Ironic, isn't it that patience and patients are so similar sounding, and also so intimately connected? For as patients, we must endure so many delays, backlogs, reschedulings and just plain ineptitude that causes all of the above.
It is enough to try one's patience, for sure.
Today, I was supposed to start a new round of therapy involving 3 days of infusions, 10 days of twice-daily injections, 7 days of an oral medication I took before and an indefinite dose of a new pill to address a mutation in my leukemia.
So we took the 50-minute drive to the outpatient infusion center, a pleasant-enough place with caring nurses, warm blankets, free snacks and reclining seats looking onto green trees. I settled in for the 2-hour infusion.
I hadn't even gotten through a chapter of my novel before the nurse informed me that there was an insurance issue with the injectable drug, and since protocol is to start the therapies at the same time I would not start treatment today. If I were to receive the drugs Tuesday morning, we could go ahead with a slightly altered schedule.
By 3pm, I hadn't heard from the clinic or the pharmacy (located in North Carolina, i.e., Eastern time zone), so I called and entered the wonderful world of phone trees.
Reciting my name (with spelling) and birthdate has become almost second nature now, so I finally reached a pharmacist who found the order but could not explain why the drugs had not been -- and would not be -- shipped today."Probably a prior authorization thing," he ventured, noting that he would attend to it first thing the next day.
Sure, no problem, those of us already stressed dealing with a disease get to wait just a little longer.
Patience for the patients.
1 comment:
So frustrating … i hope you have a LOT of good books lined up.
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