Without further adieu... Healthcare is a pain in my foot!!! Let me explain...
I "attempted" to play basketball last night for the first time in at least 9 months. Before I could get through the first game to 15, I hurt what I think is my heel but feels like an Achilles injury. I don't really know what happened. All I think I did was jump. It's weird because that's not generally the foot I jump off with. At the very least, i pulled an "old man" muscle, you know the muscles that only get hurt on an old man. :) Adrenaline takes me through 2 games and I go home a hurt man. The pain is not bad, I just can't walk on it so I figure I'll just go get an X-ray of it in the morning. Here we are this morning and I'm sitting in the waiting room of the walk-in clinic to have an "MD" look at my foot to send me to get an X-ray. And that boys and girls is the gist of my problem with The Healthcare system.
I'm in between primary doctors and decided to go to my wife's primary care physician (no, i'm not talking about her Gyno). After a slow limp from the parking lot, on the elevator and up to her office on the third floor, I find her doors locked. I trot back downstairs to the information desk where the volunteer information specialist has to call a few different places to find out that her office is closed this week. She sends me to outpatient at Physician's Regional (PRMC) on 951. Now, me and PRMC have some bad history but all I need is an X-ray so I again limp inside where the gentleman tells me I need to walk to the other side to be seen. I already know the other side is the ER AND I AM CERTAIN THAT MY FOOT IS NOT AN emergency. So I leave there before PRMC tells me I have a heart condition caused by my hurt foot. That's sarcasm If you missed it but stranger things have happened at PRMC but that's another note all together.
So here I am at my third stop on a bad foot to HAVE A DOCTOR LOOK AT MY FOOT TO REQUEST AN X-RAY AT A LAB SOMEWHERE.
*we interrupt this note for an important message*
I'm now sitting inside to be seen by the doctor. But first, the nurse had weigh me, take my blood pressure. Did I mention that all I need is an X-RAY??? Can anyone hear me? I'm surprised my blood pressure didn't spike from the frustration of e situation. Exhale...
Ok, the doctor who happens to be our neighbor just came in and the poor guy had to look and touch my foot. Don't worry people no corns here. :)
Interestingly enough, Doc is recovering from his own old time issues, some kind of hernia operation and has a hard time bending to sit... I guess I can't complain.
There is some good news; this clinic has an X-ray tech so I don't have to go somewhere else to get that done. Praise the Lord for that small blessing!
Now I wait for the XRAY tech...
The verdict is in; I'm getting old! It's a bone spur. There's nothing they do with it right now unless the pain persists.
I'm too much of a tech person but This is 2012, I expect that we have the technology that's capable of allowing me to talk to a doctor over my iPhone, scan my foot and order an X-ray before I even leave the house. I over simplify things I know but certainly there's a happy medium between what I've explained and my tech savvy vision of healthcare.
Do I have a witness somewhere?
P.s. I'm blessed that I'm only physically limping versus mentally limping. That's a blessing that makes me forget about the pain in my foot.
Blessings,
John K Paul, A.P. (aggravated patient)
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