English Short Stories for Beginners and Intermediate Learners: Engaging Short Stories to Learn English and Build Your Vocabulary (2nd Edition)

CHAPTER 1:
ILLNESS AND MEDICINE
For the past few days, John has had some difficulty breathing. He was 30
years old, and it was a bit odd for someone of his age to have this
symptom. Maybe if he was a smoker, things would make more sense, but
John has never smoked a cigarette in his life. He decided to go see his
doctor about it.
Luckily, he was able to schedule an appointment that very week and
get himself checked out. At the doctor's office, there was a considerable
waiting period before you could be seen by the physician. John brought a
book to read in the waiting room, but he found it hard to focus for very
long, given his condition. After 20 minutes, he started to get a splitting
headache. In anticipation of such a scenario, he kept over-the-counter
pain relievers in his car. Following a quick trip and back, he washed down
the pills with water from the water fountain and took a big sigh of relief.
The nurse called John back to room 107 and did some routine check-
up procedures. She took his blood pressure, measured his height and
weight, and asked about his family's history of health problems. John was
fortunate enough to not have any hereditary health issues. There was no
heart disease, cancer, diabetes, nor arthritis to worry about. The nurse
also asked about any and all current drugs he was taking, but he replied that
he doesn't take any medication.
After John's information was recorded, the nurse left the examination
room and told him the doctor would be with him shortly. Just two minutes
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later, he was finally face to face with the man who could help cure him in
no time. Dr. Spetzel was his name, and he was as friendly as could be. The
two chatted about John's breathing issue, and John went into more detail
about his condition. Chest pains were occurring throughout the day, but
there were no heart palpitations. There was a little coughing but no