Doctor Visits Ad Naseam
Once again, I went to see a doctor this morning. It seems like it's all I do with my spare time anymore. And I had one this past Monday and another scheduled for the Monday after next. And I gotta find time to schedule a dentist to get a root canal and crown somewhere in there. This is a fine time for my broken tooth to begin hurting almost every day. It's the holiday season and my surgery is just around the corner. I don't remember asking Santa for a lumpectomy or a root canal for Christmas ...
I must be on his naughty list. Can I just have a lump of coal rather than cancer?
So this time I saw Dr. Ontiveras, a cardiologist. I had already been in to see her because of a referral from my PCP after being told my EKG was abnormal and had completed a stress test. Today she had them do another sonogram and a resting EKG. Although I don't know if she directly answered my question about what was causing the abnormal EKG, she seemed satisfied that my heart was in decent shape for my someone my age and didn't have a big objection to my doing surgery/radiation or even chemo as long as we monitored my heart throughout the process against the baseline readings she got today. I kinda wish she had said chemo would not be a good idea for my heart because it would have given me an easy out. But as it turns out, she is a breast cancer survivor who also had a triple negative diagnosis. And she did chemo. And is still here 10 years later. She said chemo is tough ... but it works. She also reminded me it is my choice and my journey and told me not to let anyone push me into anything.
So for a while there it seemed I was visiting doctors or having medical procedures twice a week. Lately, it's about once a week. This is not my life. I have always been healthy and typically avoided doctors. Prior to August of this year, I had been to a doctor TWICE since 2011. That's two Doctor visits in six years; not even close to once a year. To say I have a needle phobia would be an understatement. So this is all so strange to me.
But I guess karma has a funny way of getting even. Not too long ago I was making jokes about how you know you're in the retirement home with old people (emphasis on the NOT me) when they compare their daily doctor's appointments and share their latest malady or illness as their only topic of conversation. Well ... you're not likely to hear me joking about old people and their constant trips to the doctor anymore. When did I become old?!?
Next stop: an MRI on Dec. 4th. And the scheduler called to get my surgery set up ... but I missed the call.
I must be on his naughty list. Can I just have a lump of coal rather than cancer?
So this time I saw Dr. Ontiveras, a cardiologist. I had already been in to see her because of a referral from my PCP after being told my EKG was abnormal and had completed a stress test. Today she had them do another sonogram and a resting EKG. Although I don't know if she directly answered my question about what was causing the abnormal EKG, she seemed satisfied that my heart was in decent shape for my someone my age and didn't have a big objection to my doing surgery/radiation or even chemo as long as we monitored my heart throughout the process against the baseline readings she got today. I kinda wish she had said chemo would not be a good idea for my heart because it would have given me an easy out. But as it turns out, she is a breast cancer survivor who also had a triple negative diagnosis. And she did chemo. And is still here 10 years later. She said chemo is tough ... but it works. She also reminded me it is my choice and my journey and told me not to let anyone push me into anything.
So for a while there it seemed I was visiting doctors or having medical procedures twice a week. Lately, it's about once a week. This is not my life. I have always been healthy and typically avoided doctors. Prior to August of this year, I had been to a doctor TWICE since 2011. That's two Doctor visits in six years; not even close to once a year. To say I have a needle phobia would be an understatement. So this is all so strange to me.
But I guess karma has a funny way of getting even. Not too long ago I was making jokes about how you know you're in the retirement home with old people (emphasis on the NOT me) when they compare their daily doctor's appointments and share their latest malady or illness as their only topic of conversation. Well ... you're not likely to hear me joking about old people and their constant trips to the doctor anymore. When did I become old?!?
Next stop: an MRI on Dec. 4th. And the scheduler called to get my surgery set up ... but I missed the call.
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