Poppy Doc II
I took my dad (aka Poppy) for surgery yesterday. It was a simple procedure: he had his batteries replaced. When the surgery scheduler called me last week, she suggested we arrive at the hospital by 5:45 a.m. I asked if he would be the first surgery of the day, and she said he would be second. I then informed her that my father, who has Parkinson's disease, could not tolerate long waits, and we would like to arrive later than 5:45. She agreed we would be okay if we were there by 7:00 (hmmmm), but she said they like to have the patients there and ready in case someone doesn't show. That way, the doctor doesn't have to wait.
What I really accomplished with my bargaining process was reduced stress. Taking my father to doctor's appointments always requires a large dose of patience. He gets a little tense, which compounds his Parkinson's symptoms. It can take hours to get from the nursing home to the hospital (which is 10 miles away).
I arrived at the nursing home at 5:45 a.m. The nurses were still trying to get him ready (I never told them we could arrive later than 5:45). At 6:20, he was ready to go. But wait. First he ran down the list of things we needed to take plus a few things we would never need. At 6:30, we left the building. I asked the nurses to accompany us to the car because he wasn't moving very well and I was afraid he would fall. Apparently never trained in the art of transfer, they pushed and pulled my dad into the car, annoying him all the way.
We arrived at the hospital at 6:50. Just in time! So, guess when surgery was? 11:45!! Whew. It's a good time we made it by 7:00!!
The surgery took 45 minutes, and he was ready to go home at 3:00. I got home at 5:30. So, in review, a 45 minute procedure cost me 12 hours and cost my dad's insurer thousands of dollars.
I know I'm ranting, so let me end on a high note. We have health care and we have choices. For that I am grateful. I'm thankful my husband was also willing to miss a day of work to stay with our children and I'm glad I can spend a day helping my dad.
I took my dad (aka Poppy) for surgery yesterday. It was a simple procedure: he had his batteries replaced. When the surgery scheduler called me last week, she suggested we arrive at the hospital by 5:45 a.m. I asked if he would be the first surgery of the day, and she said he would be second. I then informed her that my father, who has Parkinson's disease, could not tolerate long waits, and we would like to arrive later than 5:45. She agreed we would be okay if we were there by 7:00 (hmmmm), but she said they like to have the patients there and ready in case someone doesn't show. That way, the doctor doesn't have to wait.
What I really accomplished with my bargaining process was reduced stress. Taking my father to doctor's appointments always requires a large dose of patience. He gets a little tense, which compounds his Parkinson's symptoms. It can take hours to get from the nursing home to the hospital (which is 10 miles away).
I arrived at the nursing home at 5:45 a.m. The nurses were still trying to get him ready (I never told them we could arrive later than 5:45). At 6:20, he was ready to go. But wait. First he ran down the list of things we needed to take plus a few things we would never need. At 6:30, we left the building. I asked the nurses to accompany us to the car because he wasn't moving very well and I was afraid he would fall. Apparently never trained in the art of transfer, they pushed and pulled my dad into the car, annoying him all the way.
We arrived at the hospital at 6:50. Just in time! So, guess when surgery was? 11:45!! Whew. It's a good time we made it by 7:00!!
The surgery took 45 minutes, and he was ready to go home at 3:00. I got home at 5:30. So, in review, a 45 minute procedure cost me 12 hours and cost my dad's insurer thousands of dollars.
I know I'm ranting, so let me end on a high note. We have health care and we have choices. For that I am grateful. I'm thankful my husband was also willing to miss a day of work to stay with our children and I'm glad I can spend a day helping my dad.
posted by Jan at 9:12 AM
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