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July 02 Momma said there'd be days like this......she just didn't tell me they would all come at once!
I don't know what I did to my elbow, but for the past couple of weeks or so it has really been bothering me. My CP has been nagging at me for days to go get it looked at by the doctor. Well, when I went to refill my little weekly pill dispenser, I found out that I was either out of medication, or about to be out of them. Since those are all that stands between me and a very nasty death, I figured I best get my tookus on the phone and ask if the doctor's office would be willing to fax in a refill order. Turned out, MY doctor was out of town, and his partner wouldn't refill my meds unless I came into the office. Now, I don't know what impression she was given, but her attitude was that she was going to be my doctor from now on...say HUH??? Anyway, she sent me over to have my elbow x-rayed, just to make sure I hadn't broken any bones without realizing it. So, after 2 days, when I was reasonably sure they had had a chance to get the x-rays back, I called and asked if I needed to come back in to find out what I was supposed to do. The receptionist put me on hold, and when she came back, she tells me that the x-rays came back negative and to just make my regular appointment next month. So, what am I supposed to be doing for the pain, cuz in the meantime, my arm is still hurting, I can't extend it, twist or turn it (normal rotations, that is) or lift with it without experiencing pain. Lovely folks there, right? My last trip to Seattle (the pre-op consultation) was such a fun trip that I had a real blast...ummm...you can hear the sarcasm here, right? First, my transport informs me that I have to be ready for pick-up at 4:30 in the morning. Hey! Now, just wait a minute here! "Why so early?" I asked. I was thinking it might be because some one else needed to be there way early...but, no. They had the nerve to inform me that the pick up time was to insure I got to my appointment on time. What a crock!!! There were 2 of us going that day. The other person was scheduled for 10:30, and I was scheduled for 11:00. Seattle is a 4 hour drive from here. And, sure enough, we got dropped off in Seattle at 8:30. So, there I sit...exhausted, and bored (even with a book to read) and getting scolded by the nursing aide for being too early, and "you will still have to wait until your scheduled appointment". Well, after sitting there forever, I finally had to go toddling off to find the little girl's facilities...and when I came back, the receptionist told me it was 11:30. And, that's when they finally called me. So, I head on back...and I'm already hurting from the day...and the same nurse decides to take me to the farthest room from the waiting room. And, first thing the doctor noticed was how tired and washed out I looked. So, I told her what had happened. It sure surprised her, because she said she hadn't been with any patients, and could have seen me when I first got there. But, too late now, so we proceeded with the pre-op examination...ekg and all that stuff like that there. Passed with flying colors, and just have an echo cardiogram to get through. Anyway, by then it's almost time for my 1:00 pre-anesthesia appointment, which luckily was right on time. And, we had a nice little chat...part of it being on how I really needed to be awake for this part of the proceedure...LOL. And of course, my stomach picked about then to start growling...VERY loudly. So, the anesthesiologist, knowing I am diabetic, shared some peanut butter with me to tide me over til we were finished. Then, she called Volunteer services and told them to bring a wheelchair (no way could I walk all the way to the other side of the medical complex and back in the time I had) to take me to the cafeteria. I got there at 3:00 p.m. and my third and final appointment (thank ALL the powers that be) was scheduled at 3:45. So, I got to eat lunch (better late than never) and then got volunteer services to ferry me all the way back over to the other side of the hospital. Of course, the head of volunteer services must be new, cuz he just could not seem to understand that there is a seperate department for oncology (cancer) connected to the Urological system and kept insisting that he needed to know what department I needed to go to over on the other side of the complex, since the CANCER center was just down the hall from the cafeteria! We went around and around about that for a bit...and I finally said fine, just have someone come and take me back to the pre-anesthesia clinic. When the volunteer got there, I told him we were NOT going to the Pre-a. department, but to the department two floors directly below that. "oh! you mean the urology-oncology and prostate department"...duh!!! Of course, by then, my temper was pretty much off the leash and I was hanging on by a fingernail. I was basically bone-tired, in pain, and ready to bite the next person to cross me in any way, shape, or form. Get to the Urology department, and let them know I'm there...and get ushered back immediately. A whole 20 minutes later, I'm done and ready to head out the door. First things first though. Since I know it's gonna be a long ride, I head for the little girls room again...cuz I'd never manage to make it to our one and only rest stop on the way home. When I came back out, the receptionist comes over and tells me that I was being paged, and that my ride wanted me to meet them downstairs in the parking garage. So, I refill my little water bottle, and trundle off, hanging onto my trusty walker for dear life, and wondering if I was going to make it all the way downstairs without collapsing. But, I did, and sat there and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, gathered my courage (it took a LOT of that, by that time) and went back upstairs to the U-O-P offices again. By then, it was 5:00 p. m. and it was just sheer luck there was someone still at the desk by then. I told her my story...which took some doing, she was tired too, and you know how people can be sometimes...they're so sure they know what you're asking BEFORE you ask it, that they have trouble understanding what it is you're really saying! LOL Well, we finally got it sorted out and she's ready to see what she can do to help me, when they start paging me again. So, she calls the information desk, and gets informed my ride is up there waiting on me. I dug in my heels, and loudly proclaimed "I can't get there now"... The receptionist is looking at me, and informs the information desk that it's going to be awhile, because she is not under any circumstances going to make me walk, and has to get me a wheelchair ride. Okay...10 minutes later, here comes this itty bitty little shrimp of a boy (well, barely 21) with this itty bitty little wheelchair (wow! I didn't know Twiggy had her own wheelchair at the Medical Center!!) to take me up to the main lobby and info center. Which he manages to do without having to strain too much...stronger than he looked, that kid. And once we got there...he parks me there to wait for my ride, and goes over to the info desk to let them know I'm there...and they're trying to find out my destination so they can inform the taxi they think they're going to call. And of course, I'm on the other side of the hall from them, and they can't hear me squawking. And...my ride is nowhere in sight! Now, why, you ask, is my ride not there when they were told I was on my way up there? Because one of those genius monkey's in charge of the information desk sent him off to the parking garage to collect me!!! We finally pulled out Seattle at 5:30, and he's on the phone telling his wife he can't pick her up because he won't be home til after 9:30. Four hour trip, remember? Anyway, I told the driver (he's driven me more than once, and he knows me) that at 2:30 I had gone to get some food. He (thinking I was all done with my appointments for the day) tells me I should have just called for a pickup, cuz he would have stopped and fed me on the way home. He tells me that HIS office informed him I was done at 2:30. This was because they called and found out I had finished up with my second appointment by then. Of course, it never occured to them to ask if I had anymore appointments that day or not. These are the same people from the previous blog who thought surgery to remove a kidney falls under surgery but not Urology. Got home about 9:30, managed to feed the cat, and then tested my blood sugar to find it was way too low. Night time meds have to be taken with food, so I grabbed a snack, took my meds and passed out. And, how was YOUR day?? On the bright side, my CP took a few better pictures of some of my jewelry, which you can see here http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=13778 if you're interested. Please feel free to leave a comment! TrackbacksThe trackback URL for this entry is: http://cid-bad4026e43d25002.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!BAD4026E43D25002!230.trak Weblogs that reference this entry
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