Friday, March 18, 2011

Doctor Time

The last couple of days have been a whirl wind. Mom had a doctor's appointment on Wed. Since her trip to France, she has been "down in her back." It has been a real problem for her - one that we all would like to see get better, since it is effecting her social life. I went along to the doc's office just to help "get the story straight." Back when my dad was sick, we learned that it took at least two of us to hear and understand all that the doctors said. If three of us went to the doctor, we could come away with three different versions of what the doctor said. Maybe it wasn't all that helpful after all.

Right off the bat, Mom and I had a difference of hearing on what time to be at the doctor's office. She said the nurse told her to be there 30 minutes early. Really? I got Mom there 25 minutes early thinking that would be sufficient. Then the nurse handed us a book to fill out - not exaggerating. It was at least 10 pages of questions. Then, of course, the x-rays that the GP doctor had Mom do where not what the back doctor wanted. So we had to go to radiology and get more pics made. I filled out the 10 pages with Mom's help and she got her x-ray. At some point, I looked at my watch and thought, "Wow, this really did take us 30 minutes to fill out." As we were finishing up the paper work and she was signing in all the appropriate places, she said, "You know, I already answered these questions." My eyebrow went up. Sure 'nuff, the nurse had sent her all the papers, Mom had already filled them out, and had them in her hand the entire time. What can you say at that point?

We got into the exam room pretty quick after that, and we were there until about 1:30. The doctor was there at least 15 minutes of those three hours. It looks like Mom and I will be going to Dallas in a few weeks to get an injection in her back to hopefully relieve the pain without doing surgery. More adventures to come.

Yesterday I went with Toby to his doctor's appointment in OK City. He had to be there at 7:30 AM - meaning we had to get up and gone before the crack of dawn. When we walked in to the hospital, two old men (I do mean old - as in their elbow skin lapped over their elbows) greeted us and directed us to admitting. While being admitted by a lovely young woman, we could hear the conversation of the the two old men - discussing their gardens. One man said he was going to plant some "squorsh." Toby, me, and the admitting lady all snorted, but tried not to bust out laughing. Then in his best slow, OKie accent the man said the bugs were a "damned nuisance!" We did all lol at that. It became the words for the day.

Toby did well with his test and was done by 8:30, but we had to kill some time waiting on the doctor who did not show until 11. We had breakfast and went to a bike shop. After his doctor time, which took until 12:30, we kicked around OK City a bit. It was a good day with temps in the upper 80's. The wind was whipping us, but we still had a good time.

You know, I don't think I like doctors very well. I try not to go to them unless it is absolutely necessary, but I guess other people see doctors quite often. Although there seems to be a doctor on every corner, they sure are busy people. And their time management skills are lousy. I could rant on this, but won't.

6 comments:

Deb said...

I'm with you there Lou. I had an appointment at the MS clinic at UBC for 11AM. At noon (and at the time $6/hr parking) I said I'm not sitting here any longer. The doctor had come in before I arrived, 10 people in the waiting room and not ONE person had been called in. What an arrogant boob. Haven't been back for MS related issues since.

Catherine MacDermott said...

So sorry to hear your Mom has had trouble with her back since France. If it is any consolation I had back injections about 2 years ago and I swear by them! They were THE MAGIC that helped me deal with a chronic back problem. Knock on wood and anything else...those shots have been the saving grace. I hope they are the same for your Mom.

On another note, I love Jesse's pottery and business idea. I posted my vote for names on her blog.

Bag Blog said...

Deb, I know doctors are busy, but a little bedside manner can go a long way. I'm with you on walking out, if a doctor is such an arrogant boob.

Catherine,
Mom's back problem goes back years ago, but I think the walking and carrying her purse or something set it off while in France. She had injections several years ago; maybe it is just time for more.

Buck said...

I'm with Catherine and Deb... I hope it works out well for your Mom. Back pain is totally debilitating... I've got a few tee shirts in that space, the final one being surgery to fix a herniated disk. That wasn't any fun at all.

You know, I don't think I like doctors very well.

Amen to THAT. But there comes a point in life when a good doctor begins to take up a LOT of your time. It's just the way things are...

Dale said...

I'm surprised that your mom didn't have an MRI done since the course of trestment is going to be trigger point injections. Anyway, we'll be praying for her! I'm with Buck been there done that and have gotten many t-shirts to prove it!

It's amazing what a doctor can do in 15 minutes and the cost of those 15 minutes!

Amanda said...

I think we could all rant on and on about doctors. In my life, I've come across one or two that I have been completely happy with, and many, many that I could complain about.