Sigh....
I haven't blogged since last Wednesday.
I haven't blogged since last Wednesday because some sort of black plague has been delivered upon me.
The same exact black plague that visited me last November, again this last July, and then this last weekend.
What's the difference, you might ask?
In July, I had no insurance, therefore the fine folks over at the emergency room and the clinic were not willing to run any tests. They wanted to adopt a "wait and see attitude." Right. They weren't the ones who couldn't stand up straight because they were in so much pain.
Today, I had insurance....and a real doctor. Quite a combination indeed. I had a much different experience this time around. 2 tests were run before I left the doctor's office today, with a 3rd scheduled for Wednesday, AND a follow up appointment scheduled for Thursday. And as bonus- the doctor even has a plausible theory about what's wrong with me. She seems to think I have stones in my bladder. And they only flare up when they try to move. So she x-rayed and took blood and ordered an ultrasound.
Now the way I got to this doctor is also a story. When I began calling internal medicine doctors around Alamosa, I found out NONE OF THEM WERE ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS. I am serious- none of them. The last person I called started giving me phone numbers of some doctor in Conejos County. Needless to say, I don't live in Conejos.
So, I called my friend Cathy (who just so happens to work at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center as their chief grant writer). I really didn't call thinking she could do anything for me. I called to bitch. Like I called to bitch with her in July when this happened and I couldn't get any tests run because I didn't have insurance. So she said that yes, she knew that the hospital was short an internist, and it wasn't surprising to her that I hadn't found anyone. But she also mentioned that her doctor was part of a family practice, and maybe I would have some luck there. So she gave me the number and wished me luck.
I called the number and was promptly told by the receptionist that they were not accepting any new patients. That's when my breakdown began. I began babbling uncontrollably about how I was sick and couldn't find a doctor, and my friend Cathy Morin was a patient there and highly recommended the doctor there....you get the picture. The receptionist interrupted me and asked again who referred me, so I told her. She put me on hold, and 5 minutes later she comes back with an appointment....October 23, but at least I had my foot in the door. I thanked her profusely and made promises of chocolate deliveries and bid her farewell. She called me back 20 minutes later with a last minute cancellation.
What would have happened in this story had I not known Cathy? Shouldn't I be able to get a doctor's appointment when I have severe abdominal pain even if I don't know anyone at the place? I was lucky, but it really makes me think about the state of healthcare in Colorado, even in the US as a whole. It seems to me that the whole mess is a profit driven- good ole boy network- even if some of them are girls.
Anyway- I'm off my soapbox for now. Oh- and I lost 6 pounds...yay! Of course, I haven't eaten anything in the last week, but it still counts!!
I haven't blogged since last Wednesday because some sort of black plague has been delivered upon me.
The same exact black plague that visited me last November, again this last July, and then this last weekend.
What's the difference, you might ask?
In July, I had no insurance, therefore the fine folks over at the emergency room and the clinic were not willing to run any tests. They wanted to adopt a "wait and see attitude." Right. They weren't the ones who couldn't stand up straight because they were in so much pain.
Today, I had insurance....and a real doctor. Quite a combination indeed. I had a much different experience this time around. 2 tests were run before I left the doctor's office today, with a 3rd scheduled for Wednesday, AND a follow up appointment scheduled for Thursday. And as bonus- the doctor even has a plausible theory about what's wrong with me. She seems to think I have stones in my bladder. And they only flare up when they try to move. So she x-rayed and took blood and ordered an ultrasound.
Now the way I got to this doctor is also a story. When I began calling internal medicine doctors around Alamosa, I found out NONE OF THEM WERE ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS. I am serious- none of them. The last person I called started giving me phone numbers of some doctor in Conejos County. Needless to say, I don't live in Conejos.
So, I called my friend Cathy (who just so happens to work at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center as their chief grant writer). I really didn't call thinking she could do anything for me. I called to bitch. Like I called to bitch with her in July when this happened and I couldn't get any tests run because I didn't have insurance. So she said that yes, she knew that the hospital was short an internist, and it wasn't surprising to her that I hadn't found anyone. But she also mentioned that her doctor was part of a family practice, and maybe I would have some luck there. So she gave me the number and wished me luck.
I called the number and was promptly told by the receptionist that they were not accepting any new patients. That's when my breakdown began. I began babbling uncontrollably about how I was sick and couldn't find a doctor, and my friend Cathy Morin was a patient there and highly recommended the doctor there....you get the picture. The receptionist interrupted me and asked again who referred me, so I told her. She put me on hold, and 5 minutes later she comes back with an appointment....October 23, but at least I had my foot in the door. I thanked her profusely and made promises of chocolate deliveries and bid her farewell. She called me back 20 minutes later with a last minute cancellation.
What would have happened in this story had I not known Cathy? Shouldn't I be able to get a doctor's appointment when I have severe abdominal pain even if I don't know anyone at the place? I was lucky, but it really makes me think about the state of healthcare in Colorado, even in the US as a whole. It seems to me that the whole mess is a profit driven- good ole boy network- even if some of them are girls.
Anyway- I'm off my soapbox for now. Oh- and I lost 6 pounds...yay! Of course, I haven't eaten anything in the last week, but it still counts!!
Comments