Getting Dumped...

It was a sleepless night, without an explanation. I finally took a pill that someone gave me, to put yesterday to an end. It was almost 5 AM when I last looked at the clock and before I know it, 8 AM was showing it's proud face. Putting a pillow over my head, I sneaked back to sleep until 10 AM and out of guilt alone, I forced myself out of bed.

On my Blackberry were a slew of emails and an indication that I had missed a call. after a couple of clicks, I saw it was Dr. Harvey phoning me. I listened to his message with his Romanian accent and struggled to interpret. He said we keep missing each other and he'll call me back if he doesn't hear from me. That was sufficient to get me to the coffee maker and start it through it's morning routine.

I texted Dr. Harvey on Friday and asked if Iron infusion can cause a fever and he never replied, which is unusual for him, so I figured he was on one of his weekend getaways or just busy. He called last night but his call said "Unknown Caller", so I let it go to voicemail, because I was dodging a call from an unknown woman. I returned his call but it went straight to voicemail, which is not his normal habit.

About almost six years ago, I awakened in a hospital bed not knowing why I was there, only to find out with detailed accuracy of my previous 2 weeks. Without going into detail, that most of you have heard way too much of, I had had open heart surgery and suffered kidney failure due to a poor performance of someone that will always remain nameless. A slew of doctors surrounded me and the faces and names just passed my path without any permanent recollection, with the exception of Dr. Harvey, who was so legitimately excited about my success at continuing my life, that it could almost be felt. He was and continued to be a large part of my recovery. Attentive and available are the two words that come to mind when recalling his performance. The first thing he did was give me his personal cell phone number, that I kept for all of these years and when I had a problem, I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to have a smart MD in your back pocket. One that was always willing to help and supplied you with many free samples on an ongoing basis. Some of the drugs I take daily cost about $200 a month to purchase, but Dr. Harvey makes sure I get them for free, by giving me the samples that the reps give to him. Over the years, I never added up the totals, but it comes to thousands of dollars. I really never took Dr. Harvey for granted, but when my tooth started acting up he offered to prescribe an anti-biotic until I found a dentist.

Back to my text message. After getting an iron infusion on Friday, I got immediately sick and fell asleep for 20 minutes in my recliner. When I awoke, I felt fine again and wondered if it was a reaction to the iron. That night, I developed a fever of 100, very unlike me. I texted Dr. Harvey, asking if the iron can cause a fever and he never replied. I thought about it a little and noticed that he wasn't returning my calls like he used to and wondered if he was becoming like every other doctor I'd ever known, unavailable!

Today, after discussing my previous fever and him telling me to cancel the iron for awhile, he said in his Romanian accent, "Listen, we have to talk". Where have I heard that expression before? Oh yeah, when someone is about to give you bad news! He started with telling me that his cell phone is not designed to be as efficient as he needs it to be, particularly in the case of an emergency and he's now directing all private calls to the directory service. In other words and he had the hardest time telling me this, he wasn't going to take my personal calls anymore. He dumped my ass!

In reality, he was a young struggling physician when I met him and his personal practice was just beginning. He was as good as any doctor could be expected to be, even better. He would call me every once in awhile, if he didn't hear from me. Who does that? He was about 36 years old and hard working with a young family. Now he's about 42, his kids are getting older, little league and family activities are no doubt prevalent and he needs to cut back somewhere. I get it. I do. You're always a little sad when a good thing stops, right? Sure was good while it lasted.