The Patient is Always the Last to Know...

If you read this blog, you probably know that my "procedure" from last week was aborted due to my level of Potassium being a little too high to safely be put under anesthesia. When the doctor left me there sprawled out in my chorus line outfit, he said "We'll be in touch with you to reschedule" and he waived goodbye. The very following day, I got a message from his less than adequate "head of surgery scheduling", a little girl named Monica. Her message was to be sure to get new lab work done within 1 week of surgery. That was it. I then waited for her call to schedule me. Two days later, a woman named Annie called and said she was scheduling me and to return her call. I did but it went directly to voicemail. I've since left her 2 other messages, but she seems to ignore them.

Yesterday I got a message from a recording to be sure to show up on time for my "post op" appointment for Friday, the 3rd of June. How can I have a post op appointment if I've not had the procedure done yet? Today, I called to cancel that appointment that I never made and the phone operator asked if I wanted to also cancel my appointment for the 7th of June for surgery? What, I have no appointment then either. So do you want to cancel it too, she asked? What time is it for and where, what hospital? She explained that she cannot give me that information, I need to talk to Monica for that vital info. I was transferred to Monica and it went directly to voicemail once again. She still has not returned my call.

It appears that everything is scheduled and ready to go except no one has bothered to tell me, the patient. Here is another thing that is bothering me. As I laid on the gurney last week, wearing nylon tights and a hospital gown, with my arm out waiting for the IV that was going to put me to sleep, is that when my Potassium level spiked to 5.9? No, everyone knew that ahead of time from my lab reports and no one bothered to make the decision to cancel it until everyone including me, was terribly inconvenienced. Would you go forward with a doctor who's office is this disheveled? It really doesn't say much for him. Rant over.