I’m thin and weak and I don’t eat very much. Maybe it’s because I’m nauseated all the time. The docs are sending me for a dose of intravenous anti-nausea drug. There’s a room at Fox Chase that’s devoted to ‘infusing’. It’s also where you get chemo-therapy. My appointment is at 11.
Three hours later, I’m still waiting for my name to be called. I haven't eaten and the pain meds have worn off. Worse yet, there are people there with the awful gray tint of chemo on them slumped into upright chairs or sliding out of wheelchairs and staring off at something that I can’t see right now. They’re suffering.
In circumstances like these, I’m usually pretty polite. I know that the young woman behind the counter isn’t the one responsible for scheduling more people than the infusion room can hold. But I gotta say something and here’s what I say-
”Hi. I hate to bother you, and I know it’s not your fault, but it’s been three hours now since my appointment. This is a very cruel thing to do to sick people.”
All I’m looking for is a nod and I get one. I guess she knows. Fifteen minutes later they call me in.
• •
The anti-nausea drug-kytril-didn’t work and at midnight, I’m standing in the bathroom, retching and musing.
Three hours later, I’m still waiting for my name to be called. I haven't eaten and the pain meds have worn off. Worse yet, there are people there with the awful gray tint of chemo on them slumped into upright chairs or sliding out of wheelchairs and staring off at something that I can’t see right now. They’re suffering.
In circumstances like these, I’m usually pretty polite. I know that the young woman behind the counter isn’t the one responsible for scheduling more people than the infusion room can hold. But I gotta say something and here’s what I say-
”Hi. I hate to bother you, and I know it’s not your fault, but it’s been three hours now since my appointment. This is a very cruel thing to do to sick people.”
All I’m looking for is a nod and I get one. I guess she knows. Fifteen minutes later they call me in.
• •
The anti-nausea drug-kytril-didn’t work and at midnight, I’m standing in the bathroom, retching and musing.
cruel indeed man!
ReplyDeleteLynn, It is never the ones who are healthy that care to take the time to reflect on how to make things better for those of us who suffer too much in silence. After driving most of the day, I came to a stop in Sacramento, attended a meeting and was told that although we are important and key to the continued success of the California Community Colleges, no, we cannot give feedback nor can we sit at the same table as the "BIG BOYS." Yes, we are important, they say, but we don't want to have to listen to what you have to say. Go figure...maybe they need to have all of us collectively drop our pants and crap all over their pristine carpets. The answer to your quandary is for the infusion/profusion department to schedule fewer patients per hour, per day. Failing that, maybe the prescribing physicians should be made to stand in line to use a single restroom after they all simultaneously ingest a large dose of tainted food. Think that more porta-potties would be ordered after the professional staff soils themselves? Slip sliding away! Carry on...Robert
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