In the interim...

May 16, 2013

The dermatologist told me that if I hadn't heard from the surgeon by Thursday to call her back.  I waited for a few hours on Thursday, still hopeful that the surgeon would call as soon as she received my results.  I guess she didn't receive a note from my dermatologist saying that this matter should be handled in STAT fashion.  Maybe I should have volunteered to courier the report from the pathologist's office to whomever would be most interested in it.  (That would have been me.)

When no call came by noon, I called the dermatology office and said I hadn't heard anything yet.  Her receptionist assured me that she had faxed the reports over but if I wanted to call them myself (as in "you are being very impatient, but...") she would give me the surgeon's phone number.  I called the number and stated specifically that I wanted to talk to the doctor or her nurse.  She said, "it's the doctors' lunch hour.  You will have to call back after 2:00."  When I called back, I was told, "Oh, she is not at this location."  And she gave me the number for her American Fork office.  When I called the American Fork office, they did not "have me in their system" so it didn't appear that they had any information from the pathologist yet.  Since the dermatologist gave me a Provo office number to call, I assumed that they had also sent the pathology report to the wrong office, so I asked if  she would please check on that for me.  She said she would do that and get back with me "in a few minutes."  Two hours later, I finally called back to see what she had found out.  She said "Yes, we've got the report now.  I will show it to the doctor and get back with you."  After talking to the doctor, she said "The doctor can see you next Tuesday at 9:00 or 2:30."  I was disappointed that I would have to wait another five days, but I accepted the 2:30 appointment.  In my head I am screaming--"Don't you know that I only have 44 more days before I am supposed to be going on a mission?!"  Parker, I guess you were right about seconds being longer for girls than they are for boys.  And I think seconds and minutes and days are VERY different for doctors!  They may think they are being prompt, but I think they need to try and view things from a patient's perspective.