(Or “How I Learned to Stop Expecting Anything From Anyone Anymore.”)
About a month ago I cited the suggestion to go to the Mayo Clinic, but I didn’t give much explanation… I was far too upset about the premise of the conversation, but also I needed someone to do something before I reamed them out.
Well they did it, so now I can explain. Or rather, affirm the ugly theory I posited just after xmas: Dr L never sent the referral to Dr v.S in Toronto, so I never was on that 1-year wait list.
Until yesterday.
So the past year? Yeah, let’s pretend that didn’t happen.
I dropped by Dr L’s office on Jan 25th because I was in the neighbourhood. After 10 minutes, the receptionist found my file – on the doctor’s desk, where it had sat for the past 11 months (other than when Dr T’s office requested the non-existent consultation report.) Just at the moment where my worst fears were being confirmed, Dr L just happened to walk by… I think he figured out what I’d just figured out and he immediately went for damage-control-via-bullshit mode.
“Let’s step into my office for a chat. / I’m not getting any traction with the people in Toronto”
… blah blah about ‘being out of the scene’ by being in Ottawa…
Dr L: “You could search the internet.”
Myke: “For what?”
Dr L: “Well you know what your injury is…”
Myke: “No I don’t, you have a theory, but you said you were going to the MRI re-read to confirm it, since you said you weren’t an expert-”
Dr L: “No, I’m not.”
Myke: “So I really don’t know what I’m searching for. Tell me what to look for, but what am I going to find that you or Dr v.S don’t already know?”
Dr L: “Well, you can search for the Mayo Clinic”
Myke: “I don’t have money to go somewhere like that.”
Dr L: “I guess I can write another letter to Toronto, and if you get an appointment in a year and half, you’ll be lucky.”
… And do I even need to mention that that MRI re-read never happened either?
Then, I’m not so proud to deny it, I sobbed all the way home from Kanata, probably the first time I cried in a year.
But I had my moment of anguish, and moved on. This wasn’t completely unexpected. Very disappointing of course.
’bout a week later, I met a radiologist at the photoclub, and while he’s not an orthopedics kind of guy, he’s getting me hooked up with someone who is: the Chief of Radiology at the Ottawa Hospital, and seeing about having him re-read all my films. So that’s an unexpected bonus, and he gave me the info already, so the ball is in my court to move things along. Will update here when something happens. I figure it can’t hurt to be armed with that info before I go to Toronto next spring.