“Thank you”

An unexpected source of gratitude came in today’s mail, from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Mountain View SurgiCenter.  They sent a nice little card thanking Glenn for having his colonoscopy there.

Seriously?

I know this IS the USA, where you get to pay for everything in the medical spectrum, but I think this might be pushing the line on politeness.   I was expecting the inside to say that they hoped he enjoyed his stay with them, but luckily they stopped just short of that by wishing him good health.

Another piece of mail was a bill from the GP’s office for my ‘routine blood panel’.  This starts the argument of who has to pay, us or the HMO.  According to the paperwork, the HMO covers just $60 of the total fee, leaving us with $180 to argue about.  Keep in mind that this same group sent me a $20 refund cheque for ‘overpayment’ on an office visit.  

The GP’s office sends periodic reminders of tests that I’m apparently overdue for having.  Scanning this list, I have to wonder if once again these kind folks don’t check their other hand to see what it is up to.  One of the items on my list is a Hep B vaccination.  I had one several years ago, but was told at that point that I would not require another one, since the one vaccine conferred a lifetime immunity.  It makes me wonder if they ever got the files from Waterloo, even though we gave them all of the names and numbers required to transfer the needed items, for BOTH of us.  Obviously, checking on the status of our files is my first task when I arrive at the office later today!

Another thing on my to-be-done list is a mammogram.  Again, my files should show that I had my girls flattened just 18 months ago, with the same results as many times before.  ‘Something’ shows up on the scan of my right breast, upper portion.  Having had ALL of the ducts removed on this side has left me with a notable deficit, but apparently there is enough left for something odd to show up.  Every single time I have a mammogram, this little unexpected aberration shows up, that has a generous blood supply.  EVERY TIME!  And every time it is determined to be a lymph node.  But somehow, someone never manages to note this in my chart, so I get a call back, every time!

I am also very overdue for what us Canucks call the DPTP.  Of course, here it has another name, but amounts to the same sort of stuff.  This has apparently been a hotbed for whooping cough lately, especially in the Spanish population, for some reason.  I remember whooping cough going through Waterloo last winter as well, but I luckily dodged that bullet.  Since my Gilenya predisposes me to lung infections, I could potentially have been an easy target, but luckily not!  It seems I’ve promised my lungs to bronchitis instead, given my FOUR episodes of it in 2013 and early 2014.  I recall on our trip down here in late March sitting in the business class section, hacking and coughing, while my polite fellow passengers did their best to ignore me.  

Other items on my list were HIV screening, pap smear, and diabetic foot care/eye tests.  The latter two are on my agenda for my appointment later today, The former two I’ll put off until they are the only two things on my list.  There’s only so much fun a girl can cope with at one time!