I spend a
good portion of my time planning for and attending doctor appointments. I
always have my date book on me and do my best to maintain a healthy balance between
medical me and the rest of me. And when I think I have medical me all figured
out, a new ailment will pop up and throw me off course. “What could it be? How
will I find the time to take care of this? What if it’s really bad?” While it’s
easy to be anxious and desire quick answers, I’m working on a more fundamental
approach: sticking to the facts and letting the scene play out.
The Facts
In
mid-October, my left hand started feeling tingly and numb in the morning. At
first I blamed my sleeping positions then gardening. When I felt a sudden and shooting
pain in the back of my hand as I was chopping an onion, I knew I had to do
something. But what rabbit hole to go down first? When I found myself ruling
out an amputation, I knew it was time to stick to the facts (my hand hurt and I didn’t know why) and call
my Primary Care Physician (PCP.)
The Scene
My PCP suggested
carpal tunnel was the name of my pain and referred me to a neurologist. I called the neurologist; my heart sank when
the receptionist told me the doctor’s schedule was eight to twelve weeks out.
As we were setting up an appointment for January, she saw he had a cancelation
in November. Good and not good; I already had a dentist appointment scheduled on
that day. I decided to take the appointment and reschedule the dentist.
I called the
dentist; the soonest appointment they had was in April. Well that’s just
awesome! I took the appointment; they
assured me I’d be put on a cancelation list. I was a bit cheesed off by this
and started thinking I need a new dentist but it would have to wait.
In the
meantime, I had an appointment with the new endocrinologist. You’ll like this;
before she’ll start me on osteoporosis medication in January, I need gallons
of lab work AND she requested I have
a dental exam to ensure oral surgery is not in my near future (one of the side
effects of the medication is osteonecrosis of the jaw bone.) Sweet merciful
crap! The dentist dilemma will need taken care of sooner than later.
The Play-out
The day
arrives for my neurologist appointment, I show up with six pages of paper work,
photo ID, and insurance card ready to do business. Turns out the doc is super cool,
he let me watch the screen with him as he ran his tests and explained
everything to me. Diagnosis: mild carpal tunnel.
Whew; that’s
nothing! “Normal” people get carpal tunnel all the time! I’m thrilled because
the issue wasn’t a neurofibroma lurking around or a stress fracture as a result
of thinning bones! He suggested wearing a wrist brace at night. Done!
Next up, the
dentist; I call and explain my urgency. Surprise surprise, they have an opening!
Do I have a scheduling conflict, of
course I do! I was to see my therapist at the day and time offered. I take the
dentist appointment and cancel with my therapist. Spoiler Alert: Choppers are perfect and my therapist didn’t charge
me the “cancel in less than 24 hours fee”!
Time Will Tell
Over-all, the
past three months of my medical life played out fairly well. I stayed on task,
invested some time, and received the answers I needed. Fretting about a bunch
of ‘what ifs’ would have gotten me all riled up for nothing. If chronic illness
has taught me anything, it is this: there is merit in being patient, allowing
life to unfold, and radically accepting the results.
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| The waiting is the hard part |
