[Hitch]

So, folks...Day 25. (sigh)

It turns out that the doctor that has been caring/prescribing for the dreaded Rash from Hell, has to abruptly leave town for a week. Oh, frabjous day, but of course, she's just GOTTA see me, have an app't with me, before she goes--me and 200 other patients.

Now, we've had a series (kinda) of TeleMeds--one the day before the ER visit, (night of the 16th, witching hour of the 17th) when I thought I simply (ha ha ha) had a BAD muscle spasm in my back, no visible rash yet; (that one was not at my request--it's because they did not have adequate staffing in the office); then one the morning (following day) when I was discharged from the ER, because the ER doc said that she (my regular doc for spinal arthritis) had to write the pain meds. She wanted to try something and said, we'd have another appointment, that Friday, 3 days later and again, we'd discuss by phone. Of those 3, really, none were my request or doing; they were all hers.

Now, her practice doesn't smile down like beneficent gods on TeleMed; they want to see you in the flesh and all that. Okay, normally, FINE.

But right now, still, my ribcage appears (seems/feels) to be in the Vise of Carcinus (Karkinos), on the left side (the Shingles side). It feels like...did you ever run, as a kid and get that "stitch in the side" thing? It feels like that, 24/7, and if I touch it, move, fabric slides across it, etc. yup, speaking of Gods, I get Mjolnir, replete with Daddy's (Zeus') lightning bolts.

Or, hell, the lightsaber of a Jedi, take your pick. I still can't drive, fuhgeddaboudit (crap, can't get in the damned car!) and oh, yeah, did I mention that her office is, quite literally, not one furlong of hyperbole, 75 miles away from us, each way? It's a 150-mile round trip?

Add to that that I am apparently very susceptible to prednisone, which I'm taking to reduce the swelling of yon favorite rash. My feet have swollen up to about 4x their normal size, but don't really come down, in swelling; there isn't a slipper, a flip-flop, a medical "shoe" or glove-y thing or anything into which I can put the cursed things. They look like rounded Hormel canned hams, and walking on them is agony. (Sorry for all the whingeing, but there's a reason for it in this rant...) I guess the swelling goes down in one place and pops up in another? (Oh and yeah, can't stop eating, either...)

So, they want me to show up, tomorrow morning. I'm...honestly, I'm deranged a bit. I can't walk readily, don't have shoes or foot coverings that will remotely allow me to walk not-barefooted on their floors; I'm using a cane, to help support the really bad foot (in the swelling, I mean); my ribcage is like a firethrower without an off switch; and oh, yeah, that means that Mr. H, Mr. Sunshine (snort) will need to tote my sorry ass 150 miles, in his truck, which is very nice, don't get me wrong. Still, bygod, it's a Ram 2500 Diesel truck, not a Caddy or Lincoln or Bentley or Beemer, etc. It's NOT SMOOTH.

He's getting more and more upset, about how he's supposed to schlep his wracked-up old beat-up wife around. I finally called them and left them a message, send them a fax, left another message, and finally, got through to them and said "HELL NO, you gotta do a telemed."

Which they didn't want to do, as I'd "had" 3 TeleMeds. HAD 'EM? What the bloody hell were my choices? Die??? Writhe in pain and go back to the ER? Or...

“(@･｡･@)/ ???

They finally relented, and yes, now, huzzah, I have a Telemed in the morning, but, what, they don't have anyone THERE that has ever had Shingles, either? Sh*********t, that's vexing. No other patient, or practitioner, nurse, etc.?

How's that possible when most of what they do is pain management for folks like me, with arthritis in the spine and all that? I do not doubt that most severe/acute Shingles are managed by Pain Mgmt folks/docs, not regular GP's. No GP I know would have written the horse-level opiates I've been stuck on here.

So why the hell all the kerfuffle and all that, over something this bloody obviously simple? For the...I sent them images of the Rash. I sent them images of the rash now. I sent them images of the Hormels (canned ham feet, mind you). With date and timestamps and objects next to them for perspective. What the hell else do they need? Who thinks that making someone in that shape, travel 150 miles, sounds like a plan? Or five bloody miles, for that matter? I do realize, don't get me wrong, they are having major staffing issues (like everybody else); they've had this come up before, and it's causing chaos in their office, but honestly...this keeps happening with them, in different ways/levels. Although I LOVE that Doc, I'm starting to think, it's just not worth it.

I also realize that I may not be my normal, cheery, sanguine, upbeat, optimistic self. (stop laughing, Charlie, I can hear you from here.) And yes, I am probably a bit crankier about this than I would normally be, but given everything I've been through with them overall; everything in the last 21 days; and all that, this just seems...I don't have good words for it. Or even nasty ones. Just...head-shakers.

GRRR...this is a two-emoji post, sorry:

ლಠ益ಠ)ლ

(Sorry, I SWEAR, I will try to stop monopolizing this damned thread soon and if this did NOT get your ass moving on the vax, don't make me die and haunt you.)

Hitch