Thursday, January 6, 2011

The Fracture Clinic (otherwise known as the waste of my time clinic)

****written while waiting****
Three weeks ago I had to report in at what is known as the Fracture Clinic. I like to call it the best way for a doctor to make a quick buck (or hundred). That was a huge waste of my life.
After I got patched up at the hospital for my broken arm, they handed me this card with an appointment time and Dr. written on it. I arrived at said time and place only to find out that wasn't an appointment time, it was a registration time! The appt was non-existent. You just went and sat in line, just like at the walk-in clinic.
Guess how long I waited?
Go ahead.
I'll give you a clue, it was longer than my whole effing ordeal at the hospital the first time was!
I sat there for two freaking hours to get finally called in and for the dr to tell me to come back in three weeks!
WHAT!?!
He asked me a bunch of stupid questions that I'd already answered on the admission sheet (I mean honestly, why bother having the patients write these things down if you aren't even going to read them anyway?) and even asked me what bone it was! How the hell should I know? The Dr. in the ER didn't tell me, he basically said, "yep, it's broken" and, "I'll have to cast it."
At least I got to see my x-rays, but honestly, that was only a curiosity thing and wasn't really worth the $50 I lost that day in income and parking, not to mention the risk to my life driving a half hour one-handed in a snowstorm (even the school busses were cancelled that day).
So here I am sitting in the god damn waiting area three weeks later beside some old guy that smells like he took a bath in Old Spice or some equally revolting old person cologne. (Ok, I personally find mostly ALL colognes revolting as most of them give me headaches instantly and as an aside, don't people know cologne is supposed to be personal and subtle, meant for the people who are going to be close to you, not the whole bleeping room??) I've been here a half hour already and this time I haven't even got to REGISTER yet!!
FINALLY!!
****written afterwards****
Half an hour later I was on my way up to x-ray, where I waited another hour, then back to the clinic waiting area, where I waited another hour. Lordy.
Thank God DH was home this week and he took over for me watching the kids. I'm not so lucky for the next appt., so I'll have to cancel daycare for that day.
At least this time I got to hear good news. My arm has almost completely healed to the point that the Dr. had a hard time even seeing if there was a break there or not. He said part of the problem was seeing through the cast, because they don't take that off for the x-ray.
Me: So you can take this off, right?
Doc: Ummm, no.
Damn. I tried.
Me: So, do you think I could go skiing?
Expecting an outraged Dr. response like, Are you crazy??!!
Doc: Sure.
Seriously??!! Yahhoooo!!
Doc: But if you fall hard enough, you won't hurt your wrist, you'll likely break your elbow or even more likely your fingers.
Oooookaaaaayyyyy....
I think I'll risk it anyway. I mean, you could break something any time you go skiing, whether or not you already have a broken limb. You're taking a risk everytime you go out there. Right?
Right?
Good news is that the cast will be off before Feb. Jan 25 is the original appt they gave me. I came home, informed all the parents about the time off that I would need, and then that night the office or clinic or whatever called me to tell me that the Dr. wouldn't be in that day.
Peachy.
So now I have to rearrange everyone and on top of that wait two more days for the cast to come off.
Grrrrr.

4 comments:

  1. Our Fracture clinic is very much the same! Frustrating isn't it!! I'm surprised they didn't take the cast of for x-rays....ours did. Weird.

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  2. I had a much better time at our local hospital's Fracture Clinic when K fractured his little arm in July. Thankfully, DH was able to be at home with A and R so I didn't have to take them with me (or was my mom home ... my brain forgets).

    Of course, we thought K broke a finger after he was twirling around in the kitchen and smacked his cast against the wall. There was this horric cRuNcH sound and he started crying. Seriously! And his finger looked crooked. Turns out it wasn't broken, but they couldn't tell with the x-ray after that (with his arm already in a cast), so they cast two fingers together and cast that to his existing cast.

    Not fun. He went from being able to play somewhat normally, to not being able to hold anything with that hand (his left, BTW).

    I'd just say - be careful. You don't want a broken elbow/shoulder/fingers on top of an already broken arm, do you?

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  3. (that was supposed to be "horrid", not "horric"!)

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  4. Grr, what I hate more than the fracture clinic (and I really hate it) is when I have to retype my comments. I think the clinic is rude. If they make you an appointment, that is your appointment time.

    LisaDay

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