Sunday, March 31, 2013

No port in the storm

I was supposed to get my chemo port installed last week, a chemo port is a device they implant just under your skin in order to feed the cancer killing chemicals into you, but since the incompetent staff at Mountain States Medical Group-Trauma Services was involved it didn't happen.

My oncologist's office had called them to schedule the procedure but someone in Trauma Services fucked up the request.  And the reason I know it was Trauma Services and not my oncologist's office is the people, with the exception of the front desk staff, in my oncologist's office treat patients with respect and they actually explain things to them in a manner that's not condescending.  But before I knew Trauma Services had fucked up, I went in to their office for my 2 PM appointment last Thursday, I expected to get the procedure done then, but they told me they don't do surgery in the office and they acted like I should somehow magically know that shit, and then they told me I wouldn't even be seeing a doctor that day because the doctor that was supposed to see me didn't want to take the time out of his day to see someone else's patient.  But they made me sit in their smelly waiting room for over 45 minutes before they told me any of that shit.

When they saw how visibly angry Sparky and I were over their cavalier and rude treatment of me and my condition, they had some nurse who looked like she'd been a meth addict for a few years usher me back and tell me that before they could do anything I had to sign a consent form.  I asked Nurse Methhead if they had even made an appointment for me to get the procedure done in Same Day Surgery, she said they had not because I had not signed my form.  Once I signed it I asked her when they planned to make the appointment, she said they'd make it THAT AFTERNOON and they'd call me back and tell me what time it was for.  Of course NO ONE called me from that office later that afternoon and after I placed two calls to them, I found out that the person who does the scheduling had left for the day.   So not only does my time mean nothing to these people, they have no compunction about lying to me about scheduling appointments and returning my calls.  It's painfully obvious to me that everyone in that office works for the insurance companies and not for patients.

The next day I spoke to them again after they didn't call me, and I found out I'm to get this port installed on Tuesday morning, the day before I get my first chemo treatment.  Which means my chest is going to be sore as hell when I get my first treatment, whose side effects could cause me to have even worse diarrhea than I do now, extreme nausea, give me sores in my mouth and throat, give me rashes, and cause numbness in my feet and hands.  So thanks Trauma Services for the extra pain your incompetence is heaping on me, because the side effects of the chemo won't be enough for me to deal with.  Seriously staff at Trauma Services, fuck you.

I've filled my anti nausea prescriptions, got a bottle of the 'magic mouthwash' should I get the sores, and I'm ready to start chemo, that is if the dolts at Trauma Services haven't screwed me over yet again.

We'll see.

3 comments:

gmb said...

Is there another practice you can go to? This is beyond unacceptable. Maybe your oncologist's office can suggest an alternative?

Wings1295 said...

Sorry for the crap you have to deal with on top of everything else.

brewella deville said...

Yeah, get the oncologist involved. They don't like people messing with their patients.