Stranger Things Have Happened (But I Don’t know to whom or where)
About three weeks ago, I met with the surgeons at the V.A. and was officially set-up for Thyroid surgery on the 24th of March….. Everyday since then, I’ve awoke with knots in the stomach, nervousness, sleeplessness, and headaches just thinking of all the possible outcomes of the surgery, but, there was one scenario that had never entered my mind…..
After a very short and unrestfull night, and after Jek chopped about six inches of my hair off (the VA doesn’t like long hair in the operating room)…..
……I got up this morning, unable to eat or drink, had to swish some very foul tasting germ-killer around in my mouth, and be at the V.A. by 8:00 am to check-in….. We got there, checked in, had my vitals taken, talked with the anesthesiologist, signed all the release forms, got my spiffy double arm bands,….
….and was sitting around to be taken to pre-op to get all the tubes stuck in and knocked-out for surgery….. Then the unthinkable scenario mentioned above kicked-in…. A female doctor entered the room and said the following – Are you ready?…. Any guesses?…. “The surgeon, Dr. Le, called in sick and the surgery is cancelled.”…. So-o-o, I’m basically back to square one and looking at three to four weeks for a reschedule…. Jek and a few others made wasted trips in from far away places and I’m back to the sleeplessness, nervousness, etc., for ANOTHER three weeks or so…. What can I say but that I dislike the V.A, but what can you do?…..
Again, thanks for all the support and I’ll need it again in a few weeks…. I actually am going to try and get the surgery changed to the Seattle V.A., so if it gets cancelled again I can at least have a vacation to untie all of knots.
By the way, here are some alternate titles for this post: Feel free to add to the list.
- “Tagged but not Bagged”….
- “This could only happen to Me”….
- “What if you had surgery and the surgeon didn’t show?”….
- “Ill doctor afraid of making 6 ft. incision with sneeze”…
- “V.A. Today, Thyroid Tomorrow”….
March 24th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
How about “Arm-banded and No Place To Go”?
March 24th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Surgus Interruptus?
March 25th, 2006 at 12:25 am
I would scream at the top of my lungs if I thought it would do any good.
Anybody want to debate the laurels of socialised state run medicine ?
I guess what gets me is that that doc is the only one at the VA that could perform the procedure ? Please pardon my language but this is an incredible load of BullS*#t also the fact that the VA treats our veterans that way! When you went in one of the things that the Dept. of Defense promised all of you was healthcare, I’m not seeing it, all that I see is a bunch of “Go away boy you bother me’s”. Hopefully you will have better luck at the Seattle VA.
March 25th, 2006 at 1:43 am
OH MAN ! As J.J. says, what an “incredible load”. I don’t know if the Veterans Administration will ever provide the level of
care our veterans deserve, but it MOST CERTAINLY won’t as long as dumb-ass dubya and his pals keep hacking away at it’s budget.
But political opinions aside, this situation makes a giant sucking sound.
March 25th, 2006 at 8:19 am
“But you can’t stand me up…. I did my hair!”
Sorry to hear about this, MR. I do love your double armbands, though.
March 25th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Hang in there, MR. BTW, is the multi-faceted jek taking appointments for haircuts?
March 25th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
Do they have out a “Surgery for Dummies” book?…. I was thinkin’ of doing it myself after this big screw-up, but decided against it since I would have to somehow knock myself out and then do the surgery unconscious…. So-o-o, If anyone wants to take a crash course in surgery, I would probably be willing to let them have a go at it…. I have faith that the results would be as good as the V.A.’s…. The only thing I would insist on would be the incision…. I want a cool Lightning Bolt scar when it’s all over….
I am now officially taking applications for “Stand-In Doctor”…. Post ’em on the Blog or call BR-549…..
March 26th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Ah haircuts, well I’m good for any job that only requires clippers. I used a #6 on MR. Admittedly that picture shows the best side of the haircut, though that may have more to do with the subject. 😉
March 28th, 2006 at 7:40 am
At least MR has hair! I don’t have a best side (receding in front, bald spot in back.
Oh well, still have my ponytail. I am (pretty much unsuccessfully) trying to recoup my youth.
March 28th, 2006 at 10:44 pm
I wouldn’t blame the VA for the surgery reschedule. According to a doctor I know, thyroid surgery is specialized enough that you can’t just put any spare surgeon in there and expect things to work out. The postponement is akin to an airplane flight being cancelled because of mechanical problems. While frustrating, they are trying to keep you from crashing.