Ripped Off

I was ripped off today at the doctor’s office.

No, I’m not talking about the high cost of medical care.

Someone literally stole my money!

I took off the ID holder I wear around my neck and gave it to my mom to hold (yeah, that was a BIG mistake right there) while I was getting a diagnostic test. I step out of the room to use the restroom and when I come back, mom’s left the room. I ask for my ID holder. She can’t find it. We search her pockets, we search her bag, we search the bathroom, we search the examination room, we search the garbage -- no ID holder.

My money, two ATM cards, an American Express card, my license and registration, my medical insurance card, my TransitCheck subway card and over $100, all gone.

I’m pissed. She’s blaming me. She can’t handle all this stuff, she says.

Wow, it’s too much to ask your mother to hold your ID for two minutes?? I’m thinking to myself, Down the road, do I dare leave this woman alone with an infant child? Will I be able to take a shower, much less go to work?

We alert the manager of the office and the office workers and technicians look for the missing ID holder half-heartedly.

Nothing.

I wait in the waiting room and think about all the bullshit I’m going to have to go through to get all the cards and IDs replaced.

Time passes as I wait for the3D ultrasound technician to see me. Finally I go into another examination room to have the 3D ultrasound done. Halfway through there’s a knock on the door. Mysteriously, two hours after the ID holder disappeared, it has shown up in the middle of the floor near the reception desk. This is the area inside the door that leads to the examination rooms, not in the waiting room area. We walked up and down that hallway when we were looking for the ID holder, so how did it just magically get there hours later?

The money’s gone, but the cards are all there.

So what am I supposed to think?

Either a pregnant thieving patient strolled by the room (that my mother left without checking to see that she had everything) saw the ID holder, grabbed it, took the money and had the presence of mind to dump it near the receptionists before waddling her ass to her car... or a thieving technician did the deed between doing ultrasounds.

It’s grimy either way.

Unbelievable.

Note to self: Don’t EVER let mom hold your ID again.

Side note: The baby was very uncooperative during the 3D ultrasound. I hoped to get some nice facial pictures, but the baby kept pushing his/her face up against the placenta and we couldn’t get a good frontal shot. From the profile shots, the baby looked like he/she was pouting, which was amusing. The baby was swallowing too, which was fascinating to watch.