I took Lexi to the orthopedic doctor today. They were able to squeeze us in this afternoon, but that meant Clay had to miss school. And more importantly, it meant that I had to take both Clay and Brooklyn to Lexi's appointment with us.
This doctor had recently moved to a different office building. I know it was fairly recent since I'd just been there back in June/July with Jackson and his broken arm. Anyway, this new building had several stairs leading up to the door. I had Brooklyn in the stroller (you know, because I was kidding myself thinking she'd stay there without throwing a fit, and she'd be easier to watch that way.) As I approached the door, I thought, hmmm should I walk around the building to find the handicap accessible entrance or should I try to carry the stroller up the stairs? Just then a woman came out and offered to help me carry the stroller up the stairs. Know why? Because there is no handicap accessible entrance! I didn't even think that was legal. What the heck?
Once inside the door, we were faced with another set of stairs. The woman helped me carry my stroller up those stairs as well. But seriously, what kind of orthopedic group would purposely move into a building that wasn't accessible??? Hello? Do they not have people with knee replacements, broken legs, surgery, hip replacements??? You know what I think it is? Job security. "Well, your knee is healing nicely. It's too bad you fell trying to hop up the stairs though. I'll be happy to take care of your broken wrist now."
When I asked the nurses about it, they just kinda rolled their eyes and said, "We know. Tell the doctors!"
So, we filled out all the required paperwork and waited. Then we waited. After that, we waited. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Why do doctors even bother to make appointments? Getting in to see a doctor at our scheduled time is an absolute exception to the rule. I show up a few minutes early for my appointments and it's just rude to make me (or any other patient) wait. Our time is just as valuable as the theirs. If an office is always running behind, then perhaps they need to hire more doctors or schedule less appointments. Of course, that would probably double our fees.
I always think of Jerry Seinfeld's piece on rental cars when I'm sitting in a waiting room. "You know how to take the reservation; you just don't know how to hold the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation - the holding."
"You know how to make the appointment; you just don't know how to hold the appointment. And that's really the most important part of the appointment - the holding. One of these days, I'm going to try that on the receptionist.
Anyway, it was kind of a wasted trip. I mean, the whole changing Brooklyn's toxic diaper while balancing her on my lap was fun. And the part where Clay dumped out the contents of his backpack on the floor of the waiting room was pretty cool. (The reason he had a backpack full of toys was because I told him, before we left, "Clay, why don't you grab a toy to bring along with you." He took that to mean, "put 50 billion toys in my backpack"). And the part where Brooklyn threw herself down on the floor and screamed at the top of her lungs, "I WANT CANDY!" was certainly a highlight. Still, it was kind of a wasted trip because the doctor told us,"I wish they had paged me last night while you were in the emergency room. I can't figure out why they didn't call me. What exactly did they say there?"
"Well, I wasn't there; my husband took her. According to him, the ER doc said she'd have to go to an orthopedist and have it set today," I explained.
He said, "Yeah well she does need it set, but I don't set kids' bones in the office. If it was an adult I'd give them a shot in the arm and then maneuver it into place and it would really hurt. I don't do that to little kids. She'll have to be put out for it."
Long story short - she has to be to the surgery center tomorrow morning at 8:30. They'll use general anesthesia and while she's out, he'll set her arm and cast it. Both her ulna and radius have fractures. The one has to be reduced because it's out of line and pushed up against her growth plate.
The good news is he said she'd only need a cast up to her elbow instead of her armpit so that'll be better at least
Feeling a little better tonight
And take a minute to check out my good friend (with total ADD) Michelle's site. She wants to save the world and is starting with some grand plans to raise money for cancer awareness on Coleman's behalf. Go check it out HERE and HERE!
And then go watch the lame video of me shopping at JCPenney with all the kiddos. If you think they're goofy in the video, you should see all the parts I edited OUT of it! :0 Check it out HERE!
55 comments:
Hey Dawn - I just wanted you to know I was thinking about Lexi. My son (18months) broke his femur last week at the sitters and we have ben dealing with similar situation. We unfortunately had to spend the time in the hospital waiting for them to set the bone. Hopefully you don't have to go through everything we did - I think i know DCFS pretty well now, which is amusing because it did not even happen at home
Feel better Lexington!
Holly C.
Update ASAP tomorrow. WOO HOO!!! first to post!!! Yea for me. I will say a prayer for her.
If that's the cast up to her elbow, I'd hate to see what one to her armpit would look like.
Glad to hear that Lexi is resting comfortably until her surgery. I thought the Americans with Disabilities Act forced there to be a handicapped access to public buildings, but that must not be true.
Just wanted to let you know that my almost 3 year old and I have been doing a scientific study on the spinning, rolling stools at doctor's offices. After testing stools at the pediatrician, OB/Gyn, Internist and Orthopedist we found that the stools at the orthopedist spin the fastest. Orthopedists across the US must be very insecure in their jobs. I guess broken bones aren't as common as we think.
What is it with pediatric orthopedic doctors?...We used to wait FOREVER and a day when my daughter had to go. Oh I know, there were only 1 or 2 in the whole city that took our insurance. Good luck tomorrow. :)
What we have here ladies and gentlemen is a FAILURE to communicate! EESH! So sorry you had all this in addition to everything else.
That sounds painful. I hope she gets better soon :(
Hi Dawn!
I know what you mean about appointments that aren't really appointments - just suggestions about what time you should show up.
In our massage therapy and bodywork office we stress that all apppointments should start and end on time.
In fact, when I taught at massage and bodywork schools I emphasized that our profession needs to be different - everyone's time is valuable and people have had enough of waiting in doctors' offices forever so they need to have their appointments start and end on time.
I wish doctors would realize that too. Yes, they have gone to medical school but the rest of us are paying their salaries. Perhaps they should realized that...
Sandy in Tucson
(P.S., Good work on your book! I can't wait to hold it and read it for myself. Not only for the wonderful, enjoyable content but for also reading someone else's dream come true. You go, girl!!!)
Hey Dawn,
I totally feel your pain.. My 8th grade son, just had surgery on his foot. He twisted it backwards and then his 180 lb. 5'10 friend fell on his foot during football practice. Nothing like a compound fracture on 4 toes.
Is this the first kid surgery in your family?
I'm glad to hear that Lexi won't have any pins in her wrist. (My son says the pins hurt... "yeah, it feels good having shish kabob's in my foot, Mom!")
How long will the cast stay on her arm? 4 weeks? Amazing how quickly kids heal.
Tell Lexi that I will pray for her.
~Lisa, Dallas, Texas
Wow, there are so many thing to comment on in this post. Seriously, an orthopaedic surgeon without an accessible office? That seriously has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.
OS are known for running late. We used to have a really great one but the 4 hour wait was really a killer.
I hope Lexi's arm heals quickly and tomorrow isn't to much of a drag for y'all.
You really amaze me with your ability to cope! :)
Tht reminds me of my most recent trip to the ENT. It was Halloween, and they have big bowls of PEANUT BUTTER candy out all over the place.
Because, you know, it's not like they have people with ALLERGIES there or anything.
I asked the receptionist about it, and she just rolled her eyes.
I guess id anyone went into anaphylactic shock, the ENT's should be able to entubate pretty quickyl, at least.
i feel lexi's pain. i broke both my radius and ulna on my right arm in kindergarten (i'm now 21). my mom tells me that when the doctors tried to set the bone they decided not to give me any pain meds, because didnt you know - children dont feel pain. i had a cast half way up my upper arm for 3 weeks and another one ending just below my elbow for 3 more weeks. that was a blasty blast. also fun, trying to pass the kindergarten test (drawing a straight line, cutting on that line using scissors) with a broken arm. hope lex feels better!
Poor Lexi! Man, your house and broken bones! I can't say much! My middle son had stitches 7 (yes you read that right) SEVEN times this year alone and a surgery for impaling himself with a stick that went two inches into his thigh. All boy so he pulled it out and everything came with it! Ack! No, seriously, though, I will be praying for her. Please let us know how she's doing! ((HUG))
First, I agree....a doctor's office should ALWAYS be handicap accessible. And ESPECIALLY an ortho! But as to the waiting....that's partly because of the "squeezing you in" that caused the long wait. You were squeezed in when they were most likely to have a moment to see you, not the time when the usually would have scheduled you (and thus been able to see you on time). And this practice is also what causes everyone else to be waiting long times. Yes, there do need to be more docs on staff or less patients seen....but until more docs are trained or fewer people get sick or hurt, well that's just not going to happen. So we all wait. And ortho docs are the worst due to the nature of their business....unexpected injuries for the most part. And I've been there, done that at our local ortho office more times than I want to think about (mostly for me! Only one injury for one of my kiddos!). Hope Lexi's surgery goes well tomorrow!
Awww. She's still smiling! I'll pray for her in the morning.
Nice docs at the ER. Sorry Lexi needs to be put under for her wrist to be set.
How funny!!!! My husband and I have been referencing this Seinfeld episode for about a week now. I can't remember what occurred to bring it up, but I appreciate seeing it. I hope Lexi's wrist is set without any further issues.
Sherry
Oh man, I can REALLY sympathize! Each trip , to the orthopedist has taken over 2 hours...and today, well today, because of THEIR screw up, they wanted me to make the 45 minute drive again tomorrow, so that we could be quad booked into the schedule. Ummm, NO! Good luck tomorrow, our surgery center experiences went really smooth....i hope yours does too!
So I watched your video at JC Penney and laughed so hard when Austin went walking by like an egyptian! He is a hoot! Your bedroom looks fabulous!! And curiousity is killing me...where does Brooklyn sleep?
Wow. (knocking on wood repeatedly here... still knocking and knocking.... not stopping knocking) We haven't had any broken bones or anything along those lines, but I had no idea that you couldn't just set a bone without such an ordeal. How frustrating.
Good luck with the surgery. I hate giving general to kids... Little Miss is having her surgery next Tues (the 25th), and I'm paranoid. Good luck, and I hope it sets beautifully.
Oh, and I like the purple accents to the cast. Do you get to choose the color of the cast tomorrow?
While I understand it sucks waiting for an appt. in a drs. office, please understand that it isn't always the drs. fault that they are running late. The pt. before you could have come in late and the dr. still saw them. The pt. before you could have extra questions, be a talker, or have extra concerns that the dr. wants to look into. The dr. quite possibly was called by another dr. for a consult. Yes, these probably sound like excuses, but after working for just a simple eye dr. all those things have happened to mess up the whole rest of the day. Was it the drs. fault, no not necessarily, he was just doing his job. I think pts. need to check themselves while they're at the appt. and see how they can improve to make their visit go faster, smoother and on time.
I will now get off my soapbox and thank you for allowing me to vent.
Get well soon Lexi. She's so beautiful in that picture
corrina
My gosh....Poor Lexi..
My sister just went through all of that with her son...who broke his wrist and arm playing hockey.
The waiting , the cast, then the surergy..She had to take a week off work..unpaid ofcourse..
..
I'm with you on the waiting times. I spent 2 hours this morning at our fracture clinic with DS1 who broke his femur in July. (Photos at http://tinyurl.com/5b297h if you really want to see them!). We got there at 9.00 for a 9.30 appointment and spent an hour waiting for an X-ray followed by another hour for a 5 minute consultation with the doctor who told us that everything is fine and we'll get an appointment for him to come in in 5 months to have the pins removed. What a waste of a morning!
OMIGAWSH!!!! POOOOR LEXI! Poor, poor baby! And all I can say is Amen, sister! about the IDIOT docs who deliberately go into an inaccessible building ESPECIALLY orthos - WHAT are they THINKING??!! I broke my ankle snowboarding several years ago - Ok, I'm an idiot, girls my age should stick to skis - but I spent the snowy, icey winter trying to get to my ortho's office, had to park and then walk-hop-jump down *2* flights of OUTSIDE ice-and-snow covered stairs just to get to the front door. They said, well, the front door is right on the street so you can be dropped off right at the door - yeah, if I had somebody to chauffer me around but I don't so who would then drive my car around the block to the parking lot! krayzee, I tell you!
from Sparkle
Ouch! Poor, Lexi - I hope she's okay. I'll be praying for her today.
Donna in PA :)
P.S. - LOVE that Seinfeld clip! Boy, I miss that show!!
OMG Dawn, I am right there with you on the appointments! It is SO frustrating to show up 15 minutes early to a Dr's office and then wait for an hour before you get called! My OB's office called me in yesterday because their ultrasound tech called in sick and asked me to come in NOW so the Dr could do a U/S as well as my visit. Then I got there and realized they had called everyone else, too, and we all had to wait about an hour to see the Dr. ARGH!
Way to be handicap-accessible there, docs. Way to GO.
Honestly, I think that IS illegal. Ugh. It's sickening.
On the plus side, at least he didn't reset her arm in the office in the painful manner he described. She'll be much happier unconscious, I'm thinking. :)
Poor Lexi. How terrible that she has to wait AGAIN before getting her arm set. My daughter got pulled off the playground equipment and broke her wrist in two places, one being the growth plate. I was sure it was "just sprained" but decided we'd go to the doctor after she was up every hour that night screaming in pain.
I hope her arm feels better soon!
"Because there is no handicap accessible entrance! "
i've been in a wheelchair for over 20 years and you'd be amazed at how many doctors' offices and hospital areas have no accessibility available. i couldn't count the number of places i couldn't get into and the staff didn't think it was necessary to accomodate wheelchairs.
2 different doctors' offices told me their bathrooms aren't accessible because people in wheelchairs only use the bathrooms at home!
That HAS to be illegal? I think anytime you have stairs you have to have a ramp and an elevator indoors. And an orthopedic office that's not handicap accessible? WTH?
I'm with you on the waiting.We dragged my 2 yr old to the OB because we thought it would be fun for her to hear the heartbeat. We waited so long she fell asleep and she never does that! It was at least an hour before the dr did the heartbeat. Hope all went well today.
Sounds like Lexi is being a little trooper!!!! :) And I love how doctors don't communicate with other doctors... not only a wasted trip for you to go to the doctor's today, but they could've did it while she was in the ER, or at least the same night. Uhh, the medical field can be a real joke!
A friend of ours , a carpenter, no longer has long waits in his doctor's office. He sent an itemized bill to his doctor on his business letterhead the last time he was made to wait too long (the wait caused him to have to postpone a meeting and cost him a building deadline, for which he had to pay a penalty). He included the length of time with the assistant for ht., wt. BP, etc. and labelled it No Charge. He also included a 15 minute waiting time and labelled it the same. Every minute beyond that was charged by the rate he would have earned had he been able to conduct his own business during that time. And, of course he charged for reimbursement for the penalty. He then negotiated via phone calls that he would not take them to court if they would pay the penalty and simply see to it that he was not made to close down his business for a prescheduled doctor's appointment. He now calls them before he leaves his office and they send him in soon after he arrives.
I've been tempted to price what professional domestic help charges and do likewise. I think if enough people did this we wouldn't have to wait so long. Things happen in a doctor's office that some delays are inevitable, but a routine wait of more than 15-20 minutes means they are overbooking or just know they can get away with it.
I hope Lexi is doing well.
I work for a doctor. We don't run behind because we want to. People have emergencies and every one of them wants to be seen NOW. Another thing that makes us run behind are the patients who are scheduled to see the doctor for ONE issue, but then bring up several issues when they get taken to a treatment room. Or, my personal fav, they bring other family members who weren't scheduled because "it'll only take a minute to see them too". People are meeaaaannnn when they don't feel good, and guess who they take it out on...... the office staff. Sorry you had to wait, but you WERE worked into a probably already full schedule.
I know you must have been frustrated having to wait, but there is another side to the doctor's story!! My husband is a surgeon and they are so slammed trying to take care of patients in the office, take call at the hospital (often more than one), operate (and take the time to do it right, not knowing what they will find when they open someone up it often takes longer than they have scheduled!). It's really a tough job and most do the best they can. I know my husband feels really bad when he's running late but often can't help it without sacrificing excellent patient care, which he will not do. So know that it's probably a great surgeon you are seeing, he's just a little behind (like the rest of us!)
I just don't get the doctor's offices like that - only stairs and no other access. My chiropractor's office is like that - go figure.
I can't believe the doctor made you sit and wait just to tell you he couldn't do anything about it. I really don't get that either - when my son was six, he broke his wrist too, and whichever bone it was (I don't remember if it was the radius or ulna) was against the growth plate too. We went into the office and he reduced it right there. When they told me what they were going to do to him, my eyes filled up with tears and the nurse took me out to the waiting room until it was over. Thankfully, my hubby was there with him. It was very quick, and yes it hurt him, but it was over and they didn't have to go through the putting him under and all that. The nurse came back and got me and I was that mom who then took a picture of him for the scrapbook.
Anyway, sorry Lexi broke her wrist and sorry you have to go through all the hurdles just to get her taken care of. Hope she is on the mend quickly and doesn't suffer too much pain!
Good grief! I'm sorry to hear she broke her arm though. At least she's got that out of the way now. I hadn't broken anything until earlier this year when I fell down a flight of stairs. I've got a nice scar down my upper arm now from where I had surgery on it.
Good luck to you tomorrow!
I'm copying from my own blog, because I just ranted about the wait at the doctor's office after having to go to several in a short period of time...
Rant Of The Day… WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO GET IN TO SEE THE DOCTOR?!? I waited ONE HOUR until I actually saw her, and it was almost 30 minutes AFTER my appointment time before I was even taken back to an exam room! Do you know what really bothers me? Offices that have those notices telling you that you’ll be charged a fee if you miss an appointment, and you have to pay that fee before you can reschedule. When Li’l Bit had to go to a specialist, they had a notice like that. We waited one hour and fifteen minutes with a freakin’ toddler to be taken back to the exam room — twice. And the first time I went, I waited so long in the exam room that they forgot I was there!
I think I’m going to go to the doctor with my own notice… If I don’t get taken back to the exam room by my appointment time (because what is the point of making the stinkin’ appointment, I ask you?!), I get $5 of my co-pay back. If I have to wait in the exam room longer than 15 minutes, $10. If I see a pharmaceutical representative coming out when I’m on my way in, I am permitted to tackle said representative and take five shiny new pens and calendars with names of prescriptions that I can’t pronounce. That will make me feel much better.
Oh no! Poor Lexi! Hope she feels better soon, and gets lots of feel-better ice cream and sweets out of the deal.
hope it all goes well... have any of your kiddos had the waterproof casts? that makes the bathing/winter weather scene a WHOLE lot easier!!
I don't even know where to begin with this one. First of all, I am so sorry that Lexi has to go through all of this and then on top of that have the pain medicine make her sick. I remember my own experience of breaking and bone and the pain I was in -and I was an adult. Poor baby! As for the doctor's office -it is ridiculous that an ortho doctor is NOT hanidicap accessible. It must really cut down on the number of patients and we can only hope that they feel it in the pocketbook. Seriously -what person with a broken leg would go to a doctor where you had to climb stairs to get into the office -CRAZY! As for the wait time -I know exactly what you are talking about. After breaking my leg just over two years ago I have been to MANY doctor appointments and I can honestly say I have NEVER been seen at the time my appointment was. I have tried making appointments at all times of the day and even when I was the first appointment of the day -I still waited about 20 minutes. "Scrapsmith" made a comment about how we should be understanding that it isn't always the doctor's fault and sometimes it is the patient who showed up late. I don't agree. I think that 9 times out of 10 it is the fault of the doctor or the the office staff. If a patient shows up late to an appointment -they should be turned away and told that they missed their time and will have to reschedule. Many times the staff who is checking people in are too busy talking on the phone or to each other to check you in and you are simply waiting for them to process that you are there in order to be taking in. Other times it is the doctor who needs a break and then the appointments get pushed back. Each appointment should be kept to it allotted time -if it is 30 minutes or what. If an appointment is running past it's 30 minutes because the patient is asking too many questions then the doctor should reply "that this is very important and I would love to discuss this with you but I don't want to run behind schedule. Could you please make and office appointment for later this week and we can discuss this matter further or I would be happy to call you this evening to discuss it even more with you." I am a teacher and making doctor appointments is insane -first of all they only hold hours between 8 and 3 -of course which means I have to take off of work to go because they never run on time and getting it done on a scheduled lunch break is IMPOSSIBLE! As a professional I can't always discuss things with parents when they want to or stop my day becuase I need a break or if something interupts my schedule I don't inconvience others -I simply change my schedule. I personally think that it is insane that we allow doctors to get away with this and maybe it is time to start sticking up for our rights.
Oh the poor little sausage! Breaking her wrist...then throwing up! That's adding insult to injury. Poor kid.
I do hope she feels a lot better with the shorter cast, and I hope it quits hurting for her. Give her our love!
My husband just went to a shiny new gastroenterologist money machine - er, suite - where they line 'em up and do colonoscopies one after another at $1500 a pop. So when they designed this new office where they would have a constant stream (pun intended) of patients who'd been taking laxatives all the previous day, they planned for one bathroom. One. Down the hall. Outside that particular office suite. I've already said I refuse to go to that office when I turn 50 and it's my turn.
Sheesh. How oblivious can they be to the needs of their patients?!?
You are soooo my kind of Mom. Tell it like it is. I hope she feels better soon.
Many things have been said, but I really think the only ones who have any merit are the ones who have been on both sides of the doctor's office FENCE. Until you've worked in an office, you really have no idea how difficult it is to keep an office running on schedule. It has changed my perception completely so that as a PATIENT, I am different.
When I encounted patients complaining about wait times (I worked for an ophthalmologist), I asked (and I was very kind when I did) them if they would rather wait two hours in the waiting room, OR for THREE to SIX extra months on a waiting list to get in? That ALWAYS stopped the question. All of us at one time or another will need to be SQUEEZED in to see a doctor. If we were to maintain such ridiculous rigid rules as has been suggested in some of the comments, then we will definitely encounter the RAGE of patients who cannot get in to see their doctor in a timely manner.
What will it be folks? Would you rather see your doctor on the DAY you wish, or within a couple WEEKS/MONTHS? You cannot have it both ways. Do not ever expect to be "worked in", either.
That comment above about the man who billed his doctor I think is plain ludicrous. The only reason this doctor's office accommodates him is because he is very likely the only patient to do that, and they would rather put him in than PUT UP WITH AN IGNORANT PATIENT. If patients were to get the "bright" idea to do this same thing, then you might as well kiss goodbye any chance of seeing your doctor on the DAY you want. The doctor will only see a few patients a day, not ever squeeze any one in, in order NOT TO RECEIVE YOUR BILL.
Sorry for the rant. People just need to realize that there are very definitely TWO sides to every story.
WHoa, I am glad the doctor doesn't give little kids shots in the arm and then manuever the bones into place! I would hate to go through that even as an adult! OUCH!!!!!!
Just checking in on Lex today. I hope she is feeling better soon.
Holy bejeebus. You deserve my mother-of-the-year award. Big time.
Hope Lex heals up fine and fast and NO more Indiana Jones! :)
I'm a little shocked at all the doctor defender comments ... I've been there too, working both sides as a patient and as a scheduler ... and yes, emergencies happen which make doctors run late ... but do you know what's MORE common? Doctors just not being on time. We've had a patient on the table for a procedure and the doctor can't get out of a "meeting" in time so the patient laid there for an HOUR, prepped and ready. And yes, those signs about "if you're more than 15 minutes late, you'll be billed" annoy me too - and I told my children's dental staff that I wouldn't keep them waiting 15 minutes on me and I expected them to do likewise OR explain the emergency to me! That goes a LONG way toward eliminating "patient rage." Just don't ACT like everything's fine and dandy and DEFINITELY don't say something pithy, even if you do it politely, like "do you want to wait 2 hours today or 3-6 months on the waiting list?" Seriously. If someone said THAT to me? I'd walk OUT the door and never come back. NO doctor is SOOO good that I'd put up with THAT. Just tell me, "Ma'am, I'm so sorry for your wait - we had a little girl brought in with a compound bleeding fracture and her arm had to be set immediately so she wouldn't lose the use of it. I hope you understand!" and boy would I ever sympathize, empathize, and happily wait my turn. But this whole, "Sorry, we're running late today" devil-may-care attitude does NOT fly with me. And I'll tell you one more thing - doctors offices typically schedule "emergency" time into their day ... that's why sometimes, rarely but occasionally, if you go 30 minutes early, you might actually get IN early, becaue there haven't BEEN any emergencies yet. BTW, I spent 2 hours at the orthopedists' office Tuesday for a 7 minute appointment too. And never once got even the "sorry we're late, we're shorthanded" speech. They just waltzed in like I was supposed to be glad they finally remembered I was alive. THAT's wrong.
Poor Lexi!!!
I can't believe some of the doctor defenders. I am a pretty reasonable person. Quite honestly I have been THAT emergency. The difference is when it happens EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU GO. My ob, he runs his office great. I don't usually wait longer than 15 mins. If he has an emergency (he had one 2 appts ago), they called me and rescheduled at the end of the day (high risk ob patient). Yesterday when I was in, he had to run to the hospital (It's right across the street). So the nurse when she brought me back said he had to run over and he would be right back. I think I waited maybe 5 mins longer.
Same with my pcp. I don't get all bent out of shape over that.
What I do get bent out of shape over is my orthopedist. They intentionally overbook and I usually wait at least an hour to see him. This is a PRESCHEDULED appt done months in advance. Not once. Not twice. EVERY single time. Monday I had an appt with him for a steroid shot in my knee. I waited an hour and a half. At the 1 1/2 hours mark, I was going to walk out. That is rediculous. I understand that there are emergencies. I figure if my ob can deliver babies and run his practice on time, then so should my orthopedist. Cause babies come when they come.
I think that is my very favorite Seinfeld episode ever!
So sorry about the arm....but when I was a kid I always wished I could have broken my arm at least once. ;)
That had to hurt. I hope it is better now.
I had a pediatrician who wouldn't see us if we were 2 minutes late. But, he was ALWAYS on time and kept his appointments. Frankly it was kind of weird. And rushed.
I have had other doctors that I know I will wait 1-3 hours most of the time. But I also know that he cares so much about my kids that he would do anything for them, and that if I am in there with a concern for my son's health, he will adress any need. (He even gave a referral for a good marriage counselor out of the deal.) We knew we had to wait, but it would be unhurried when we needed the help. That doctor still gets annual cards and Christmas letters from us and we love him even though we moved across the country 5 years ago (and he is Jewish.) lol. He cared about the whole person, so we didn't mind waiting and just planned on it.
My pet peave is receptionists or assistants who are rude when you come in sick or worried about sick kids. That is the last thing a patient needs to deal with. I have quit several doctors for that problem over the years.
That was just cruel of the ER to put her through that, why didn't they call someone over to decide and set her up for surgery today? Poor Lexi.
Post a Comment