I got a message on my voicemail today that my post-surgical followup appointment tomorrow afternoon has been cancelled because the doctor has a family emergency. I know it’s not his/their fault, but dammit, now I have to reschedule, and get my supervisor’s approval again, and then talk to HR again to make sure the rescheduled appointment gets covered under my FMLA leave for the surgery and why the Hell is the Universe so intent on driving me insane?
And I almost didn’t check my voicemail today, because no one uses my landline number except my doctors’ offices and telemarketers, and none of my doctors’ offices are open on Sundays (it was actually the answering service that called on behalf of the office). Boy, that would have been fun to have shown up at the office tomorrow, wouldn’t it have?
Screw you, Universe! I checked my voicemail and foiled your plans!
But wait, it gets better. The doctor’s office themselves called me this morning before I had a change to call them with a “We didn’t know if you got the message…” call and I rescheduled the appointment. For March 12, which was their earliest open appointment.
Then, about midafternoon, I got a “Wait a minute, I think I’m screwed moment” and counted my pills when I got home. I have a 15-day supply left; I’m gonna run out on the 10th. And, of course, the doctor’s office was already closed for the day.
Someone’s getting a frantic phone call tomorrow. I hope I can just get some extra pills to tide me over, because I already re-arranged my time off at work for the new appointment, and don’t want to do it again.
Is this a single doctor practice? I’ve seen similar situations where if your issue is non-life threatening (like it sounds yours is) that the doctor will refer you to another doctor (think: medical center) in such a case.
I suppose in your case this is too much to hope for. That and the aggravation from your company’s HR dept…yeek.
Are you bitching at someone for bitching in the Pit? If so, then; well, you sound like a real peach.
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Kat**, this is a post surgical followup that they’re postponing for almost three whole weeks? Jesus. Isn’t part of the point of a followup to make sure everything’s healing correctly in a timely fashion?
How understanding of you, RR. Perhaps when it’s you and yours you’ll show a little empathy!
Jeez. Talk about a dick thing to say. I know, it’s the Pit, it’s your God-given right and all. But still. Seriously.
FYI, the last time that happened to me and the doctor’s office was closed, the pharmacy offered to lend me a couple of days of pills. It was a prescription that I had been on a long time and always filled at that particular pharmacy, and would make me very sick if I didn’t take it for a day, so YMMV.
Right. The OP is lambasting the doctor for having a family emergency at an inconvenient time for the OP, and somehow I’m the one with the empathy problem.
Go look up in the OP and find the words “I know it’s not their fault.” We’ll wait.
Sure, whatever the doctor’s family has experienced (and we don’t know what that is; could be anything from a death in the family to a kid with the sniffles) probably sucks, but that doesn’t erase the suck that Kat now has a big hassle on her hands because of it.
Where is the emergency? She has pills until the 10th. that is a couple of weeks away. I am sure this kind of call can wait until morning.
ALTHOUGH if this is an initial post op, I would call back and tell the office you need to be worked in because that shouldn’t wait two weeks. Perhaps they didn’t realize what she was coming in for.
The OP chose the hassle of having to get permission to take time off etc when she chose her job. So, under your formulation, the OP is complaining about something she can control, which isn’t any better than complaining about the doctor having an emergency.
Actually, she’d already performed her workplace-expected duty by arranging for time off for her appointment, and due to circumstances out of her control, she has to do it a second time. I admire your apparently Zen-like acceptance of the necessity of repeating tasks you’ve already performed when someone else’s business becomes your problem, but most of us humans occasionally bitch a little.
Naw, it’s not the initial post-surgical followup to check the healing; I had that with the surgeon 2 weeks ago. This is the followup with the endocrinologist to schedule the RAI treatment and…well, for me to ask the 1001 questions that I want to go over.
I’ve been freaking out a lot more than usual ever since the initial diagnosis, and decided to vent it out (mostly) harmlessly here rather than continue to harrass my family* or (heaven forbid) let the freak-out grow enough for me to snap at the nurse today. (I think somebody overstressed the you need to take these pills every day for the rest of your life line a little bit on me.)
*I actually told my sister (who is a doctor) that doctors should not be allowed to have family emergencies.
