So sorry you had such a terrible experience, doctors really should know better, and to think its a teaching hospital that is teaching young residents to disregard their patient's feelings like that... And worse still to be denied a wheelchair simply because you walked 'in'. I don't think I could have stood for it... Though you probably did better than what I would have done, which would have been two steps and on the floor, let them pick me up and put me on a cart, my fat butt would have been excellent weight training for them and believe me I would have made my weight as dead and off balanced as possible.

But please don't let this get you too down, not all doctors are the (insert explicative) that you had the displeasure to meet, and while sad that the hospital you went to is breeding such cretins... But you did nothing wrong. I hope the results come back with an answer your hoping for. Feel better soon

Thanks for making me laugh.

Sorry to hear you had such a terrible experience. It's always magnified by the incredible stress one feels waiting for a diagnosis. Here is an exercise that might help you feel better: sit down and write a letter to the doctor and /or practice outlining why they treated you so terribly and that you deserve better.

Once I wrote a letter of complaint to a doctor (long story -- she was new to the practice and told me in the hallway with people walking by that I might have tumors on my ovaries and would have to have surgery)--it was a measly little ovarian cyst. Whoops! I cc-ed every doctor in the practice on my complaint!

Sometimes putting it on paper can help discharge the anger, fear, and sadness. And on occasion I have been known to send these letters off! A couple of times I got apologies by phone call from the doctor or head of practice. That won't always happen but it might! It can make you feel better just to vent in writing! And you control the situation -- you never have to mail if you don't want to.

I would go further and write the head of the facility about your experience. I would, however, leave out the PTSD and depression, and just stick to the experience and the horrible treatment you got afterwards. if they read that you have difficulty coping, they will for sure tune out the rest of the complaint...

Whether or not they will reply, you will feel empowered in just writing and letting the heads of what shoddy treatment you received...

Now I hope you can shift your perspective about what occurred and be proud of how you stuck up for yourself!! That was awesome, and I don't think I would have the gonads to do what you did!!

Thanks for your support. I have learned in life that complaining always comes back to bite me in the but. Too scared to find out right now.

Well to me part of a teaching hospital is teaching empathy and sympathy and all those others kinds of pathys. You handled yourself very well with insisting that the actual experienced person do the procedure. If they have a spinal tap team why don't they go the extra step and use flouroscopy to assist them n placing the needle. I have always felt it simplifies the procedure so much more and really cuts down on the chance of error. Yes, you write a letter and add all of our names to it. If a person walked into a hospital before open heart Surgery are they supposed to walk out also or are they offered a wheel chair.

Here's hoping you never have to go back to that terrible place again.

Thanks for the suggestion. I did do as you said and it did help. I will keep it for down the line because if I ever get better, it will be submitted to JAMA for publication.