No Oncologist Appointment Today

I had an oncologist appointment scheduled for today. It didn't happen. Very frustrating.

I like being able to share good news from appointments. It's going to have to wait a while.

Last week, I got a reminder phone call that my appointment was scheduled for this morning. Blood work at 10:00, meeting with Dr. H at 10:30. (That call was a problem in itself. I let it go to voicemail because it came up as "Denver, CO -- Scam Likely." The hospital is Connecticut, approximately 1850 miles away. I assume it's some kind of automated calling service, but they can't set it up so the caller is the name of the doctor?)

So I dutifully went to the hospital this morning. I parked in the hospital garage, and as I walked toward the entrance, the ear holder of my cloth mask snapped and broke. Thankfully, I keep some disposable masks in the car, for just this situation. But that broken mask was kind of a warning.

At the hospital entrance, there is a station set up to make sure no one with Covid enters. A nurse takes your temperature and asks questions about travel and symptoms, and if you're OK, they let you go to the next station. There, someone looks you up to make sure you have an appointment. No visitors allowed without special permission.

It was a bit of a wait there. As I stood in line, 6 feet apart from everyone else, I saw a woman in a wheelchair, and I started to think about how vulnerable people are right now. The trip to the hospital is a little risky these days. I was surprised that they actually went through with the appointment, to be honest. I know lots of Follicular Lymphoma patients are holding off on appointments if they are not actively in treatment. But I also live someplace where Covid is somewhat under control. People are good about wearing masks and keeping their distance, and cases have been low for a few weeks.

(Which isn't to say I think it's gone away. I'm still very careful to avoid any situation that makes me uncomfortable.)

When I got to the station where my appointment was verified, the woman there said I did not have an appointment today. I showed her the email reminder I got 4 days ago, but she told me the day and time of my appointment -- three weeks from now, late afternoon. I knew that didn't sound right. I don't make late afternoon appointments.

I was told I needed to leave if I didn't have an appointment, so of course I did. I'm not going to hang around and argue.

When I got home, I finally got in touch with the doctor's office. They confirmed the new appointment -- three weeks from now -- and said they had left a voicemail.

I never got a voicemail. And it's a really bad idea, in my opinion, for a doctor's office to just randomly assign a new day and time without confirming it with the patient.  So they assigned me a new day and time, left a message (apparently at someone else's number) and then assumed it was OK since they didn't hear back.

That just seems backwards. (I hate getting a "regrets only" party invitation for the same reason.)

So I had hoped to give you 1) an account of what it was like to be at a hospital during the pandemic, and 2) good news about my health. They'll both have to wait.

I hope your own appointments are going well, and you are able to keep up with your doctors during this challenging time.