One of the things most precious in this world is hope. Quite often, it can be difficult to hold onto if you deal with a chronic illness. So many times during the struggle of dealing chronic pain, we feel a complete loss of hope. We hope for people to believe us, and it doesn't happen. We hope for relief from soul searing pain, and it doesn't happen. We hope for a full night of restful sleep, and again, it doesn't happen. But the one thing we can least afford to lose is hope.
I had almost given up on finding a doctor who could help me. Luckily, I did find a doctor who believed me, but he was uncomfortable in prescribing pain killers that really worked. He did prescribe some medication, but it just took the edge off my pain and allowed me to function most of the time. Two years ago, Dr. S was going to send me to the pain management group at our local hospital. The appointment was made, and I showed up full of hope that finally, my hope for less pain were going to be fulfilled. I got as far as the initial assessment and mentioned that I had seen a pain management doctor once. Everything ground to a screeching halt! They informed me that if you had every seen any pain management doctor, they had to have those records, and my doctor knew that.
I explained to them that I had only seen this other doctor twice, and that all he did was prescribe medication to get me through until I had my back surgery. The office manager told me it didn't matter; the doctor would not see me without those records. I left the office in tears, once again, my hopes had been dashed. Before I went home, I went to my family doctor's office to explain what had happened. The girl apologized profusely for forgetting to request those records. I signed a form giving the first pain management group permission to give out my records, and even watched as the form was faxed to their office. I went home with hope that I would soon have another appointment with our pain management group in town.
And then, the waiting game began. A month went by, and we didn't have the records. Two months, three months, four months, and still no records! At this point, I started calling the office. The woman in charge of records told me that since it had been so long since they had seen me, the charts had been moved to storage and they rarely went to the storage facility. In fact, she stated that they would only go when they had numerous requests. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I kept calling their office, and I continued to be told the same story. Finally, a year went by, and I gave up hope once again.
After two years, I got angry again, and some of the hope I had lost returned. I called the doctor's office again and demanded to speak with the office manager. She came on the line, and I must admit that I wasn't very nice - at first. I threatened to contact an attorney to sue them for the runaround they had given me about MY records! Much to my surprise, the first words out of her mouth were an apology! She stated that the woman who had been in charge of records had been fired. They discovered that she was telling just about everyone the same story she told me about my records. I explained that they had only seen me twice, and she asked me to hold. A few minutes later, she came back on the line. She told me that my records were still in their computer system and that she would mail them to me that very day!
Finally! I received the records a couple of days later. I immediately took them to my doctor's office and they sent in a new request for an appointment. Within two weeks, I got a call from the pain management clinic. They told me that the doctor had reviewed my scant records, along with the records provided by my family doctor and they were going to accept me as a patient. I had my first appointment two weeks later, and they have been treating me for the last three months. They have helped me so much, and more importantly, they have renewed my hope.
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