So tomorrow morning I was supposed to have a meeting with a surgeon to talk about my surgical options in terms of removing this big tumor that's been messing with me. After my MRI paperwork was first lost, rescheduled, and then ultimately cancelled due to issues I'd warned them about from the start, I was rescheduled for a CT scan so we'd have a good idea of what the options were. So now the process starts again.
Even though I've confirmed three or four times (after having to beg them to do it in the first place) that my doctor's office has requested the scans, I've gotten no call back from the medical imaging department. And we're kind of down to the line. First I called the doctor, which was an all around shitty experience because they made me feel like it was my fault (and I'm sure it sucked for them because I kept them on the phone so long all distraught), but they gave me the number for imaging and I called them to make sure that my paperwork hadn't been lost yet again.
As will come as no surprise, my paperwork has not been received. They say there's a chance it's in some unprocessed pile but they have no way of verifying. I told them I had a morning appointment to discuss the results, and asked them if I could come in at 3 AM or anything at all (since they're 24 hours), but they told me that wouldn't be an option, and that the earliest they'd be able to see me was well into the new year… and that they wouldn't even tell me over the phone, that they would mail it to me!
So I called the doctor and told them that there wasn't any scan for us to talk about, and he told me pretty much the same… that he wouldn't be able to reschedule me this anywhere month anyway. I've asked them if they can write down exactly what scan I need so I can just pay to have it done at a private clinic in the States or something… As much as I think it's morally wrong that those who are well off financially can force themselves through the medical system faster, it's extremely distressing and depressing feeling screwed over by a series of poorly connected systems and random mistakes.
And then right as I'm in the pit of being really upset at the medical system here, I get a cheerful call back from the CT department who found my paperwork and saw that it was one of the “marked ASAP because that's a big tumor” requisitions, so they've got me in on next Tuesday… So I called my doctor back and told them all that, so they're going to try and ASAP me in right after those results. I still feel a little crappy about it all but I feel better at least knowing that it's scheduled.
