Follow Up Ultra Sound (US)

Apparently it's not enough to know that I have a one inch tumour.  The medical profession needs to know all about it and needs to know whether I have others.  Fortunately, the search for other tumours is conducted via ultra sound testing and x-ray.  I can handle this!  What could possibly go wrong?  Back to Merivale Medical Imaging where they are seeing me often enough to great me by name on arrival!

The doctor has arranged my appointment - I get a call from MMI telling me of the time - Tuesday at 07:00 which suits me just fine.  This place is basically a strip mall on Merivale.  Guess what?  They now charge for parking!  Can you imagine paying for parking at a strip mall on Merivale?  I paid the first time here b/c I had no idea - $4.00 for 30 minutes it what it cost me that time.  Never again.  Now I park in the next strip mall and walk over.  Are radiologists so underpaid that they need to charge for parking at a strip mall?  Apparently they own the building......

Anyway, the usual check-in lady is not here - apparently she starts work at a more civilized hour.  I go over to the other desk where early patients are apparenlty processed.  I give her my card and explain that I didn't get any instructions for this test - despite having called numerous times and leaving two messages - that weren't returned.  She stares at me - I now fully understand the term "baleful" (foreboding or threatening evil).  Do I need a full bladder?  Did you know that I also need a chest x-ray about which I didn't get a call? 

"I don't work in that department" is the only response that I get.  "Go and sit down and wait and I'll see".  Ouch!  Soon she calls me back up to the desk.  "Did you know you were scheduled for a PVT ultra sound yesterday?  You didn't show up."  Presumably if I wasn't there it's because I didn't know about it.  However, I calmly re-state that I wasn't called for it and that it's a shame no one was available to speak to me one of the five times I called nor returned either of the two messages that I left, because then I might have found out about it!  And why would they schedule me for two ultra-sounds on different days?  (My theory is that they want additional parking fees!)  The baleful look comes out again and she adds, "I didn't work yesterday."  Is she truly that obtuse?  Is this possible?  This woman was hired to work directly with the public!  I look at her and explain as if I'm speaking to a neanderthal, "I'm not saying that you have personally done anything.  You are merely the representative of this office who is currently in front of me."  And then her gleefuul response, "The PVT is an internal ultra sound."

I would ask all readers to pause here and consider this:  an internal ultra-sound.  Think a little longer.  Damn, she wins!!!!!!

I return to my seat and wait.  Soon I am called by the US tech who is lovely and who has been made aware of the screw-ups by the darling woman with whom I've been dealing so far.  The US tech saves the day.  She takes care of everything, she doesn't weep but is professional throughout.  She starts by feeding me four cups of water just to ensure that I'm appropriately uncomfortable (unfortunate but necessary) and then takes me through over an hour of looking for bad spots on all my major organs (and I'm sure some minor ones as well).  We then head over to x-ray which takes less than five minutes and I escape.  Whew!

The good news arrives at the doctor's office later in the week:  nothing found by ultra sound or x-ray anywhere else.  I still need to have an MRI to confirm this - but this is definitely some positive news.  The MRI is scheduled for the morning of Thanksgiving Sunday - cancelling my planned trip north to visit my sister and her family.  Oh well, better to get it over with asap.  Next step:  BIOPSY (joy).