Okay…so here’s the scoop on the surgical consult because I know that inquiring minds want to know.
I went in Wednesday afternoon…I sat in the surgeon’s office for over an hour waiting to be called. The wait kinda sucked, but I know that surgeons are notoriously late…especially when they are good surgeons. So I didn’t mind TOO much.
Anyway, I was able to talk to about five different people who’d had their surgery done last Monday (5/1) and they were up and walking and driving and feeling pretty damn good (according to them). That’s encouraging! The most encouraging thing is that every single one of them had lost a good 10lbs or more already! Yup…that’s like a pound a day! Infriggincredible!!
I enjoyed speaking to them and having them share their experience with me. It was at that moment that I realized that I really need to join a support group…other than online. So I’m going to my first support group meeting next Monday. The group is open to the public and is for all kinds of patients (pre-op & post-op) from many different surgeons…so this is going to be good.
Anyway…the surgeon finally came out and called my name. He walked over to me, introduced himself and shook my hand. He had a big smile on his face and was quite the bundle of energy! We walked back to the examination room and he got my height and weight. We then sat down and he got a page. Figures right?
Well, he turns to me and asks me, “Do you mind if I return this? If I don’t…they’ll just keep paging me and interrupting our session. I really don’t want that.” So I said no…I mean, after all…my grandpa was a surgeon and I know the drill. He called the number back and …he got voicemail? He was SO not happy about this…but he was graceful and left a message stating that he was just trying to return someone’s page and to please not page him if no one is available to answer his call…that he has patients to see.
We then resumed our conversation and he continued to ask me general information about myself…my age, how long I’ve been this way, what I know about the surgery, if it’s something that I really think is right for me…etc. After a few minutes…and him thumbing through the inch and a half thick stack of medical records that I brought with me. He looked over at me and said, “Someone has definitely come prepared…I’m very impressed!”
He went on to list off the few things that he requires his patients to complete before surgery…
Dr: …psychiatric consultation…
me: had it on Monday of this week…you should have the documentation by next Monday…
Dr: …great! (he lifts his eyebrow) pulmonary consultation?
me: scheduled for next Wednesday (5/17)…I tried to get in sooner but nothing was available
Dr: …good…sounds like you’re on top of things! You’ll need to complete a nutrition class…and from your paperwork I see that I won’t have to give you my speech on diet…because you seem to eating exactly what you’re supposed to! Excellent! That’s the first time in my career that I haven’t had to give the “diet speech”. It’s only a couple paragraphs long…but hey, you just saved me like 15 minutes! I will also need you to have an OGD done (scope into my stomach to assess any damage caused by ulcers and acid reflux) so I know what I’ll be dealing with here.
me: Okay
We talked about LOTS of items on the paperwork that he had me complete and went over (briefly) my medical history. By the time we were done…he looked at me and said, “Well Maria, I think that you’d be an ideal candidate for this surgery. I would like to get going on this right away for you as it seems that your health has somewhat deteriorated the past few months and as you are so young…this is quite disturbing to me. I’m going dictate a letter to your insurance company tomorrow morning as if we are doing the surgery right now. Hopefully this will light a fire under them and they won’t drag their feet too much on approving this. You more than qualify for it and I feel that this is going to be greatest thing for you. Don’t worry…you’re going to do beautifully! So…let’s do this okay?”
Well…YEAH!
So I told him that my PCP wants to be involved with the process as much as possible and he grabs one of his business cards, writes his cell number on it and hands it to me saying, “Have your PCP call me. This is my cell number…don’t post it on the internet please, but have him give me a call. He can sit in on your surgery if he likes. In fact, I will send him a written invitation myself.” So he writes a note to himself reminding him to do just that!
That says a LOT to me about the character and confidence of this doctor. Surgeons don’t invite their peers to oversee a surgery unless they know what the hell they are doing! So great!
He gave me a sheet with some information on as to who will contact me, from his office, regarding insurance approval and also gave me his email address, home phone number & cell number. He tells me that if I have any questions or concerns…or I feel that someone is treating me inproperly or things are getting done correctly to not hesitate to contact him. Now that’s a first!
I feel very comfortable with this doctor and I believe that he’s going to do whatever is necessary to help me through this. He obviously knows what he’s doing and believes in his patients. Everyone that I’ve talked to that’s had his/her surgery done by him just raves about him and how wonderful he is. I now see why.
So…I left the office, came home and called the place where he wants me to go have the OGD. I was able to get an appointment for next Wednesday morning…and since my pulmonary exam is the same day, but in the afternoon, that works out perfect! I called the nutrition line yesterday and I can go to a class next Thursday afternoon…again, that’s great!
Things are definitely coming together now and hopefully the insurance will approve this quickly and I might even be able to have the surgery by the last week of May!
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Okay…for my rant now (for those of you who’ve actually read this far)…
Did you watch American Idol this week?? Did anyone else completely freak when Chris Daughtry was kicked off the show?! OMG…I was in SHOCK!
I tell you what…this just pisses me off. I like Katherine McPhee and all…but she SO screwed up this week and deserved to go! I think she knew that too…according to the look on her face when Ryan called Chris’s name instead of her own.
Is it just me…or does this happen every season? Someone, who is so NOT deserving, stays while some other more talented singer is kicked off? It definitely bothers me.
The good news about this whole thing is that Chris has been offered a position with a very well known band…Fuel…and that makes me feel a lot better. I saw the look of shock on his face Wednesday night as Ryan told him he was the one going home. Chris is the first Idol that I would definitely run out and buy a CD from. Now I’m not saying that others aren’t good or that I don’t own some of their music…I’m just saying that I didn’t go stand in line or anything for it. But Chris…yeah…I would!
Rock on Chris…ROCK ON!
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