Category Archives: Health
So Awful That It Was Amazing
I had a rheumatologist appointment today and got to the office about 5 minutes early. I signed in and waited for them to call me and when they did, I got a receptionist whose rudeness quotient was second only to the former nurse of my doctor in Montana.
Receptionist: You’re not on the schedule. I don’t have you scheduled for a follow-up appointment at all. You’ll have to re-schedule because Dr. Rheumy is double-booked and I *HIGHLY* doubt he’ll want to see you today.
Me: This is interesting because I scheduled the appointment with you when I was in here three weeks ago.
Receptionist: Do you have an appointment card?
Me: *pulls the card from my wallet* Why yes, I do have one.
Receptionist: *sullenly* Well, I still doubt he’ll want to see you today. You’ll probably have to re-schedule but I’ll go check.
I went and sat down, mentally trying to figure out how I was going to re-schedule if they wanted me tomorrow because I’d have to find someone to watch Daniel. I’d been sitting there for about 5 minutes when I heard my name called.
Nurse: Jennifer K-M?
I went back with her and told her that I was surprised given the exchange with the receptionist. The nurse’s reply: “Somebody screwed up and they’re seeing you because you had the card that proved that you *DID* have the appointment.”
After seeing Dr. Rheumy, I went out to make a follow-up appointment and got Evil Receptionist again. She scheduled me and told me to hold on to the card because “if something gets screwed up, he’ll work you in if you have the card.” I smiled politely and left.
OK… this is the same office staff that has cut me off when they’ve put me on hold, lost my faxed lab work TWICE, and now this. I think I would have been fired within three days if I’d done this when I worked as a receptionist. Seriously, these people are so awful and incompetent that it’s quite amazing.
I Wish God Didn’t Trust My Friends So Much
A week or two, my friend Jenn lost her husband.
Today, two of my friends (Laura and Tim) found out from the ultrasound that their baby didn’t develop a skull or brain tissue.
Cue Mother Teresa quote: “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”
Because of my own science project pregnancy experience, I feel especially hard for Laura and Tim because this is one of those situations where they did everything they were supposed to and something awful happened. I feel awful that they’re going through this at all but I feel especially awful that they’re going to get the following comments from well-meaning (and some not quite well-meaning) people:
[+] At least you have a healthy two year-old daughter. Yeah… be as that may, Magdalena does not make up for the baby that they’re losing now.
[+]Well, if Laura had only done [insert thing], she wouldn’t have had this problem. Laura is one of the most granola hippie people I know. She wouldn’t do anything while pregnant to make this happen. This also discounts the fact that crappy things like this happen for reasons that are only clear to God.
[+]This will make Tim a better pastor. While this is partially true, it’s still not going to remove the sting from this.
Keep them in your prayers please.
Yet Another Surprise
After my pregnancy with Daniel, I kept having joint and muscle pain which I couldn’t blame on pregnancy. It was worst in January and February and has continued intermittently since with the worst of it being at times of high stress.
I finally got a referral to a rheumatologist and saw him this morning. His thought: a “little bit” of fibromyalgia. Apparently, I have the tenderness in the right places and all the other symptoms and conditions that are associated.
The good news is that this isn’t life-threatening or crippling. Staying active will help keep it at bay.
The bad news is that flares can be triggered by excess stress and it’s one of those conditions that’s a diagnosis of exclusion which means that everything else needs to be ruled out first. They also can’t treat the disease — just the symptoms.
They took some blood and I’ll see the doctor again in two weeks.
What I’ve Accomplished Today
I spent yesterday going through my boxes of belongings in my in-laws’ garage so today was the day to do “my Monday list”. My very wonderful mother-in-law graciously offered to take Daniel for the morning so I could get “my Monday list” worked on. So far, I have…
[+] Set up an online account with Southern California Edison so I can pay my bills online.
[+] Scheduled my rheumatology appointment and re-faxed the information to them. (I think their fax machine feeds into a paper shredder or something.) I also called to make sure they got the stuff.
[+] Called Milestones for Development to try and get an evaluation set up for Daniel.
[+] Called our doctor to get the referral that Milestones needs.
[+] Played butler to several of my in-laws’ cats.
[+] Gave the ermine-coated little girl her morning cream.
[+] Applied for jobs on Monster.Com, LaTimes.Com, and HotJobs.
Seriously Standing in the Need of Prayer
OK… some ways to pray for us right now.
[+] Jobs for Jon and I.? We need the income desperately.
[+] Internet for 24 hours so I can do Blogathon in July.? We don’t have wi-fi at the Snuggery and I need to find a place where I can have Internet consistently from 6 a.m. on the 31st to 6 a.m. on the 1st for Blogathon.
[+] For relief from the severe gastritis and spastic colon that all the stress is causing.
[+] For my father-in-law as he’s dealing with his health challenges.