machine message that communicated three relevant points.
- They were closed. (It was 3:30 PM on a Friday, and they closed at noon on Fridays.)
- They didn't deal with prescription refill requests after hours or on weekends.
- I could leave a detailed message.
#1, noted.
#2, noted.
#3, I did, asking his Nurse Practitioner, L, to please email Scott a photo of the paper prescription so he could get it filled overseas.
I communicated the above to Scott and then went back to what I'd been doing, until I have a thought. (This can be dangerous.) We didn't have at the house an empty bottle of Nystatin with its prescription label, but if we did, I could just take a picture of the label and send it to Scott, bypassing the "closed-clinic-which-wouldn't-hear-my-message-till-sometime-Monday" situation. Was there maybe another way to get that pesky picture...?
Hmm... If I refilled the prescription - assuming there were any refills left on it - the bottle would have a prescription label on it. Aha! I called our trusty Walmart pharmacy and requested a refill on Scott's Nystatin. The nice pharmacy lady took all the information and submitted the refill request, but then said there might be a problem. (Really?) They had been having trouble getting Nystatin liquid, and would I hold while she checked to see if they had any in stock? I would and I did.
She came back and said they did not have any, and (typical of of Walmart) they didn't know when they'd get any. Major bummer!
Me: Do you know where else I could get it?
Nice Lady: No, but if you find any, we can transfer the prescription.
Me: So...? If you don't have any, does that mean the other Walmart pharmacies in the area also wouldn't have any?
Nice Lady: I don't know. You could just call around and see if anyone does.
Me: And if I find some, I tell them to call you?
Nice Lady: Yes. And we'll transfer the prescription to them.
After exchanging standard TUHAND pleasantries ("Thank you. Have a nice day."), we hung up.
I then called the Walmart pharmacy some 20 miles away in Ozark, explained my situation, and asked if they had any liquid Nystatin in stock. Nice Lady #2 checked and was very sorry to say that they did not. I asked her if there was a Walmart pharmacy in Nixa.
Nice Lady #2: Yes, there is. Would you like their phone number?
Me: Sure.
She gave it to me, but as I was about to dial that one, I paused and gave the matter some thought, "Do I really want to drive all the way to Nixa (26 miles) to take a picture of a prescription bottle? Hmm... Maybe there's a closer pharmacy that will cost more money but take less time."
And then I thought of the friendly folks at Lakeland pharmacy across from Aldi. It was now something after 4:00 PM.
I called Lakeland and talked with Nice Lady #3. By now I was pretty good at succinctly explaining my situation, so I got right to the point. I needed to refill a prescription for Nystatin liquid and our usual pharmacy was out of it. Did they have any?
Nice Lady #3 (with the enthusiasm of Candidate Barack Obama): Yes we do!
Me: Well, glory!
I gave her the necessary info, and she said she'd call Walmart right away. Then it occurred to me that it was now 4:30 on a Friday afternoon.
Me: How late are you open?
Nice Lady #3: Till 6:00 PM.
Me: Well, if I bring you homemade chocolate chip cookies, is there any way that prescription could be filled for pick-up today?
Nice Lady #3: Oh, it'll be ready today. Give me a good phone number and we'll text you when it's ready.
I gave her my number.
Me: That's excellent! You have no idea what a help this will be.
Standard TUHAND pleasantries all around, and I returned to what I'd been doing, while the wind whipped and a series of powerful thunderstorms with lots of shake-the-house booming and rain heavy enough to make me wonder if the power would stay on (it did!) moved through. I watched our big trees sway and hoped it would all stop before I had to go out in it.
I did a few things in the office and a few things in the kitchen, and when I still hadn't heard anything from Lakeland at 5:30, I called them. Yes, my Nystatin prescription was ready! I grabbed my ziploc of cookies and left so quickly that I forgot my cane. It was only raining lightly at that point, and I arrived at 5:51 PM. I asked Nice Lady #4 if she was the person I'd spoken with about liquid Nystatin. No, she wasn't.
Me: Well, I told the nice Iady I talked to that I'd bring her homemade cookies if I could pick up my prescription today.
I handed the cookies to Nice Lady #4, and do you know what she did?!? She looked up the pharmacy's phone records, figured out the name of Nice Lady #3 (who had already left for the day), and put NL#3's name on the bag of cookies with an explanatory note! She didn't even do a personal taste test for quality assurance purposes! I really hope Nice Lady #3 shares them with Nice Lady #4, but that will be her own choice to make.
I then purchased for a not-insignificant price a cute little bottle containing exactly 42 ml of liquid Nystatin. When I told Nice Lady #4 that the bottle was usually MUCH larger (like maybe 8 oz or something), she said that it might be because there were no refills, "so maybe they only filled the rest of the prescription." I don't know, and I didn't bother telling her that I didn't actually need the med, just the label. Some things are too weird to try to explain.
Out in the car, I took a couple pictures of the label and sent them to Scott, saying I hoped they would enable him to get the med he needed and that I'd done all I could do to help him.
The next day I received this picture from him.
"Your labor is not in vain!"
HA!
Andrew says that we Robertses - and I'm pretty sure he means only Scott and I - never do anything the easy way, and I think I proved him right that day. But then again, maybe it was just a creative application of the Asch Principle!
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