2 down, 4 to go
Hi ladies, again, I need to vent. Went to the hospital for 3 appointments yesterday. 8am for my picc to be inserted, had to be there at 7am. All went well and picc was in at 8.30am. Didn't hurt as much as I had anticipated. Had to kill 3 hours as my oncologist app was 11.40, she was running late, finished in her office at 12.40. My chemo was due at 1pm, at 2.30 I approached the desk and was told that Tuesdays were always busy. At 3.10, approached again and proceeded to tell them I was tired, stressed and my feet had swollen to nearly double their size. Also started crying as my anxiety was peaking. A phone call was made and all I heard from the other end of the line was 'are you joking?'. Receptionist hung up, smiled and said 'won't be long now'. 10 minutes later and I was called in. After I stopped crying, fell asleep while my chemo was being injected. I left at 5 pm through a waiting area, lights were out and everybody had gone home. A 10 hour day was too much, I fell into bed exhausted. Feeling a bit ill this morning, not too bad though. Need to go back to get my dressing changed, might ask some questions, I believe my name was lost from the list yesterday, I should have been more assertive.
The silver lining is 2 down, 4 to go and I will focus on that. Sorry, after my happy post yesterday, I just needed to get that annoying stuff out, hope you are all going well,
Hazel xx
Comments
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Hi Hazel, I am so sorry to hear that you had such an anxiety filled day. Your post brought tears to my eyes. It is all hard enough without the extra stress of not knowing what is happening and how much longer you have to wait. Something definitely went wrong there with your chemo appointment. I am learning to speak up too and if I think something isn't quiet right or has been missed I am asking questions. I am one of those passive quiet and well mannered people too and I am sure I will remain this way but I am going to ask questions because while I was in hospital having surgery, things were being missed and both visits to surgeon they haven't been able to locate results etc. Each one of those experiences I panicked and lost my bundle. Anxiety levels sure are heightened during this journey.
I am sending you hug and hope you feel less anxious today and that you don't feel too unwell following your chemo yesterday.
Lots of love
Joy xx
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Hi Hazel, I am so sorry to hear that you had such an anxiety filled day. Your post brought tears to my eyes. It is all hard enough without the extra stress of not knowing what is happening and how much longer you have to wait. Something definitely went wrong there with your chemo appointment. I am learning to speak up too and if I think something isn't quiet right or has been missed I am asking questions. I am one of those passive quiet and well mannered people too and I am sure I will remain this way but I am going to ask questions because while I was in hospital having surgery, things were being missed and both visits to surgeon they haven't been able to locate results etc. Each one of those experiences I panicked and lost my bundle. Anxiety levels sure are heightened during this journey.
I am sending you hug and hope you feel less anxious today and that you don't feel too unwell following your chemo yesterday.
Lots of love
Joy xx
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Thank you for more hugs. After my post today, I was checking my updated list of appointments that was given to me yesterday. I noticed that my New Years Eve chemo treatment has been changed, It now says I have a 3 hour wait after my oncologist appointment. I decided to ring the cancer care co-ordinator and politely ask why. She said it was New Years Eve and that the person who did this list has a lot of people to squeeze in, well, I tried to stay calm and state that I understood that but as I had an 11 am why have I now got a 2 pm? I then proceeded to tell her how my day went yesterday, and that I'm not prepared to go through that again. She is looking into what happened and agreed it was unacceptable, then offered me a social worker to help with my anxiety. I stated that I'm not a difficult person and I'm not being a princess, I just want some understanding. I feel better for having spoken up and I'm sure I'm feeling unwell this morning due more to the anxiety and not the chemo, or maybe it's both. When I go back this arvo to get my dressing changed, I'm going to put my make-up on that I received at the LGFB and try my best to put my happy face on and keeping working to move forward. Hugs back to you two wonderful ladies, keep well,
Hazel xx
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Thank you for your prayers, it's good to know I'm not the only one who gets upset and frustrated. At times yesterday I felt like a sook, we should be speaking up more. Take care, hope you are well,
Hazel xx
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Thank you for your prayers, it's good to know I'm not the only one who gets upset and frustrated. At times yesterday I felt like a sook, we should be speaking up more. Take care, hope you are well,
Hazel xx
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Good on you Hazel for speaking up about the new scheduled appointment and time delay between both oncologist and chemo. That is way too long to have you waiting. I am a medical receptionist and know full well that mistakes can happen with appointments especially when more than one appointment is being made on the same day with different doctors or nurses. If you always speak up and ask questions nicely you will find that most receptionists will bend over backward to try to rectify the situation. I know when I have stuffed up on the odd occassion lol , which we have all done, I have felt absolutely gutted to the point where I can't concentrate for quite some time. The rule here, I think in all of this is that where people are involved mistakes can happen. So don't hesitate to ask questions and point out your concerns.
I love your attitude toward your appointment this afternoon with applying your make-up. Yesterday the breast care nurse gave me the pamphlet on LGFB for me to look into for the New Year. I am a bit nervous about it, but I remember reading your post about that and will make the effort to go to one of their meetings.
All this best this afternoon.
Love Joy xx
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Good on you Hazel for speaking up about the new scheduled appointment and time delay between both oncologist and chemo. That is way too long to have you waiting. I am a medical receptionist and know full well that mistakes can happen with appointments especially when more than one appointment is being made on the same day with different doctors or nurses. If you always speak up and ask questions nicely you will find that most receptionists will bend over backward to try to rectify the situation. I know when I have stuffed up on the odd occassion lol , which we have all done, I have felt absolutely gutted to the point where I can't concentrate for quite some time. The rule here, I think in all of this is that where people are involved mistakes can happen. So don't hesitate to ask questions and point out your concerns.
I love your attitude toward your appointment this afternoon with applying your make-up. Yesterday the breast care nurse gave me the pamphlet on LGFB for me to look into for the New Year. I am a bit nervous about it, but I remember reading your post about that and will make the effort to go to one of their meetings.
All this best this afternoon.
Love Joy xx
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