So, the long awaited for appointment with my PM arrived yesterday, I say long because his secretary seemingly was unaware he had treated me in hospital in January as I was admitted under my treating NS, who spoke directly with my PM on the phone and my PM did the nerve block at one of the hospitals he practices at. The hospital will have billed medibank direct on his behalf and possibly only his accounts team were aware. Still, I'm sure he has a diary that she manages?
I followed his directions to the letter on discharge and as requested sent an email explaining any noted changes etc, the email went to his secretary (as I expected it would) no response, I phoned, the secretary briskly says he has actioned the medication authority request in the last paragraph. I get the feeling she is about to hang up. Great, but what about my pain that has increased and is increasing by the day. She says "oh he only reads 2 paragraphs at the most" I reply, it was only 2 paragraphs with the first paragraph explaining my pain.. Oh, I will have to find it and highlight the first paragraph then for him to read and he can call you back.
2 hours later she calls and says he can't do anything over the phone and we have a cancellation appt on Monday. Did I mention she's faffing around and making that Hmph sound, you know the one that people make when they don't really believe you...
Off we go to the appt along with the X-rays, sure enough there is the email and paragraph highlighted. He looks at me, then at my husband and says "hmm how do you feel, you don't look to well". "Have you had a fever?" I'm thinking, is he talking about me or my husband. "Let's have you up on the bed and have a look at you". Oh, it must be me then.
So, up on the bed, quiet for a moment and he touches a spot on my lower back, I nearly hit the roof, crickey that hurt. Touches somewhere else, somewhere else and somewhere else, yes there is pain in those places, I've marked them on the body chart in red. Silence, he goes back to the spot, touches it again, I come back down from the roof a moment later. He says "that tender spot is where the pedicel screw is" I think you have an infection.
Now I've spent most of the weekend in bed knocked out with meds. I took my full dose of painkillers on Saturday, slept all afternoon, got up at 7pm so I could take hubby to the pub and he could enjoy the game, have a drink and get back home safe n sound. We get home safely and I'm straight back to bed, up at 1pm Sunday and back in bed by 5pm Sunday. I've slept the whole time, oblivious to what's going on around me, never ever done that before. (Oh, his team won, happy days, awesome game, even I enjoyed the first twenty minutes, then I went and had a rest in the car and back in to get him when the game finished).
So back to my PM, he says we will do another block the next level up, he calls my rep there and then and asks her to call him back about the paddle, then he says he will also speak with my NS about doing the paddle as he can do the block and NS can do the paddle at the same time.
We go out to the secretary for her to schedule the procedure, I'm confused as I don't know what procedure is happening and I'm not feeling particularly well. The secretary flicks around the Screen and cheerfully says, ok booked you in for March 19th and follow up Dr appt June 6th.....
Great, I'll just put my pain on hold for 6 weeks, let's remember the 2nd nerve block was supposed to have been done one week after he did the first one on January 21. Do I sound disillusioned? I am, I'm feeling like a person who is about to once again enter the wonderful world of merry go round the hospital Pam once again not being believed.
I say to the secretary, so what procedure is he doing, she has the paper in her hand. I get the humph again and she whisks away, comes back and says the nerve block. So we have been stood at the counter now for ten minutes since we left the PM office. By chance (thank heaven) he comes out, puts his hand on my shoulder and says I will call you with the results of the blood test and we will get this procedure done quickly so we can get you feeling better, he looks at the secretary and says when are we doing it. She replies march 19, I think time stopped, he looked at her, silence fell, other patients waiting all look to the desk. He says slowly, when? She fans herself and says, ah I will uhm! I uhm.
He interrupts and says we will get you in on the other list, I have two lists, we will call you with an appointment. It won't be that far away.
So, I'm home, had another nights sleep courtesy of the hated knock out pill and I will go have the blood test shortly, I'm feeling really low and despondent. Feel queasy still which I've felt all weekend and had put down to just general malaise, maybe I do have an infection?
I just want my life back, I want to be able to go out, talk to people, meet people and have a laugh without having to go lie down in my car. My poor husband, how much more can he endure. I'm sure another round of hospital merry go round Pam not being believed will be the final straw.
