Today has been a relatively cool day, temperature-wise. I went to the office and had a productive day. At lunch time, I didn't feel like eating what I had brought with me and bought a lunch, instead, to treat myself - a beef teriyaki bowl with brown rice and vegetables. It came to almost $8, but it was enough for both lunch and dinner.
After work, on my way home, I went to the pharmacy to ask about one of
my refills. The doctor's office hadn't responded to an earlier request for
authorization to refill, so the pharmacist sent another request. This was for a blood pressure medication and I had just one pill left (I had requested the refill last weekend); the pharmacist was kind and consulted with the other pharmacist on duty and gave me enough pills to last till Monday! She asked me to call the doctor's office on Monday and I will!
Afterwards, I did a little bit of grocery shopping: milk ($1.99 for 1/2 gal.), bananas $.64 @$.59/lb), peaches ($.84 @ $.99/lb), Miracle Whip ($2.99 for 30 oz), and ice cream ($2.77)!
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| Duly Inspected By Dancer Cat! |
I spent a total of $9.23 on the groceries.
Grocery spending in June = $7.93 (Week 1) + $14.17 (Week 2) + $9.67 (Week 3) + $5.18 (Week 4) + $9.23 (Week 5) = $46.18
Amount left in June grocery budget = $75 - $46.18 = $28.82
Amount left in June grocery budget = $75 - $46.18 = $28.82
I will carry over the remaining balance to July and use it to stock up on a few items.
My gardener friend was finishing up in the garden when I came home, so I
got to say hi to him. Later, I called one of my friends and chatted with her for a
bit.
If you remember, I have been waiting for the referral for the mammogram that was requested because the hospital wouldn't do only the ultrasound that was authorized, earlier, without a diagnostic mammogram being done, first. When I called the cancer clinic last week, they said to give it another week and call back if I haven't heard anything. Well, I hadn't heard anything.
So, this morning, I called the cancer clinic, spoke with someone at the front desk, and asked about the mammogram referral since it's been awhile (more than 3 weeks) and I haven't heard anything. She looked up my information in the computer and said the ultrasound was authorized.
Yes, I told her. The ultrasound was authorized but the hospital won't do one without a diagnostic mammogram and that is why I saw the nurse practitioner on June 5 and she said she will put in a new request for the mammogram as well. We went over that a few times before she understood, as there was some confusion about the whole thing, with her insisting that the ultrasound had been authorized and me insisting that although the ultrasound was authorized, I could do only the abdominal ultrasound but not the breast ultrasound. "You had the ultrasound done." "Only the abdominal ultrasound, not the breast ultrasound." "But you had the ultrasound done." "Only for the abdomen, not the breast." "You didn't do the breast ultrasound?" "No, I didn't do the breast ultrasound." "But it says here that the referral for the ultrasound was approved." "Yes, but the hospital won't do the ultrasound for the breast without the mammogram." Finally we got that issue sorted out!
The long and the short of it is, apparently, the referrals are sent by the oncologist's office to their referral department and are submitted for authorization by the referral department staff, who apparently saw that the ultrasound had been authorized and apparently thought that it was the one and the same as the mammogram referral and, therefore, apparently did NOT submit the request for the mammogram!!! What on earth? Apparently, no one actually thought to call and check with the referring medical staff?!
Nathalie, you can get infuriated on my behalf just about now, if you like! LOL.
The nurse practitioner is out of the office till after the holiday, so we can't inform her of what seems to have happened. The girl I spoke with said she'll talk to the nurse practitioner when she comes back, next week. I doubt if she'll remember to do so as they will be very busy on the day after a holiday (everyone who would have normally been scheduled for treatment on the holiday would have been rescheduled for the following day, along with that day's regulars - I've experienced that, so I know). Instead, I will call again on Wednesday, to check if anyone actually knows what is going on! In the meantime, we wait!
I am not at all happy about this delay, but, I guess it gave me more time to recover from the inflammation and swelling. Got to look for that silver lining! As my mother used to say, "Things will fall into place when the time is right".
Today, I am grateful for:
- At least I called the oncology clinic to find out what was happening with the referral and now we know and can take steps to address it!
- Kind and helpful pharmacy staff
- Helpful front office staff, as well
- One of my favorite lunches (with leftovers for dinner)
- A cooler day
Friday's To Do List:
- Office - DONE
- Note to gardener friend with a Garden To Do List - DONE
- Dust and vacuum (can do over the weekend, too) - POSTPONED!
- Water the garden - POSTPONED!
- Pharmacy - DONE
- Grocery shopping - DONE
- Call re. mammogram - DONE
I will probably to a weekend to do list, tomorrow. I have a 4-day weekend, since I have Monday off, as well. I want to rest and be productive, too! I want to do some housework and some crafting or sewing. I want to do some organizing and some gardening. Maybe even some shopping! I think I will need more than 4 days to do it all!
How was your Friday? How did you do with your June Grocery budget? What are your plans for the weekend?
Wow what a mess around at the doctor's office! Thing seem to move so slowly over here. My friend had been waiting since last year for referrals and seeing specialists. Luckily it turned out not a lot was wrong BUT if it had been something different the delay could have been terrible!
ReplyDeleteThis is the week Mum has her tests and results. I will be nail biting most of the week. I'm hoping for good news.
Hope you get the whole mess sorted out after the holidays. I doubt she'll remember too - so maybe a nudge or two. Have a great weekend
Yes, even that first time, when I was waiting for a diagnosis, referrals and test results seem to be hard to obtain because the paperwork didn't get processed in a timely manner. One would think, when it came to health matters, that the people handling the paperwork would have more compassion. I know it's just a job for them, but they are dealing with people's lives!
DeleteI hate to be a "squeaky wheel", but I will definitely call after the holidays. I owe it to myself and to my daughter to do so.
Sharon, I hope your Mum's tests go well and the results are all good. (((HUGS)))
You have given a very good example of why it's always good to follow up on something. I always say that maybe the paper got mixed up in the wrong pile of papers, so it's good to check. Of course, that's a little dated as many things are only done electronically these days. :)
ReplyDeleteI like what your mother said, "Things will fall into place when it's time." Gotta remember that when I get impatient.
Yes, I don't like to be the one who is always calling and pestering, so I do give them what I'd consider to be ample time to process something, like 2 to 3 weeks, but then, I will call to follow up.
DeleteI.can't.even.
ReplyDeleteSeriously. I can't. Because I don't want to write down profanities on your blog :) Good bleeping grief. How did those people earn their degrees?! They have NO reading comprehension skills whatsoever and sound like complete morons.
I'm very happy that the pharmacist was reasonable and educated and could foresee trouble if you didn't enough pills until you could contact the doctor's office on Monday. Kudos to him/her!
I hope you have a less stressful day today, Bless. In retrospect, it's a very good thing you bought that ice cream! Sounds to me like you need it. ((HUGS))
Thank you, Nathalie. :) I rarely swear, but, believe me, I was very tempted to! My "what on earth?" stands in for a couple of other three word sentences I would have liked to have used! :D The ice cream was very needed! I don't drink anything alcoholic, but I had a bowl of ice cream, last night. At least, it wasn't cheesecake!
DeleteJoy, I am sorry, I accidentally deleted your comment instead of publishing it! Clicked the wrong button!
DeleteJoy said:
"I am right here swearing with you, Nathalie! I wanna scream, "You had ONE job!" UGH!!!"
Thank you, Joy.
DeleteI am glad that you treated yourself to lunch with enough for dinner and splurged on ice cream. You certainly deserved it with the aggravation of no Rx refill and still waiting for the mammogram referral. Enough already.
ReplyDeleteYou really did well on your June grocery shopping. Good idea to stock up on a few items in July.
I did get a load of whites washed but was lazy and used the dryer!
Thank you, Sandy. My mother discouraged self-pity, but I admit to feeling a little hard done by, yesterday, so treated myself to lunch out and ice cream. Lunch out once a week is OK, but I must be careful with the ice cream. ;)
DeleteYes, the June shopping worked out very well. I didn't buy a lot of meat because I still have some in the freezer, so that kept the spending low.
Well, you've got to give the dryer some use to make sure it's working properly, don't you? ;) I did a load of darks, today. I don't have enough to do a load of whites, yet. Maybe later this week.
Hope you have a lovely rest of the day.
Honestly Bless I don't know how you manage to stay so calm. Talk about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. It's a good job you're on the ball and able to chase things up. When I read things like this I always think what about older people on their own who aren't able to sort things out. hopefully it will all be sorted out sooner rather than later. Xx
ReplyDeleteIt does make you wonder how some others manage, Suzanne, doesn't it?
DeleteAs for staying calm, I was pretty upset at the time! I try to tell myself that these thins happen for a reason and take a deep breath. And then, I eat ice cream! :D
It's good to see you treating yourself! Love it! You so deserve a meal out and ice cream. Good to see you buying them for yourself. :).
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carolyn. From a healthy diet point of view, it wasn't such a good thing (a lot of not-so-good for me things in them - sodium, fat, sugar, etc.), but I didn't care! I tend to be an emotional eater and I was a bit upset, yesterday. :)
DeleteOh my goodness. The confusion around your mammogram must be so frustrating. I don't know how you manage to stay calm about it, but I suppose getting angry doesn't help anyone.
ReplyDeleteI really hope it gets sorted for you soon. X
It was frustrating, Jules, and I did get a little angry, because it's yet another delay. But I am trying to listen for the message I think I am being told by these delays. The message seems to be to have patience, more trust, that I am not in control. I don't know, but I feel I am being tested and how I react matters. So, I am trying to react with grace. Does that make sense?
DeleteI can understand your need to react with grace, but this has brought back so many sad memories for me. I cannot count the number of times my husband's requests for tests, or the test results themselves were lost. We learned a long time ago that you have to advocate for your own health care. The squeaky wheel does get greased, etc. I don't see it as pestering, sorry. I think that medical personnel are just too busy and overworked, or maybe there isn't enough oversight, but the system does not run as well as it used to. Keep on top of this.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your perspective on this, Susan. I will be calling the clinic tomorrow to ask to speak with the nurse practitioner to see what is happening. Maybe I'll change my name to Squeaky. :)
Delete