Friday, March 14, 2014

Eggs, Milk, Bread, And Good Blood Pressure

Today we went shopping in Georgia to get a few things for the truck when we came across one of those blood pressure machines in the pharmacy section at the front of the store.  For some reason we're always drawn to them, and since our two-year DOT physical is due before April 4, we wanted to check our numbers.

The machine was fancier than others we've seen.  It checked your blood pressure, your eyes for color-blindness, your weight (you just lift your feet and the chair you're sitting on weighs you), and your BMI.  When you're done with all the tests, you can get a print-out to take with you.  Great, just what I need, proof of the mass of my body.

I wasn't happy with the first blood pressure reading I got as it was a bit higher than I'd like, and I joked to Ed that maybe we should do it again after we were done shopping.  That maybe the stroll around the store will have helped me drop some weight.  So when we finished shopping we went back to retake the tests.  I wasn't any lighter and my blood pressure was still higher than I'd like.

Interestingly enough, right next to the machine we were fiddling with was a clinic.  An actual walk-in clinic right there in the grocery store.  The person in attendance saw us come through earlier and asked if we needed any help.  We didn't at the time, but I did now.  So I popped my head into her office and asked if she would please take my blood pressure with a real cuff because the machine outside just didn't seem right.  I was worried with the renewal coming up and wanted to make sure the wacked-out reading I was getting wasn't correct.  


She quickly cuffed my arm and starting squeezing the bulb.  We got to talking and I explained to her that I wanted to have an idea of where I stood before my upcoming DOT physical.  That's when she mentioned they did DOT physicals right there at the clinic.  For $75.  A DOT physical inside a grocery store?  Who knew?

Turns out this clinic is in the FMCSA's National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners - an approved list of medical professionals who are allowed to check our ears, eyes, blood pressure and pee - so we went ahead and had our physicals done, well ahead of the April 3rd deadline.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the blood pressure reading on the machine was way off.  I got a much better one with the real cuff, and a person doing the testing.  The medical examiner said that machine is off all the time, and that she's seen people walk away from it in tears.  I've never in my life worried about what a machine was going to say about any medical result, but because my job hinges on these tests, I get a little wigged out when these physicals roll around.

But, I did get a good blood pressure reading, read a mean eye chart, gave a quality pee specimen, and walked out with a brand new medical card in hand.

Now I can drive happily and safely for another two years.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2013: Clowns Looking For A Place To Live

2012: My Early Version Of Google
2011: Food With Integrity That Fuels Creativity
2010: If Only It Were Dollars Instead Of Miles
2009: The Last Bit Of Winter
2008: Eddie Fr-Eye-Day
2007: Authorized Personnel Only
2006: Stolen Zillow
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

1 comment:

Gil said...

Curiosity on your pat paid off! Congratulations on your renewals.