Thursday, February 24, 2011
Today I woke up groggy and in pain! I rolled out of bed at 0900 so I could call the doctor and try to get another referral for a second opinion on my back. I spoke with 3 or 4 people before a Tricare representative from Heidelberg, Germany told me I still had a referral in the system until April of this year but I needed to physically walk into the Tricare Office over on Patch and make an appointment. She told me it wouldn’t be a problem to see a different doctor to get a second opinion and then gave me a list of doctors who were available in my area.
I waited until Matt could bring me the car (his is still being worked on) so I could drive over to Patch even though I wasn’t exactly in the best condition to drive. Once I arrived at the Tricare Office I signed in and took a seat. They weren’t busy at all so I was called into a room very quickly. This nice lady politely told me I was given incorrect information over the phone and that the referral was only good until the end of February but it was also only for the same doctor I had gone to before, the one who for whatever reason won’t return my messages (phone or email). She told me to make an appointment with a doctor here at the clinic to get a new referral and that once it hit their system I could come back in to the Tricare Office to make an appointment with this new doctor. Anybody confused yet? I know I am! I left a message with my doctor's nurse to have him call me when he got a chance so that we could tail about getting me a second opinion. There wasn't anything else I could do here today so I left the Medical Clinic.
I stopped by the Physical Therapy Clinic before leaving Patch, and made an appointment to meet with a physical therapist. I’ve already tried PT back in the States, but at this point I’ll take whatever I can get to keep from going paralyzed.
I ended the evening by popping another pain pill and drifting off to dreamland while my husband played Call of Duty in the living room.
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| I feel like this... |
I waited until Matt could bring me the car (his is still being worked on) so I could drive over to Patch even though I wasn’t exactly in the best condition to drive. Once I arrived at the Tricare Office I signed in and took a seat. They weren’t busy at all so I was called into a room very quickly. This nice lady politely told me I was given incorrect information over the phone and that the referral was only good until the end of February but it was also only for the same doctor I had gone to before, the one who for whatever reason won’t return my messages (phone or email). She told me to make an appointment with a doctor here at the clinic to get a new referral and that once it hit their system I could come back in to the Tricare Office to make an appointment with this new doctor. Anybody confused yet? I know I am! I left a message with my doctor's nurse to have him call me when he got a chance so that we could tail about getting me a second opinion. There wasn't anything else I could do here today so I left the Medical Clinic.
I stopped by the Physical Therapy Clinic before leaving Patch, and made an appointment to meet with a physical therapist. I’ve already tried PT back in the States, but at this point I’ll take whatever I can get to keep from going paralyzed.
I ended the evening by popping another pain pill and drifting off to dreamland while my husband played Call of Duty in the living room.
The word "now" is like a bomb through the window, and it ticks. ~Arthur Miller
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