So there I am, trying to behave myself during a Medicare inspection, when the Medicare auditor tells me I have to get an MRI. Okay, seems legit, right?
I go to get my MRI and almost forget that I have my keys in my pocket. Oops. That would’ve been bad. Then I play the waiting game==gotta bide your time until the radiology department decides to let you know what’s what.
I finally call them because it’s getting late and they haven’t called me yet. They tell me I have cancer in my back & I need to come in to the hospital to get it taken care of. Sure, why not? Again, it seems legit.
Once I get to the hospital, I find myself waiting and waiting and waiting to see a doctor. When are they going to have a doctor go over the results of my MRI with me? I decide to go to a nurses’ station and ask whats up with that. Turns out the surgeon had just gotten there, so they took me to another room to discuss my results.
Imagine my surprise when my surgeon was not an oncologist but rather the cataract surgeon that I work with. Totally legit. Apparently they called him in because he ordered the MRI. And he was totally cool with it. He showed me where in my back the cancer was (right in some offshoot of my spine–no biggie) and told me he’d do the surgery.
Some other patient interrupted and came over telling some stupid story about his own cancer experience, talking over the doctor so I couldn’t hear when I was going to have the surgery. I got the impression that it would be soon, but I didn’t know what time exactly. Would I be able to eat anything, or did I have to wait until after the surgery? The surgeon left before I could ask, though, so I tried to ask at the nurses’ station but again they were pretty much useless.
I went off to see my husband & there with him was my best friend Crystal and her family. There were lots of hugs and well wishes, but still I couldn’t eat.
I woke up starving.
Stupid brain.