For being paid so well these doctors just don't think!

I don't know what it is with the doctors in the area that have such a problem with communicating between each other. Just getting Aiden's eye figured out has become this huge challenge that really is very simple. Talk to each other! If the doctor's office in Wilmington would just pick up the phone and call the hospital in New Bern things would go a lot smoother.

The opthamoligst decided that before he decides whether or not to operate on Aiden's eye, he wants to make sure that there is nothing going on in his brain that would make his eye go right back to the way it is now after the surgery, blah blah blah. It took almost a week for Aiden's eye doctor in Wilmington to be able to schedule an appointment for Aiden to have a CT scan. The reason? Neither the eye doc in Wilmington or the Naval Hospital here knew who was supposed to set up the scan so that Tricare covers it. I called the eye doc and she told me to call the Naval Hospital so I did. I called the hospital and the lady there told me that the eye doc had to schedule it because he is the one ordering the scan in the first place. Fine with me, whatever, just get it done. {This was over the course of three days by the time everyone called me back by the way}

Today was the big day for Aiden's scan at the hospital in New Bern (where he was born). We go through the motions and about 30 minutes later the RN is in the room with us asking questions. She explained to me that because of what was needed they would have to sedate Aiden and put an IV in for the dye. She asked me when the last time he ate was and I told her he had had lunch about two hours before. She then told me that in order for the sedative to work the patient has to have fasted for 6-8 hours and in the case of a toddler they have to be sleep deprived. She glanced at Aiden who was at this point climbing all over Ethan and the extra chair in the prep area and said that he is a typical two-year-old and clearly would not be able to hold still for the scan. I was becoming really frustrated. No one from any of the doctor's offices told us about the fasting and sedation requirements, even when I specifically asked. I asked the nurse why no one had said anything and she said it was Aiden's opthamologist's responsibility to tell us these things.

First of all, even if I had known that he wasn't supposed to sleep normally and eat for 6-8 hours prior to the scan, his appointment was at 3 in the afternoon. That would mean Aiden would have had have 2-3 hours less sleep (as recommended by the other nurse that talked to us) AND his last meal would have been at 7 this morning. Wtf?! Who the hell schedules that for a toddler??

So then we go back into the waiting room while the RN calls Aiden's doctor because she thinks that it would be better for him to have a MRI instead because there is less radiation with an MRI compared to a CT scan. Who knew. You learn something new everyday, right? We've been at the hospital for almost an hour and a half now. The receptionist calls me up to the desk and asks me to follow her into a private room to talk. She sits me down and tells me that I have to call Aiden's pediatrician at the Naval Hospital and tell them that they have to fax the hospital some stupid form before they can agree to a MRI. I have no idea what this dumb form is, I don't know medical lingo at all. So why the heck am I doing the calling? Why isn't the woman who gets paid for this doing her job? I left a message sounding like an idiot because I have no idea what they are asking for and then the receptionist lady tells me that we can go home because nothing is going to happen today.

We left the hospital so frustrated that things can't just get done when they're supposed to. I mean this could have been avoided completely had we been given the right information in the first place and if the medical facilities could just keep tabs on things when they have a mutual patient. You can bet your ass that when I get the call for the rescheduled CT or MRI or whatever they decide to do I'm getting all the information I can. I'm sure I will annoy whoever has to deal with me, but I don't care. I'm not going to do this run around crap again.

Ugh!! {end rant}