Annoyed
Okay, so it's been a bit over a week since I posted, and that's a shame. This past week has been kind of busy, and I haven't had a chance to sit down and do two posts I wanted to do - our trip to the zoo last week, and Mia's fishing trip this past week with her class. I have pictures and whatnot, and I'll get them up very soon. But for now, I'm annoyed.
I thought I had mentioned that I took Mia and Norah to the dentist in the fall. I guess I didn't. Anyway, the dentist mentioned that he was pretty sure she had cavities o' plenty, but he didn't take X-rays because he would need to put her under to take them. He told us to set up an appointment with the hospital, because he does the X-rays and surgery all in one fell swoop. Sounds easy-peasy, right?
Yeah, okay. I made an appointment in December, but we needed to cancel it. Mia and Norah didn't have dental insurance, because we figured an annual visit wouldn't cost that much. Of course, X-rays and surgery in the hospital cost a bit more than that, so we decided to set her up with dental insurance. We had to wait until the first of the year, so we made the appointment for January.
Then that didn't work. I can't quite remember why, but I think we had a conflict. So I rescheduled for two weeks ago. I had to get some paperwork filled out by her pediatrician, so I turned that in, and they faxed it over. Then, a few days before the date, the dentist's office called for some reason and mentioned that the surgery was actually scheduled for today. Nice of them to call me, I thought. Then, this week, they called to tell me that, due to a cancellation, her appointment had been moved up from 12.30 p.m. to 8.15 a.m. That meant I had to be there at 6.30 in the morning.
I told the nurse that there was no way I was getting there by 6.30. It's not that I didn't want to, it's that I didn't think I could drag her out of bed that early. I also said that I'd try to get there as soon as I could, but given my experience with hospitals, I didn't think it was really necessary to get there when they told me I had to. This caused some consternation, but I wasn't angry at them, just pragmatic. I just told them I didn't want to show up at 6.45 and have them cancelling my appointment when I knew they would make me sit there for an hour twiddling my thumbs anyway. I've sat in the hospital plenty of times waiting, so I'm not terribly keen on getting there precisely on time.
So today was the big day. She's been grinding her teeth quite a bit, and we thought it might have to do with the fact that her teeth were hurting. So we were looking forward to getting that taken care of. I got there about quarter to seven, and until nine, I spent about 30 minutes dealing with hospital stuff. So that was one thing. About 8.30 or so, the nurse began having some issues. Mia hadn't been checked by her pediatrician for a long time, and her neurosurgeon hadn't seen her since November. Her doctor had sent the paperwork in, but he hadn't actually examined her. Apparently, the hospital's new policy is that the child has to have been examined in a week prior to the surgery. The dentist said his hands were pretty much tied, which was fine - I wasn't angry at him. I wasn't even angry at the hospital. I mentioned that it would have been nice if the dentist's office had told me, because I can easily get her in to see the pediatrician. The nurse mentioned that she wasn't sure if they even knew about the hospital's policy. So I woke up at 5.30, woke Mia up at 6.10 or so, and sat around until 9, all to no avail. So I was a bit annoyed.
I felt bad for Mia, even though she was perfectly happy to hang out for a while. She had to wake up early and couldn't eat or drink anything. Plus, she has to deal with her teeth for a while longer. The dentist promised he would schedule her as quickly as possible, but it's going to be at least another week before we can get her in. If that, because I'm not sure if they do surgery every week. We'll see.
Is it any wonder people get really pissed off about having to deal with doctors and hospitals? Sheesh. What a waste. Meanwhile, Krys is very sick, Norah is somewhat sick, and she was clinging to Mommy all day, driving her nuts. All Krys wanted was some peace and quiet, but Norah wouldn't allow that. Mia and I tried to stay away for a while, but we had to come home at some point!
Let's hope Mia gets surgery soon. Maybe the hospital will deign to do it next time!
I thought I had mentioned that I took Mia and Norah to the dentist in the fall. I guess I didn't. Anyway, the dentist mentioned that he was pretty sure she had cavities o' plenty, but he didn't take X-rays because he would need to put her under to take them. He told us to set up an appointment with the hospital, because he does the X-rays and surgery all in one fell swoop. Sounds easy-peasy, right?
Yeah, okay. I made an appointment in December, but we needed to cancel it. Mia and Norah didn't have dental insurance, because we figured an annual visit wouldn't cost that much. Of course, X-rays and surgery in the hospital cost a bit more than that, so we decided to set her up with dental insurance. We had to wait until the first of the year, so we made the appointment for January.
Then that didn't work. I can't quite remember why, but I think we had a conflict. So I rescheduled for two weeks ago. I had to get some paperwork filled out by her pediatrician, so I turned that in, and they faxed it over. Then, a few days before the date, the dentist's office called for some reason and mentioned that the surgery was actually scheduled for today. Nice of them to call me, I thought. Then, this week, they called to tell me that, due to a cancellation, her appointment had been moved up from 12.30 p.m. to 8.15 a.m. That meant I had to be there at 6.30 in the morning.
I told the nurse that there was no way I was getting there by 6.30. It's not that I didn't want to, it's that I didn't think I could drag her out of bed that early. I also said that I'd try to get there as soon as I could, but given my experience with hospitals, I didn't think it was really necessary to get there when they told me I had to. This caused some consternation, but I wasn't angry at them, just pragmatic. I just told them I didn't want to show up at 6.45 and have them cancelling my appointment when I knew they would make me sit there for an hour twiddling my thumbs anyway. I've sat in the hospital plenty of times waiting, so I'm not terribly keen on getting there precisely on time.
So today was the big day. She's been grinding her teeth quite a bit, and we thought it might have to do with the fact that her teeth were hurting. So we were looking forward to getting that taken care of. I got there about quarter to seven, and until nine, I spent about 30 minutes dealing with hospital stuff. So that was one thing. About 8.30 or so, the nurse began having some issues. Mia hadn't been checked by her pediatrician for a long time, and her neurosurgeon hadn't seen her since November. Her doctor had sent the paperwork in, but he hadn't actually examined her. Apparently, the hospital's new policy is that the child has to have been examined in a week prior to the surgery. The dentist said his hands were pretty much tied, which was fine - I wasn't angry at him. I wasn't even angry at the hospital. I mentioned that it would have been nice if the dentist's office had told me, because I can easily get her in to see the pediatrician. The nurse mentioned that she wasn't sure if they even knew about the hospital's policy. So I woke up at 5.30, woke Mia up at 6.10 or so, and sat around until 9, all to no avail. So I was a bit annoyed.
I felt bad for Mia, even though she was perfectly happy to hang out for a while. She had to wake up early and couldn't eat or drink anything. Plus, she has to deal with her teeth for a while longer. The dentist promised he would schedule her as quickly as possible, but it's going to be at least another week before we can get her in. If that, because I'm not sure if they do surgery every week. We'll see.
Is it any wonder people get really pissed off about having to deal with doctors and hospitals? Sheesh. What a waste. Meanwhile, Krys is very sick, Norah is somewhat sick, and she was clinging to Mommy all day, driving her nuts. All Krys wanted was some peace and quiet, but Norah wouldn't allow that. Mia and I tried to stay away for a while, but we had to come home at some point!
Let's hope Mia gets surgery soon. Maybe the hospital will deign to do it next time!
posted by Greg at
9:23 PM
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