Ep 9: Let the Frustration Begin

Wednesday 2nd May 2012

I'm at work, I'm waiting for the phone to ring, yesterday my doctor confirmed I have Hodgkin's Lymphoma and now I have to wait for an appointment with Haemtology. While I was with my doctor he rang SCGH Haematology Clinic and spoke directly to the Registrar who promised my Doc I'd get an appointment this week so all I had to do this morning was wait a for a call.  Simple right?

Wrong

I waited till 11am, my Doctor said if I hadn't heard anything by 10am, I should give them a call so I figured waiting till 11 is reasonable.  I rang the Haematology Clinic at SCGH, shared my name and details with the lovely young lady on reception and asked, reasonably I think, when my appointment was.  To say I was a little surprised at the response would be an understatement,

"Yes Mr Erren, we have your file, Dr X will probably take a look at it tomorrow and we will let you know either by phone if its urgent or probably by mail when your appointment will be".

I responded, quite literally shocked

"Tomorrow?  You will probably let me know by mail?  And you say the Doctor wont even take look at my file till tomorrow? Tomorrow is Thursday!   My doctor was told I would get an appointment this week, he spoke with your registrar, expressing this was urgent, and the registrar assured him I would see someone this week".

"Im sorry Mr Erren I cant help you any further than what I have already have told you, unfortunately this is the way the system works, we will contact you as soon as we know when your appointment is".

So today had an immediate transformation from pretty good to an angry piece of shit and all it took was one phone call with a receptionist in a hospital clinic.

So now what?  I guess I had two options, sit back patiently and wait for someone to give me a call or call the people in my life who may be able to help.  Anyone who knows me knows option A was never going to happen, the truth is I was not prepared to wait in the line where they were handing out patience so I just skipped straight past it, along the way I also skipped the lines where they handed out tact and the line where they handed out the filter that stops socially inappropriate remarks being said.

To option B then, let the phone calls begin.  I started with Marlene, if you remember shes a specialist nurse who works closely with oncology nurses, I ring her she doesn't answer, I leave a message.  I ring Theresa, she is a senior person in PathWest and works closely with Haematology so I figure she must have and in, she doesn't answer.  I can feel the anger and frustration at the situation begin to build in me, of course both Marlene and Theresa are busy at their work, its 11am they are probably flat out, relax.

I'm feeling irrationally angry about this, it should be simple for Christ sake, I have cancer, its got to be addressed quickly, I don't have time to waste, don't they understand this?  I do the only sensible thing, ring Jacqui, I'm frustrated about the situation, and Jac has a way of calming me down, we talk it through, she gives me some reassuring words tells me both Marlene and Theresa will call as soon as they can and it will figure itself out.  I hang up and realise that I have been pacing up and down the Clearshield driveway through the conversation, a clear sign of my agitation.

Hours pass by, the day is a write off I cant concentrate on anything and I'm growling at anybody that comes near me, at 3:30 I finally give in and go home.  On the way home Theresa rings, she tells me she has been in a conference all day, she would give the Specialist a call and send him an email.  Marlene rings me back a bit later, she also says she will speak to her friends and see what she can do, she reassures me that the system works it can sometimes be frustrating but it works.

OK, so its Wednesday, I'm Pissed Off, I have no appointment and I'm not feeling very confident I will know anything tomorrow, what I do know is I wont be seeing anyone this week.  A few hours later Theresa calls me and let me know she had rung the specialist, unfortunately she only got his message service so she decided to write him an email.  She read it to me, it was a typical Theresa statement that fundamentally said in a professional tone to the Specialist, this is my friend, I love him and can you look after him for me please.

Oh well, its all we can do today, Marls is onto it, Theresa is on to it, time for a drink I think