Tuesday, May. 25, 2004
Health Care, posted at 6:23 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com With as many health professionals as I've encountered in the last year, it's amazing that I've found one I actually like.First, let's take my primary care physician. When I moved to the city, I checked my insurance's plan for the closest doctor to me. I found him, and visited him for a checkup. He was polite, but there were two things I didn't like about him. First, he was old. This is my own problem, so I tried not to let it bother me. But the guy graduated medical school in 1965. I guess that makes him in his mid-sixties, at least. And going into his office was like visiting my grandpa's basement. There were knickknacks and antiques and it smelled like old man smell.
Secondly, he was fat and he wheezed when he breathed. Every time I see him, I want to say, "Physician, heal thyself!" I don't, though.
Anyhow, I sort of put off for a few months finding a different one, just figuring the next time I was due for a checkup, then I'd change my primary care physician. Instead, I sprained my ankle two months later and ended up having to hop down the block and up his two flights of stairs to get a referral to get an x-ray (he wouldn't do it over the phone). I didn't need a doctor again until I finally went to the doctor after feeling like someone was holding a curtain over my right eye.
Later, I realized how incompetent he was in not immediately referring me to a specialist. I got in to see an Opthamologist two weeks later, and was strapped to a surgical table less than twelve hours later. It was that much of an emergency. My retina had detached and I was quickly and permanently losing my sight. Who knows, if the guy had referred me more quickly, I might not have to deal with 20/60 vision in my right eye for the rest of my life.
Anyhow, so I don't like my primary care physician. The receptionist is good with the insurance people, but that's about it. My opthamologist was alright, but when he first informed me about the retinal detachment, he didn't explain to me what it was. I ended up calling Tiffany on the way to the surgeons to have her look it up on the Internet, and the information she provided was not heartening: "Most common cause of blindness." Shit like that.
The surgeon, that night, told me how serious the problem was, that it was also happening with my left eye. I was hoping for diagrams or a model or something, but nothing. He was nice and polite, but all about the eye, not the person. I guess when you're one of the best in a field you're allowed to do that. I have certainly not been unhappy with his care, but he didn't make me feel very warm and fuzzy.
During surgery the next morning, one nurse was especially nice, but mostly I remember talking all throughout the surgery and wanting to argue with the surgeon about The Royal Tenenbaums. He didn't like it, and I really wanted to argue with him, but I didn't. Instead, I requested songs (they were not fulfilled) and basically enjoyed being more drugged up than I have ever been before.
Subsequent visits to the surgeon have been okay, but his bedside manner never was outstanding. He once introduced me as, "That unfortunate young man I was telling you about."
Anyhow, the guy I went to see today about getting contact lenses was incredibly nice. He explained everything and used diagrams and models. He explained how he was trying to keep prices down (and it was much, much cheaper than I thought it would be) and what the risks were. He explained to me that the risks of me wearing contacts weren't any higher than anyone else, but the stakes are higher. I've only got one good eye now, so a car accident in which I lose an eye would adversely affect me much more than a two-eyed person. Those sort of explanations were what I needed.
Excellent, well rounded health care professionals should not be so difficult to find.