A Change of Lifestyle – Part 6

 

At about 12:30 pm on October 1st I was admitted to the ER. At 5:15 pm the doctor finally found the time to come and talk about the CT Scan results. The CT Scan showed no signs of any recent activity but did show scarring from a previous stroke. When that stroke happened, I have no idea, unless it was the incident from a year earlier when I experienced the double vision.

The doctor said  he was going to let me go home seeing as how I appeared to be a ‘well person’ and it is hard to get rooms for patience that are ‘well’. The last thing I wanted to do was stay in the hospital on a Friday night. Besides, then they would run all the test the doctor wanted on Saturday. I had already lost my Friday and I wasn’t about to give up my Saturday.

The ER doc’s instructions were pretty simple, take an aspirin a day, get some rest and that I needed to follow up with some additional tests. He was referring me to another doctor, seeing as I didn’t have a primary care physician. I was to call on Monday and set up the appointment. He would leave instruction for the doctor he was referring me to. She would know what to do and would refer me to who ever else I needed to consult with. Pretty simple is seemed!

On Monday, first thing, I called the doctor that the ER had referred me to. I explained what had taken place on Friday and that they had referred me. I was promptly told that the doctor was not taking new patients. I explained once again that the ER doc had referred me, that he left written instructions for the doctor and I was to follow-up with her. I was told to hang on a minute and then placed on hold.

After a few minutes the receptionist came back on and said she had spoke to the office manager and was told that they were not accepting new patients. I said ‘whatever’ and hung up.

Now I am pissed. I was given specific instructions to call this doctor, who had been given instructions from the ER doctor and when I call I get refused. What is going on with health care in this country today. When I got to the ER on Friday it was a serious enough situation that I be taken immediately in. On Monday I am no longer “at risk”? I told my wife that if anything happened to me as a result of the refusal that she was to sue the doctor. I am not a proponent of lawsuits and figure that is part of the problem with medical costs in this country. At the same time, how is it that human life is less important than is you have to see an extra patient in the middle of your busy day? If it’s like most doctors I have seen, they go from patient to patient and stop and visit with their staff in between each one. It seems to me the doctors only works in their offices about 15 minutes our of the hour.

So here I am stuck. I have had a TIA, or maybe multiple TIAs and the doctor won’t see me. What am I supposed to do?

(To Be Continued)