I started the night before making some baked goods for all of the doctors I would be seeing the next day. I baked some cupcakes and made my famous trashy crackers. I didn't have much money this year for gifts, but I still wanted to do something meaningful for everyone. I got some trinket items for the nurses and office staff and gave Dr. L. one of my handmade fleece scarves.
My first visit of the day was with my breast surgeon, Dr. L. I told the staff Merry Christmas and said hello to everyone I hadn't seen in months. The nurse talked with me for a while and caught upon everything that is going on with me. When Dr. L. came in, she examined me as usual and asked about my last surgery that was scheduled in March. I'm due to see Dr. L. again in March, at which time she said we would celebrate 2 years post being diagnosed. Whoot!
My next visit was to my diabetes DR, Dr. B. This visit was pretty short since things were actually going pretty well. My A1C went up half a point, which isn't so bad, and my sugars have been pretty regular on my new insulin regimen. No roller coaster numbers! lol Dr. B. seemed pretty ok with the progress and told me to come back next summer. Whoo!
Before my last appt I stopped in to see the nurse case manager. She has been there for since the beginning and always checks in with me and sees how I'm doing. She is also one of the ones that distributes the drain pouches after I took them to Dr. A.'s office. I showed her my new drain pouch ideas and she told me about some of ways they've been sharing them with patients. I was glad I got to visit with her again and told her I would check back before my surgery.
Although I didn't get to see Dr G. or anyone in the group, I did drop them off a care package of cupcakes and trashy crackers with a card. I knew they must have been busy in the middle of the day, so hopefully I can see them next time I come through the hospital.
My last stop for the day was with my new oncologist, Dr. B. (a different one lol). I had a chest x-ray done to see if there are any abnormalities that could indicate metastasis. Then I checked in and waited to see Dr. B. I've had some problems in the past with Dr. C. and felt like I wasn't being heard - or that I was starting to think I'm crazy. So with help from Dr. S. and one of my favorite nurses they paired me up with Dr. B. I was nervous at first, but the more he talked to me, the more I felt like he was a big, burly version of Dr. S.! He said he spoke with Dr. S. and worked closely with him before and was able to read through most of my chart, so he was pretty up to date on things. He tried to talk to me about the positives and tried to make me seem more hopeful, while getting a little annoyed with my pessimistic tone. He kept reassuring me that I'm not cray, or a hypochondriac. By the end of my visit, I felt so much better about the visit and in no way felt that I had wasted. my time. It was a relief to be heard again and knowing that I can come back to repeat visits with someone on my side and who is always looking out for me. Although I lost one of my favorite nurses in the office, I know she is still there to talk to - and I haven't met Dr. B's nurse yet, but I'm sure she's great too.
The end of the year is coming, so today was a good way to help close out 2016.
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