Friday, August 26, 2011

Orthopedic Confusion

One day last week, I got a call from Dominion Orthopedic Clinc reminding me of my appointment this week. I didn't remember making an appointment, but I had gone to the clinic a year ago about a shoulder injury so I figured this was a follow up.  I thought about canceling the appointment since my shoulder hasn't been bothering me, but never got around to it.  So today when the reminder popped up on my calendar, I jumped in the car and drove over.

I signed the sheet and took a seat in the waiting room.  After a few minutes, the receptionist called me up and said, "You are a patient of Dr. Steenlage."  I told her that I had never heard of Dr. Steenlage, I was a patient of Dr. Foster. She looked back at her computer and said that it had been more than a year so I would be considered a new patient.  She gave me all of the new patient paperwork to fill out.

A man in blue scrubs called me back to an exam room.  He said, "You are a relative." I gave him a blank look.  He said, "You are Dr. Steenlage's patient from our other office."  I again explained that I didn't know who Dr. Steenlage was. Mr. Blue Scrubs (who never introduced himself) asked me why I was there.  I explained that I thought it was a follow-up for my shoulder but that my shoulder really wasn't bothering me. 

Since it was an orthopedic clinic, I thought I'd see if they had any advice about my sore thumbs.  Mr. Blue Scrubs said he could give me some injections of cortizone to relieve the inflamation, then he left the room.  He came back a few minutes later and said he would take some X-Rays.  We went down to the X-Ray room and he looked in the computer for my records.  After a few minutes, he said, "Do you spell your name T-E-R-E-S-A?"  I said, "My name is Betty Morris and neither of those are spelled T-E-R-E-S-A."  He found my record and commented that it was not filed under Teresa Smith.

Back in the exam room, Dr. Sutlive came in and looked at my thumbs.  He didn't think the injections that Mr. Blue Scrubs had mentioned were necessary and wanted to give me a prescription for Mobic to take for 30 days.

When I went to the desk to check out, the clerk asked if I wanted to make a follow-up appointment in 30 days or if I wanted to just call Dr. Steenlage to follow up.  Not wishing to explain again that I didn't know this Dr. Steenlage, or that I didn't plan to come back to this office, I just said, "I'll call." 

I took my prescription script and left.  When I got to the car, I looked at the prescription and it was made out to Betty Jones.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

G-N-I-T

I heard the cutest conversation in the restroom of the Sky Club on a recent trip.  A little girl in the stall to my left told her mother (in the stall to my right) that her little brother has a new nickname.  "It's Nat, but not K-N-A-T like the bug, even though he's little..."  The mother responded, "Gnat is spelled G-N-A-T."  "No", the little girl... corrected, "it is K-N-A-T because knit is K-N-I-T."  Mother: "Yes, it is."  Little girl:  "No, it's not."  Mother: "Yes, it is."  Little girl:  "No, it's not."
Finally, I chimed in from the middle stall, "Yes, it is."
"Thank you", came from the Mom's stall.
"Oh", said the little girl, "then knit is G-N-I-T."
This kid could get all tied up in K-N-O-T-S trying N-O-T to make a mistake!