I was trimming a bush in the front yard. I was almost finished when, out of nowhere, a wasp [which I at first thought was a hornet] stung me, through my shirt, on the right arm. I immediately screamed, ran into the house, grabbed an ice pack, and walked to the carport. About the same time I walked outside Molly pulled into the drive way. She got out of the car and I started to tell her about the wasp sting then it happened. From the top of my head all the way to my feet I began to feel a sensation like my body was on fire. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my arms and stomach. I started getting queasy and I told Molly that I felt like I couldn't breathe and to call her daddy. I felt myself sliding down the side of my car and I told her that she was going to have to take me to the hospital...I thought I was dying.
Calmly [and I am still amazed at her poise and demeanor - she never even flinched] she got in her car, talked to her daddy, and drove me to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital [which is probably right at 1.5 miles from my house] my entire body was swollen like a big red blob. I walked straight to the front desk and told the woman what happened. By this time, I could barely open my eyes and my body was itching so bad [in places I didn't realize could itch] that I couldn't scratch hard enough. I was immediately taken to the back [thank you God], given an IV, and shot full of Benedryl, Pepcid AC [which enhances the effects of Benedryl - nice little nugget of information], and some sort of steroid. Immediately [as in the medicine was flowing from the syringe into my vain] I could feel the itching and swelling stop. It was like a miracle took place right there in my body. What an absolute relief to feel like I wasn't going to die.
Turns out, I wasn't quite out of the woods with the whole allergic reaction. About 30 minutes into the ordeal at the hosptial I started to itch and the hives were back. Again, more Benedryl came my way but the itching would not stop. Apparently my blood pressure was also doing crazy things [like dropping really low] and my oxygen saturation level was in the low 90s [which is not a good thing I hear]. Finally, after two rounds of Benedryl via IV the nurse gave me a shot in the rear [and it hurt so bad] and the hives were finally conquered. Four and half hours after the wasp stung me I was finally able to leave the hospital armed with steroids and Epi Pens and strict instructions to continue with the Benedryl, follow up with my own doctor, and see an allergy specialist.
Fast forward to today when I called the doctor's office that I have been a patient at for almost 12 years. I wasn't expecting an appointment today but just some time over the next few days. I was told, immediately, that my appointment would be considered a follow up and not an acute visit. My response? [I knew you would want to know!] "Ummmm...doesn't almost dying in the front yard constitute an acute status?" Her reply? "Well let me call to the back and ask." Hello? Are you serious? You have to ask if anaphylactic shock is an "acute" illness? Her response after asking? "Well it looks like we'll have to schedule that appointment for September 18 and the next thing she has is later in October. That is the best I can do for a follow up." [At this point I am fairly certain I laughed, OUT LOUD, into the phone.] "So you mean to tell me that I had an extremely serious allergic reaction, was then told that I could die if it happened again, and then told to follow up, IMMEDIATELY with my primary care doctor to make sure I am OK, and you can't see me till October? Is this some kind of cruel joke?" "Well, ma'am, we are short staffed at the moment so we are only seeing acute patients. Maybe you should go to urgent care or back to the ER." At this point, I am quite certain that had we been face to face one of us would have been getting up off the floor...and it WOULD NOT have been me. "No. I won't go to urgent care or back to the ER. I will not wait until October to see a doctor. And this will be taken care of - today."
The way I see it is this:
1. I am an established patient.
2. I wasn't asking to be seen today ~ just some time soon.
3. Anaphylactic shock ain't no joke and if the ER doctor told me that it would be in my best interest to follow up IMMEDIATELY with my primary care doctor AFTER he told me I could die if I got stung again then I WILL follow his directions.
4. Do not tell me to go to urgent care like I called you about a splinter in my finger or poison ivy.
I was so fed up that I found a number for the corporate office of CaroMont health and I left a message with the executive director and I told her exactly what I thought about everything. Funny thing happened...about 5 minutes later the office manager from my doctor's office calls me back to let me know she recieved a complaint from the corporate office that she is following up on. "Is there anything we can do to help you?" Hmmmm...let's see....yes. You can let the receptionist know how to handle situations with patients instead of telling them to visit urgent care or the ER if it is that serious. You can look back in my file and that of my family [and my extended family] and see that we've been patients through FOUR office moves, SEVERAL different doctors, and the recent departures of the doctor who started the practice and our FAVORITE nurse practitioner of all time. We are loyal. We know these people and trust them. But every since CaroMont took over the place has gone down hill and FAST. "Yes, you can help me. You can explain to my why this has been such an ordeal to get an appointment for a serious issue." Apologies...blah....blah...blah. "Well, can you come today at 3:30?" Are you kidding me? I was just told it would be October. "I can be there."
Fast forward to 3:30 today. I actually arrived early to the office. I was taken right back to the room and the new NP came in around 5 minutes after I set down. I would say maybe 5 minutes later she was finished with me and gone. Five minutes. The entire appointment took less that 5 minutes. According to my math [which can be a little screwy] that is $7 a minute for her to tell me NOTHING! I paid $35 for her to do nothing but listen to me breathe and tell me to follow up with the allergy specialist. In fact, I was given a summary of my visist [that she had to finish at some point AFTER seeing me] in a record 30 seconds upon checkout. What a joke! What an absolute joke. The only reason she saw me was because they made her after I complained.
Healthcare is a joke. What a farce. Its all about the almighty dollar. CaroMont Health could absolutely care less about patients or they wouldn't treat people like I was treated. They have ZERO customer service and making money is obviously the most important thing to them. If I have to drive to the other side of nowhere to find a doctor NOT affiliated with them I will do that. Our doctor's office used to be the place that we could see the doctor and feel like they cared. I felt like they knew my kids and knew me. But that has changed. There are good people that are still there but the feeling has changed. The people that do care are overworked and the people that don't care have taken over.
I haven't quite decided what to do. I have to get my family into a doctor's office because if someone gets sick they won't see us unless we are established patients. With four kids I can't run the risk of not having a doctor. But I won't go back there. EVER. [I suppose there is always urgent care...or so I've been told.] I plan on doing some research over the next few days and getting us all in to see the doctor very soon.
What a wacky way to begin the first week of school! Praise God for all of the things that did work out Monday night ~ Molly pulling up when she did, getting to the hospital, being taken right back, and having multiple people helping to get me better. It really hit me today, as I was carrying my Epi Pen while walking my first 4 plus miles in a few days, that had those things not have happened in the way they happened that this could have had a very different ending. It is sobering. I have thanked Him so many times over the last two days and I give Him the glory.
As always, life as a Short [though frustrated] is awesome.
OH MY!
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