(5)------------Enter Doctor Presken---------------

After about ten minutes doctor Deborah Presken knocked on the door, then entered the room. The nurse was with her. Extremely unusual. They both took a seat as if nothing unusual was going on. The doctor did not ask my permission for the nurse to remain in the room. I made no comment on the unusual situation because I had my own witness: my voice recorder.

Presken's 'bedside manner' was cool to cold. She did a perfunctory examination: ears, nose, throat. She felt my neck under the jaw. She listened to my heart and lungs. She could discover no problem. Although I told her that I was unusually tired, she ignored it. She seemed to have an interest in my dentures, asking whether my lowers fit properly and how old they were.

The conversation became a bit confusing as Presken seemed to dance on the periphery of exactly why I was there being examined. I told her that I was hoping somebody would attempt to confirm my claim of severe airway inflamation. Presken said that only a specialist would be able to do that and offered to refer me. I accepted. Then I described a simple test to her: heat a small mirror to the point where moisture from breathing would not fog it, then use the mirror to direct light down to my vocal cords thus viewing the situation down there. Presken explained again that only a specialist could do that. Finally she asked me what symptoms I was experiencing. That was a question I could answer! I began by explaining that different gasses produced different symptoms, but she quickly changed the subject and ended the interview.

Both Presken and the nurse left for five or ten minutes, then Presken returned with a new nurse, explaining that the old nurse had to go home. The new nurse was much better-looking than the old nurse.