8;30 a,m. seems a little early for any exercise, at least to me. But I do it anyway, having scheduled early sessions so the rest of the day would be free. Free to do what is the question, but if anything comes along I'll be ready. I dismissed the heat pad option today, but I think I'll reconsider next time. On a rainy day like this, everything seems to stiffen up a little, and besides the more time that's available, the more exercises there are: stretching, pulleys, elastic bands, wall washing and, yes, ball pushing. The exercises may seem a little dorky, but it's possible they're helping. The shoulder is no worse, and seems to be less troublesome. I could be wrong though; maybe I'm just getting used to it, because torn tendons can't repair themselves, as far as I can figure out. And so says the Ortho doc, who also said that Physical Therapy "could possibly help." Kind of a lukewarm referral, but he is a surgeon, and all they really want to do is cut into something.
Today was a double header in that I had my annual cardiology appointment later in the day. With a few hours to kill, I thought I'd hang out in downtown Troy, maybe even go to the library, but the day was rainy and the parking problematic, so I thought better of it and drove over Oakwood Ave to Dunkin' Donuts for a Coffeecake Muffin. I can't understand why the heavy traffic flow in the city, but the streets are usually jammed, on weekdays anyway.
The day went smoothly nonetheless. Then I arrived at Capital Cardiology Associates. I can't say there was a problem, but my annoyance threshold was activated as soon as I got there. Before, actually, because the parking is horrendous. Except for a handful of spaces in the building's tiny parking lot which is doubly frustrating because if you happen to drive in, it's a dead end and a challenge to back out of. The regular parking lot is closed to patients, though there is Valet Parking offered. I chose not to involve myself in that, and drove around to the opposite side of the building and found a parking spot near the end. In order to avoid the construction activity, I walked through the building, to the North Corridor, by the Emergency Room, went out that exit, crossed the driveways and entered the Medical Building. I'm still in an okay mood, didn't get hung up in the parking lot, don't really mind the hike, and then I enter the Cardiology Office. It's the first time I've been there since it was overhauled and refurbished, but, Alas, it is no more user-friendly than before, perhaps even less so.
The waiting room is large; there are, I think, 29 doctors in the practice. A bank of 6 stations or desks or counters, or whatever they're called lines the entire front wall. Most of them are occupied by people---clerks, reps, receptionists, whatever they are called. Of all the medical offices I've been in lately, and it's way too big a number, those who work here score among the highest for coldness and aloofness. Or so it seems to me. I don't really care, don't want their friendship, but I suspect they're trained to be that way. I say this because of the way other things are run.
There are several other patients there when I arrive; they move quickly because they are called in to one of the many exam rooms. Now anyone who watches TV knows that competing advertisers delight in ridiculing the "Get in line" practice used by banks and motor vehicle departments. And it seems that most facilities have gotten away from that module that treats the customers like sheep.
But not here! There is a sign, in front of the line of receptionists' windows, that instructs patients to "Form a line here. " In their old office, at least there was seating at checkout to wait for the person ahead of you. In this new "modern" office, the sign is in front center of the vast waiting room, with no seating nearby. And in an office for CARDIOLOGY.
I undergo an annual EKG. The tech is complaining about the cold and apologizing for her cold hands. I don't mind, I tell her, but suggest she wear thermals so she won't be freezing. She can't she says because she's sometimes in the other part of the building where it's boiling hot. That's the sunny side. I say I would have thought that would have been addressed with the new construction. She finishes the EKG, looks concerned, shows me the printout and says something is wrong, as my left side shows no activity. After she ascertains that the fault is with the electrode, and not my body failure, she re-attaches the electrode and tries again, and then again after replacing the electrode. It seems her fingers are numb from the cold.
She leaves with the final printout in hand, and a short time later, Dr. C. comes in. He takes my blood pressure, as he always does, pronounces it acceptable, and asks, as he always does, the same question; "Do I have any interesting events coming up this year?" I mumble something about family visits and new grandchildren, tempted to say I've signed up for a lunar landing or to try my hand at zookeeping because I know he's not paying attention. He says I won't need a stress test, that it's been 15 years since I wore the Holter Monitor, doesn't see any need for a repeat, won't need most labs as he's received reports from other doctor, so will order only a Cholesterol Test, and oh, yes, a cardiac ultra-sound. Any questions? I have had a very elevated CRP* reading for at least several years, at one time was prescribed a statin for it by my then primary doctor. He says he isn't worried about that -- nothing ever came of those tests. Come back in one year, he says. Take these papers to Check-Out.
I'm still fairly complacent, and I leave. I'm in an office off the left side of the waiting room, and stop at the window nearest the doorway I just left. There is one other patient about 3 windows over, and another man approaches soon after. The woman behind the window announces, "You need to get in line. There are other people ahead of you." Another rep adds, "The line is over there, behind the sign." The people, 2 of them, behind the sign, were checking in, and I was checking out. The sign is invisible, being behind a large pillar, and faces the incoming traffic. Their old office, as do most offices I've been in, had separate windows for people checking in and checking out. The new office has 6 windows, most of them open, but all of the reps work from a single line of coronary patients. I also have avoided shopping at JCP's because of the horrible queue of a check-out lane. And aren't they filing for bankruptcy?
, *CRP-----Cardiac Reactive Protein, a measure of inflammation. A blood test highly touted a few years ago, but evidently now disregarded by some. Or so I'm told. While a lot of information has become available through the Jupiter Study, about the risks of inflammation and its connection to life-threatening conditions, it has yet to be definitively determined what to do with the information so gleaned. So with lack of any profit motivation, the studies are largely ignored.
No comments:
Post a Comment