So I got up at 7.....ish, lol. Close enough! I made it to Boston by 10 am and that included a pitstop at work and everything.
My Dad took me to meet Dr. Schlossman. He's not going to win the prize, kids. The Dana Farber myeloma clinic was a zoo. Compared to Tufts/NEMC you do not feel that you would receive good patient care. You feel you will slip through the cracks....and I did. Every seat was full. People in wheelchairs and stretchers were stuffed in every nook and crannie. The wait was interminable. Don't tell me they weren't overbooked.
There was some comic relief. An older gentleman came in - long white braid, chambray shirt, canvas tote bag. Looked like an old hippie college professor. My father leaned over and said "Probably from Harvard." I laughed and asked how the things I was thinking came out of his mouth. Later a woman walked past me, overly tanned, gold slipper shoes, capri pants, mid to late sixties. I looked at the gold shoes and smiled. My father holds the newspaper higher and says "Gold shoes? Where do you even buy them?" I replied that she probably bought them in Boca where she spends the winter, tanning. My father laughed and said "Yeah, that didn't happen at Dewey Beach!" Then the woman beside me placed a hand on my arm, apologized for eavesdropping and asked me if we were talking about Dewey Beach. I said "Yes, we're from Charlestown." Turns out her family was too. If you are ever somewhere and you want to know if people in the room are from Charlestown just mention Dewey Beach. They'll find you.
Two different people came out for me at the same time. One woman seemed peeved and directed me to go with the other & she would come back & find me. She didn't, I had to find her. Her excuse at first was that she had already seen me, and waived a paper with my supposed vitals. Umm, no, trust me having my weight checked is so traumatic, I never forget it. Then she tried to say there must be someone else here with same name. Finally, she said that she had told me to come back to her after the bloodwork. I said "No, you didn't, this is my first visit, I would have told you I didn't know where you were." She walked away and left me until I went out in the hall and found someone else.
At this point I can well take care of myself. When the time comes, I have my sisters and parents. After that, there are others who won't let me get pushed around. But what about the people in power wheelchairs and stretchers that were dropped by ambulance? Who is advocating for them?
After that big long wait to get this appointment, I couldn't get solid answers - he didn't have the bone marrow biopsy.
What
The
EFFFFFFFFFF?????
He was curt with my father. Way to lose points, boyo! I think Schlossman realized pretty quickly things weren't going well for him. He kept talking about being involved on whatever level, even if I went with Dr. Miller. He specifically stated that he'd like to be on the team because my case was unique.
I was glad to be shut of the place. On the way to the parking garage, my father noted Schlossman seemed nervous I agreed. Then my father noted the doctor's attitude toward his questions and I agreed to that as well.
My father told me to think about it and we debated the merits of thinking about it in Vegas.
When I called to talk to Grace, she said she had spoken with our father and he told her I would be going with Miller, lol. When I talked to Jennifer, she said that she had spoken to our father as well and he didn't say it directly, but she knew Miller had won as well.
So I came into work to settle last minute things on my desk. I'm all set and headed home to pack, lol. It's 0139 and I am leaving for Boston at 0400 to catch my 0700 flight.
I hope my snoring on the plane doesn't bother anyone!
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