Day 257

I’ve said this before and I’m saying it again the miscommunication and scheduling problems are what’s gonna be the death of me and not the cancer. *beats head on desk* Yesterday while I was talking to my mother on the phone another call beeped in. I knew Chuck was safely at work and it’s rare that anyone calls that early so I just let it go to voicemail. By the time I finished talking to mom I forgot there’d been another call and went about my day. And so I didn’t hear the voicemail until after 6pm. It was Tricia, my nurse from Dr. Hughes’ office. The message was … Cooper has been trying to get in touch with me to schedule an MRI … why don’t I want to get the MRI … please call her at the office. *gasps* I checked my phone there were no voicemails I hadn’t listened to. I listened to every voicemail on my phone there were no messages from Cooper.

When I left my last appointment on August 15 they gave me all the paperwork to schedule my MRI at South Jersey Radiology and blood work. Dr. Hughes told me to schedule the MRI for mid October and the blood work for the week before that. My appointment with Dr. Hughes isn’t until the last week in October. I couldn’t imagine what Tricia was talking about. I worried myself sick until 8:30am this morning when I called Tricia back. Apparently Dr. Hughes’ secretary left and they were unaware that I had all my paperwork. *shakes head* This! This is what upsets and unsettles me. I couldn’t sleep, I was worried sick that somehow my MRI had become urgent. Had I somehow misunderstood Dr. Hughes’ directions? Was my phone missing voicemails? I’ve been missing phone calls so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. It took forever to get to sleep and when I finally did I woke with my neck and back in knots.

The medical profession must do a better job with their communication and scheduling skills. Convoluted misunderstandings such as this one make anxious patients like me more anxious.

Thanks for stopping by to read every day. I love you all.

With much love and great affection,

~ Carol Anne