Can't Anything Be Simple?

Why is it that nothing is ever simple? Does everything have to be complicated?

Last week I got a root canal done. No big deal. Except the Endodontist broke my crown. He didn't even bother to say, "oops, sorry...", he just told me that I would have to go to my own dentist to have it fixed, since he doesn't do ceramic crowns. Nice. He didn't bother to get out his wallet and pay for it, either. Oh, and the filling he put in was a temporary one that would only last 3 weeks. Well, gee, that's OK, I'm not doing anything OUT OF TOWN right now, anyway...

Well, of course my dentist is closed on Fridays (the only weekday we are in town), so I had to see if we could get Justin's radiation time changed Monday in order for me to get the work done. They had a 4:15 pm, so we took it.

Meanwhile, Justin has been calling the pharmacy for the refill on his meds. It is automated, so it just says yes, you get it, or no, you don't. It kept saying no. So after a few days, he finally reached a real person, who let him know his pharmacy insurance was about to expire, he would have to reapply. Of course it was the weekend before we figured this out, AND he only has enough to last until Tuesday, AND we aren't in Des Moines all week AND his pharmacy insurance is for Polk County but his doctors aren't...Noooooooo!

So upon awakening this morning, I called the gal in charge of Piles Of Paperwork. Oh, they had a meeting until 10:00am. Of course, they did. And 10:00 was my dental appointment. So I left a message. She finally returned my call just before noon to let me know that we had to have all the same information from the last time we applied. This meant going to Iowa Workforce Development to get a form signed saying he is unemployed. The clock is ticking people! His radiation 120 miles away, at 4:15!

So we threw our suitcases and stuff in the truck and off we went downtown...during lunch hour, when everyone needed what we did. Justin went in IWD and got to take a number....they were on #42 and he got #55. Tick tock tick tock...I hadn't eaten due to the dental work, so I ran to grab a sandwich. Tick, tock.

He got the paper he needed by 1:00. Off we went to the hospital to take the papers to the nice lady. She had someone in her office, so we had to wait. Tick, tock. She said she had given the OK for his insurance to be extended for 30 days, so we could just run down to the pharmacy and pick up his meds. She would file all the paperwork so his insurance would be good for a year.

So off to the pharmacy. Four windows open, four pharmacists ready and waiting. "Take a number, please." Tick, tock. They called Justin up. "We can't refill your meds...there are zero refills." We know this. We have called 10 times to make sure they know this so the docs can OK it ahead of time. That is what WALGREENS does, folks... "You will have to go up to the outpatient clinic and get a doctor to OK this. AAAAaaaarrrrgggghhhh. Tick, tock.

Smile on face. Tick, tock. Up the elevator again. Tick, tock. Smile as we take a number to check in. We get #77, and they are on #74 with one person doing the check in. Tick, tock. 1:27pm...Smile at the nice lady in the window of "Customer Service". IN A HOSPITAL? Tick, tock. Smile and explain the whole situation, so that she understands that the clock is ticking....

She was very nice and said, "I will call the Patient Advocate." And she does. Then she hangs up. "The Patient Advocate says there is no way to speed this up." Tick, tock. I thank her so much for trying to help.

They call our number. I smile while biting my tongue. I explain for the 6th time why it is important that we get this done quickly. So there I am with Justin, the clerk, the Patient Advocate, the customer service rep, all "helping" to get us through this "system". They said to go into the clinic and they would be with us as soon as possible. I thank them and smile nicely. I am a face liar. My face lies about what is in my mouth, waiting to get out....however, I am beginning to see that my kindness goes far...

We wait in the clinic. TICK, TOCK. 1:40 pm. We must be on the road by 2:00 so we aren't late. Finally a nurse comes out and calls us to the back. I again smile, again explain our situation, thank them profusely for helping us and being so kind...

The doctor there decides to make sure that the doctor that saw Justin in the ER 5 months ago would even want him as a patient, and if so, she could OK the meds. We wait for the doctor to call back. Tick, Tock. Of course she is over in the other clinic, it is VERY busy today... Finally she calls, and remembers Justin, and wants him to be "her" patient. She OKs the meds. The doc wrote up a refill for ONE month, and also wrote a lab order for Justin to come in for labs before they OK any more than that. Whatever....tick, tock.

Back down the elevator to the pharmacy. Four windows open, no pharmacists available. "Take a number, please." Tick, Tock...1:50pm. They called us up. I explain for the 8th time that we are in a hurry due to his radiation...smile....thank you, mam. She just sat there, smiling and said, "I will fill this for you right now. It might take about 20 minutes." And she just sat there, smiling. All relaxed and settled in like a jellyfish. TICK, TOCK LADY!!!

At 1:59, we were in the car, headed to Iowa City. All this, just for some pills. There has got to be a better way. Those were 2 of the longest hours of my life.

We were on time to radiation today. THAT was a miracle.