Update
And so it begins…
Yesterday, I traveled to Rochester, MN to the Mayo Clinic to have a
nerve block in my leg (left common peroneal nerve, behind the knee). It’s about a 2 ½ hour drive, plus up to
another hour to park and get to the right building and floor. My friend, Rob, has been riding “shotgun” along
with me for the last few trips over. I
arrived about 30 minutes before my appointment but was quickly taken back to be
seen. Without the normal intake
questions, the nurse said the doctor would be there in just a moment. Seconds later the doctor showed up and
immediately began to apologize. He said
that he wasn’t qualified to do the procedure, nor did they have the proper
equipment to do it in this department.
My frustration washed over me; but I responded politely. I did express my disappointment since a very
similar event occurred when I had the original nerve evaluation and temporary
block put in. I had even questioned the
scheduler when the appointment was made.
Sigh!!!
I couldn’t get too upset because that morning at breakfast I’d prayed, “Lord,
I don’t know if getting this nerve block is the right decision. If it is not, please stop it from
happening. Don’t use a car accident or anything
like that; but if I shouldn’t have this done, I don’t want it.” I just figured God answered my prayer,
although I would have preferred not wasting the six plus hours getting there
and back again. The doctor apologized
again and said he had already voiced his displeasure and attempted to fix this reoccurring
hole in the system. {Note: Part of the
problem is that this procedure requires an Ultrsound that can see nerves. Apparently this is a very specialized piece
of equipment that shares its name with the more common variety, hence the
confusion.}. I was told that scheduling
a new appointment would take several days since they had to “triage” the appointment. Whatever!
I was slightly disappointed but calm and content. It is amazing how long this process has
become. What’s a few more weeks, I
guess. And I did ask God to stop me from
having the procedure if it wasn’t the right thing to do and He stopped it, so
there you go!
I gathered up my buddy from the waiting room and we headed for the
elevators. It took us awhile to find a
car empty enough for me to roll onto without crushing too many toes. Jammed in the elevator as we descended, my
phone began to ring in my backpack. In
the crush of bodies, I ignored it. As we
were exiting the elevator, it rang again and I decided to answer it. The woman on the other end was from Mayo and
apologized again for the botched appointment and asked if I was still in the
building. She asked if I would wait for
her to come down. She wanted to
personally talk to me. I told her that I
would wait.
After we had waited for 15 minutes, she called back and told me she was
delayed because she was attempting to get me immediately rescheduled so I
wouldn’t have the wasted trip. She asked
me to wait a bit longer. Sure, why
not? After another 15 minute wait, I got
another phone call from a colleague of the lady I had been talking to. She told me that Jessica was on her way down
but left before finding out that I had been rescheduled. I was given the building name and the
check-in data just as Jessica arrived. She
asked with a smile, “You got your appointment, didn’t you?” Jessica apologized again and gave me a free
parking pass and gift card for the Mayo Café.
Cool! Party gifts!
I made my way to the new building, department, doctor, and hopefully
the correct piece of equipment. I was
taken back almost immediately and within a few minutes I was on the table
having the procedure done. The pain
clinic doctor took a lot of time talking with me before and after the
procedure. He said that with my previous
response to steroid injections in my back and the results of the temporary
block performed on my leg that he felt there was a strong possibility I would
find relief from my pain with this procedure.
The Lidocaine took immediate effect and numbed the leg from the knee
down. I found out that numbness would
only last a few hours. The steroid may
take up to 10 days to fully kick in, if it is going to work. Based upon my previous experience with
steroids, he said I could expect similar results of 3-4 months relief. Nice! The
doctor also talked with me about three other options to consider if this
procedure didn’t work. He also warned me
about three other procedures that he said to avoid at all costs because they
probably would increase my pain. I
REALLY appreciated the time he took with me.
It was amazing to me that I was able to have the procedure done at all
on the same day. Getting the right two
doctors, a nurse, and the right equipment together at a moment’s notice was an
answer to prayer. My buddy thinks that
since I didn’t blow up in anger when told of the botched appointment, that they
went out of their way to make it happen for me.
I think that is probably true, along with the fact that I wrote a very
firm letter expressing my frustration the last time my appointment was botched
even worse. They didn’t want to get
another one of my letters! LOL!
It is obvious to me that God superintended it all and made it happen. I’m very grateful that God gave me the peace of
mind to remain calm and to trust Him throughout the day.
I think the answer is “No”; but I’m going to check to see if the Pain
Clinic here in Eau Claire has the equipment and training to perform any
follow-up nerve blocks that may be needed.
So this morning, the pain isn’t totally gone but it is greatly
reduced. In a couple more days I should
find out if steroid has kicked in fully and the pain is reduced enough to wear
a prosthesis again. If not, there is
hope that other options may be available.
I’d rather that they find out what is causing the pain and fix it rather
than just covering up the pain; but this is a start.
Perhaps I’ll be walking again in the coming New Year. I think I’ll make that a New Year’s
Resolution. Hopefully that is one
resolution that I will be able to keep!
Philippians
4:6-7 “Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.”
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