Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you’ve got a kingdom. – Jack Lalanne
“…And after a long time the boy came back again.
“I am sorry, Boy,” said the tree, “but I have nothing left to give you- My apples are gone.”
“My teeth are too weak for apples,” said the boy.
“My branches are gone,” said the tree.”You cannot swing on them.”
“I am too old to swing on branches,” said the boy.
“My trunk is gone,” said the tree. “You cannot climb.”
“I am too tired to climb,” said the boy.
“I am sorry,” sighed the tree. “I wish that I could give you something… but I have nothing left. I am an old stump. I am sorry…”
“I don’t need very much now,” said the boy, “just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired.”
“Well,” said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, “Well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest.”
And the boy did. And the tree was happy.
Shel Silverstein – The Giving Tree.
Let’s skip the pre-existing conditions – not mine – too numerous to share, but imagine a man such as I writing this note. AFTER A DOZEN YEARS WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION.
A week ago we called Dr. Primary Care’s office due to an injured knee. (see photo)
I feared a blood clot. After three in the same leg, I always fear a blood clot.
Called the doctor. We can see a stranger/practitioner at 11:30 or our actual physician at 1:30.
Waited the weekend, we can wait the extra two hours.
At 1:30, the stranger/practitioner walks in. Convinces us sufficiently not a blood clot.
Need x-rays. They will call Summit Imaging, let them know I am walking in the next morning.
Tuesday. Summit never heard of me. Mrs. Welch calls Primary Care’s office. “I don’t know. We sent the papers.”
But they never ever verify receipt, do they?
Weds. We wait to hear about x-ray results and our next step. We hear nothing.
Thursday. Mrs. Welch calls. “What x-rays?” We’ll get back to you.
‘Nothing is broken. Looks like all the cartilage is gone. We will set you up with the knee specialist.’
New cane arrives from Amazon. Ordered the same day as the X-ray.
Friday. We hear nothing. Wife actually cares about my health, so she again takes the initiative, and calls the doctor’s office.
‘Oh, [scheduler] she’s at lunch. She’s at lunch or she might have gone home. Or she’s at lunch and not coming back.’
The following Monday, my wife calls them. “A specialist?” More news to them.
But it gets worse. When they finally get around to scheduling an appointment, the specialist will want to see my x-rays, my wife is told. So, the old man who can’t bend his leg will have to drive back to Summit Imaging and get the x-rays from them, the doctor’s office tells us.
Does Humana Gold Plan cover this extra mileage? Is there a co-pay when I pick up the x-rays from Summit Imaging? Why can’t Primary Care’s office send the x-rays they have in their possession currently to the specialist’s office?
I remember back in the day when the doctor’s office would call the patient and tell them what to do.
Now the patient has to call the doctor’s office REPEATEDLY to move the case along at all.
None of this is new for us at this particular office, but we were younger then. The staff is likable enough, but there is a reason not once have we ever filled out a ‘customer survey.’ The nicest words I can use are ‘inattention/lack of focus.’
Meanwhile, the Humana Gold Plan is paying for two prescriptions to diminish someone’s clinical anxiety.
Try sitting around with her for a couple of days waiting for the somebody – anyone at all – to help finally.
Back to Monday. The return call comes in the middle of our afternoon nap. 2:30 pm.
Wake, see the message, call back at 4:50 pm. They have already switched phones to the answering service.
Tuesday. We are given an appointment with the knee specialist on the 22nd. Seventeen days from injury to specialist. Apparently, no one is interested in me getting back in the game any time soon.
The 22nd
Wish I could tell you what happened on the 22nd. Well, first of all, the car won’t start. It’s our only vehicle. Remember when I was young, thinking, well, if we break down here, I can always run the twenty miles into town. At this age, I phoned a friend.
Remember I did get entirely new x-rays. Plan to use the original set from Summit Imaging as an art project.
Turned down every option except a week’s worth of cortisone pills. Which worked okay for four or five days. Don’t know the doctor and I are communicating. Not saying I got another long hard run in me, but I would like to move about my daily life NOT looking like Chester Goode on ‘Gunsmoke.’
I am supposed to return in a month for a second look.
Make it five weeks.
Still had ‘return in a month’ in my head, so this past Monday I actually took my wife to next week’s appointment. Last time she stayed with the car.
Wife accompanies me to all my doctors’ appointments. She’s curious, smart, listens and remembers. And she can often translate.
I am a little anxious. What about an MRI? Is a swollen painful weak knee your final answer? Are leg extensions stupid? Swimming? Feels like a hinge with a missing screw, shouldn’t we fix it?
I am getting better. Not as depressed.
Walked the dog for twenty minutes. Weeded another twenty. Okay. Okay.
I live in a house with three steps. Please don’t tell me that’s too many.