Sylvia's Journal

My half of yesterday was devoted to seeking the opinions of orthopedic surgeons while Axel’s half, the second, included another visit to an MRI facility to give his physiatrist a better picture of how everything is healing/has healed.

My first visit of the day was to new orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion about what to do with my ankle. He referred to the practice in which doctor nr. 1 works as ‘the evil empire.’ I understood why, as it is a large orthopedic solutions factory with a rather hurried feel to it; a place that is about doing something to the patient rather than being with the patient. After all, time is money and being with the patient is not cost-effective. This is one of the reasons I went to see doctor nr. 2 whose office felt very unhurried, even though housed in the ugliest building one can imagine. He considered my ankle problem of great interest to the orthopedic community as it was rather rare and some docs might want to take pictures and write about it. In fact he said he never seen anything like it before (the description and MRI of my ankle did not match what I was able to do) and suggested I climb higher up the expertise ladder and see the top ankle doc at Mass General and another at Brigham, who might actually make room for me because I presented such an interesting and publishable case. Axel had already tried to get me an appointment at MGH but never got a live person on the line during the two weeks he tried. He also told me I was right to seek more opinions because the operation proposed by doctor nr. 1 is a big deal, with some risks.

By the end of the afternoon, I had gotten myself an appointment with doctor nr. 3 at MGH. It’s far into the future, a few days before Thanksgiving, but that’s what happens when you want the best of the best. This probably means that surgery around Christmas is unlikely to happen because doctors like number 3 and 4 get all the cases that no one else can fix or is entrusted to handle. I also suspect that the catchment area of MGH and its top docs is rather large, not just Boston, but the entire world.

The other doctor’s appointment was with the hand surgeon who was supposed to have fixed my right carpal tunnel problem 11 days after our crash. At that time the body had forgotten about the tunnel obstruction as it was busy with more important matters. But lately the tingling has gotten so bad that even holding the steering wheel numbs my fingers. Surgery is scheduled for October 1. I am not seeking any other opinions; a wait of two weeks feels already too long. I am impatient to get it over and done with, so I can row again and sleep through the night. “I’ll get you fixed,” were the parting words of the doctor. I know he meant well but it did feel a bit as if I am a dog or a cat.

Our visits to the various medical establishments took up most of the morning. Back home the beach beckoned and we had lunch there with the idea of a post-lunch swim. But Axel was due for an MRI, and we were late, so the swim was cancelled.

The rest of the day I spent unpacking, washing, putting things away and putting my receipts in order. With that the decks are cleared for attention to the next trip (probably end of October) and anything else that needs attention before then.

All day strong winds cleared the sky. I wondered if these winds were the tips of hurricane Ike’s tentacles. By sunset they had blown themselves away over the Atlantic or into the stratosphere, which brought the mosquitoes back. At dinner, while we feasted on fajitas, they feasted on us.