I am amazed. My good friend, who graduated from U of R, who is a doctor and who helped me so much when I first found out I had cancer, called the clinic where I am trying to get an appointment. He spoke with someone about the problems I am having getting an appointment and getting records from one place to another. As he says, "I tried to grease the wheels a little." The clinic would accept the information from Illinois, and he provided the contact info for them. So he said if I don't hear by Thursday, to call them.
I called the clinic today to follow through with the HIPA request, and while I was giving them the information about the need for a letter on their letterhead requesting the records be faxed to them, the person said, "Oh, I see you already have an appointment set up."
"I do?" I gasped.
"Yes," she replied.
"When is it for?" I asked.
"Let's see. Looks like September 11." she replied.
"Really?" I thanked my lucky stars she had inadvertently mentioned it. I wondered when I would have found out. A million questions followed. What time? With whom? Where is that located? How do I get there?
She patiently answered my questions, then said, "They will mail you a packet of information that tells you all you need to know including maps and everything."
Wow! I am delighted. AND I marked it in my calendar before I put other meetings and sessions there and end up with a conflict. Seeing how its less than 2 weeks from now, I don't want to miss it.
She ended our conversation with, "Of course, if your information isn't here yet, the doctor won't see you."
Gulp. I vow to contact both clinics next week and verify that stuff has been sent, then call the clinic here to verify that they have it in hand. Yikes!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Busy days
Yesterday was somewhat of a nightmare with printers gone beserk at work and students trying desperately to print their schedules and assignments and grad students on a different schedule needing to print online articles.
Gremlins came in the night when no one was looking and mixed up all the connections. So the Info Commons PCs SAID they were printing to Huan Yu, but really they were printing to Ischema - on a rather unpredictable basis. And the lab computers SAID they were printing to Liliana, but really they were printing to Elijah, but since the 2 printers sat next to each other, no one knew until one of the printers stopped and we thought it was the one that it wasn't.
Are you confused yet? So were we. Turns out we had the same IP address on more than one printer and the computer was firing at will. They had it all sorted out by this morning though, thank goodness!
Because there were a million other details to be handled. I came in with one task that I was determined to complete, and every time I began to work on it, I was called away for one reason or another. They were all important issues that needed to be addressed, but it was just non-stop.
Before I realized it, the day was gone (I had even forgotten to eat lunch) and I was late picking up the boys for the soccer pool. Wow! I may have discovered a whole new diet program. Its a good busy though, not a stressful one. The time sure flies by. And the boys didn't really seem to mind that they missed the uphill run part of practice.
Sometimes you hit a stride and luck out. Gotta run. I'm back at the library and its nearing midnight and closing. We get to do almost a real closing tonight. Locks are working, gates are closing, and I think we may pull it off.
Gremlins came in the night when no one was looking and mixed up all the connections. So the Info Commons PCs SAID they were printing to Huan Yu, but really they were printing to Ischema - on a rather unpredictable basis. And the lab computers SAID they were printing to Liliana, but really they were printing to Elijah, but since the 2 printers sat next to each other, no one knew until one of the printers stopped and we thought it was the one that it wasn't.
Are you confused yet? So were we. Turns out we had the same IP address on more than one printer and the computer was firing at will. They had it all sorted out by this morning though, thank goodness!
Because there were a million other details to be handled. I came in with one task that I was determined to complete, and every time I began to work on it, I was called away for one reason or another. They were all important issues that needed to be addressed, but it was just non-stop.
Before I realized it, the day was gone (I had even forgotten to eat lunch) and I was late picking up the boys for the soccer pool. Wow! I may have discovered a whole new diet program. Its a good busy though, not a stressful one. The time sure flies by. And the boys didn't really seem to mind that they missed the uphill run part of practice.
Sometimes you hit a stride and luck out. Gotta run. I'm back at the library and its nearing midnight and closing. We get to do almost a real closing tonight. Locks are working, gates are closing, and I think we may pull it off.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Enlightening
If you want a real lift in your spirits, you need to find a lighting store and experience a kilowatt surge! Saturday we went to Home Depot to find a light bulb for Drew's desk lamp. It requires a high intensity bulb, and the usual haunts don't carry them. Drew was overwhelmed when we entered the store and immediately wanted to wander in every direction and gawk at all the "cool stuff." He did manage to hang with me until we found the right light bulb, but then took off to explore.
While I was waiting for him, I found myself drawn to their lighting section. If you have never been, I highly recommend it. Pick a large Home Depot - one with at least ten aisles of lights. You will be amazed and wonder how they manage to stay afloat after paying their electric bill!
They have every type of light, lamp, ceiling fan, fixture you can imagine. They use glass light bulbs, the new spiral ones, halogen, laser, and solar. With dozens of lights on, you feel the warmth of their glow literally as you approach each aisle. Some aisles feature mood lighting, some outdoor lighting, some dining room lighting, some living room lamps. One whole aisle had motion sensor lights, and as you walked down the aisle, each lamp turned on with your passing - how cool was that!
I wandered from aisle to aisle, soaking in the light. Sometimes I just stood and enjoyed the brightness, the variety of style, the warmness. I found myself walking slower and slower, repeating some aisles, wishing the trip would not end. Light. It is an amazing thing. You can't help feeling better when you are exposed to it. It lifts your spirits.
And I needed that for today. Once again I tried to get an appointment with the oncologist here. I endured endless transfers and 'on-holds' but I persevered. Finally I was told that unless I am in a crisis, I am not likely to get an appointment for at least 4 or 5 weeks. I explain the situation. She agrees that I should probably be seen earlier, but that I would not be given an appointment until my Yale clinic had sent my records. Problem? Yale likes to burn the info to CD and mail it. This clinic will accept only faxes. She tells me to call Yale and ask for a fax. I remember that my records are carted about in paper in boxes - file folders can't hope to contain it all. It would take an army days to fax all that stuff unless they can somehow transmit from their computer. And to print it all out? That would take a forest!
I call Yale. They explain that they cannot release my information until they get a fax from here requesting it. Some HIPA rule. For my protection. The medical records woman tells me that if the clinic won't cooperate here, to call her back (I reached her in less than a minute) and she will call them and straighten it all out. I call the clinic here. They have gone home for the day. Try again tomorrow. Take a deep breath. Remember the warmth of the light.
I am David. I can take on Goliath. God will show me how. But it better happen soon. I am beginning to have some problems and I know time is running out. 8 weeks to way too long to be struggling with the system. Give me a break. There must be a way to get into this darn clinic somehow. My patience is wearing mighty thin. I'd like to smack somebody, but I have no idea who. All I have are 16 different phone numbers (everytime I call I am given a different number that I 'should' have called) and a bunch of faceless voices. These people are beserk.
I am documenting for all I am worth. Someday perhaps I can use the experience to improve others chances of getting seen quicker. For now, I'm going home soon and slide into bed with a sigh. Tomorrow is another day. Maybe I will have better luck.
While I was waiting for him, I found myself drawn to their lighting section. If you have never been, I highly recommend it. Pick a large Home Depot - one with at least ten aisles of lights. You will be amazed and wonder how they manage to stay afloat after paying their electric bill!
They have every type of light, lamp, ceiling fan, fixture you can imagine. They use glass light bulbs, the new spiral ones, halogen, laser, and solar. With dozens of lights on, you feel the warmth of their glow literally as you approach each aisle. Some aisles feature mood lighting, some outdoor lighting, some dining room lighting, some living room lamps. One whole aisle had motion sensor lights, and as you walked down the aisle, each lamp turned on with your passing - how cool was that!
I wandered from aisle to aisle, soaking in the light. Sometimes I just stood and enjoyed the brightness, the variety of style, the warmness. I found myself walking slower and slower, repeating some aisles, wishing the trip would not end. Light. It is an amazing thing. You can't help feeling better when you are exposed to it. It lifts your spirits.
And I needed that for today. Once again I tried to get an appointment with the oncologist here. I endured endless transfers and 'on-holds' but I persevered. Finally I was told that unless I am in a crisis, I am not likely to get an appointment for at least 4 or 5 weeks. I explain the situation. She agrees that I should probably be seen earlier, but that I would not be given an appointment until my Yale clinic had sent my records. Problem? Yale likes to burn the info to CD and mail it. This clinic will accept only faxes. She tells me to call Yale and ask for a fax. I remember that my records are carted about in paper in boxes - file folders can't hope to contain it all. It would take an army days to fax all that stuff unless they can somehow transmit from their computer. And to print it all out? That would take a forest!
I call Yale. They explain that they cannot release my information until they get a fax from here requesting it. Some HIPA rule. For my protection. The medical records woman tells me that if the clinic won't cooperate here, to call her back (I reached her in less than a minute) and she will call them and straighten it all out. I call the clinic here. They have gone home for the day. Try again tomorrow. Take a deep breath. Remember the warmth of the light.
I am David. I can take on Goliath. God will show me how. But it better happen soon. I am beginning to have some problems and I know time is running out. 8 weeks to way too long to be struggling with the system. Give me a break. There must be a way to get into this darn clinic somehow. My patience is wearing mighty thin. I'd like to smack somebody, but I have no idea who. All I have are 16 different phone numbers (everytime I call I am given a different number that I 'should' have called) and a bunch of faceless voices. These people are beserk.
I am documenting for all I am worth. Someday perhaps I can use the experience to improve others chances of getting seen quicker. For now, I'm going home soon and slide into bed with a sigh. Tomorrow is another day. Maybe I will have better luck.
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