Purgatory

After studying my blood tests and examining my right Achilles tendon, the physician on duty, Dr. Klotz, thought that the soreness and stiffness in the area of my Achilles tendon was either a blood clot (I'm not kidding) or a swollen tendon caused, most likely, by Levaquin. Rather than, as he said, torture me with more tests or readmission to the hospital, he sent me home about midnight with two new antibiotics. I was most grateful for Dr. Klotz's common sense and compassion.

Heaven, hell, and purgatory can be located anywhere. The emergency room of a cancer center is one outpost of purgatory.