It’s true, pigs must be flying today as I finally spoke with the infamous Dr. M., and only two months after our scheduled conversation. I suppose after relentlessly calling his office over the past couple months, his secretaries kindly asked him to quit ignoring me so they wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore. I actually had the secretary put me on hold for 30 minutes waiting for him to finish with a patient.
Below is a transcript from our very fruitful conversation;
Sam: Hi Dr. M., how was your vacation? (I hope he picks up on my sarcasm)
Dr. M.: Yes Ms. Spreadbury, I saw your x-rays, did I not call you earlier?
Sam: No Dr. M. you did not (I am his only patient under the age of 50, he brought in tons of students for my surgery since I was such a unique case, I have left messageS with him relentlessly regarding my 3 month follow up and he is claiming he doesn’t remember if he called me or not? How much did I pay him for this?)
LONG PAUSE
Dr. M.: Well, they look fine
LONG PAUSE
Sam: They look fine?LONGER PAUSE
Sam: That’s great to hear…unfortunately I have not yet been able to walk over 100yards without tightening in my hip causing me to limp significantly. It doesn’t feel like joint pain, but more related to my muscles just fatiguing very quickly. Additionally, I am hearing a lot of popping that typically occurs when I sit down or stand up which is accompanied by shooting pains down my leg (see mom…I did give him specifics about my pain! He’ll have to pay attention to me now)
Dr. M.: Pain is common after surgeries like this
Sam: (seriously?) Oh, okay, well can you recommend any strength training exercises or cardiovascular workouts that will help me build up strength and therefore reduce the pain?
LONG PAUSE
Sam: Should I start seeing a physical therapist? (Do you really think I can't hear you playing solitaire on your computer right now?)
Dr. M.: I can write you a script for that
Sam: Do you have any recommendations on who I should see or what their specialty is?
Dr. M.: No
AWKWARD PAUSE
Sam: Should we talk about my left hip? We have that surgery scheduled for the end of August but I’m not sure I’m strong enough for it yet and my pain has not been significant in that area since the surgery
Dr. M.: Work with my secretary to determine your scheduling issues
Sam: So you agree I should cancel my surgery?
Dr. M.: If you aren’t having pain now, you don’t need the surgery now
EXTREMELY AWKWARD PAUSE
Sam: Okay, so you are sending me a prescription for PT. Do they x-rays show my bones healing and the screws still in tact and in place? Are there any other specifics you can give me regarding my healing process?
Dr. M.: YesPAUSE
Sam: Well, great catching up with you as always
CLICK
Want to know what I took out of this?
- No surgery in August, possibly rescheduling for December
- I should have ignored him months ago and started seeing a PT against his wishes
- The greater the surgeon the bigger the jerk
2 comments:
Sam - sorry you had such a rotten conversation with your Dr. :( Also, sorry that your healing as not gone so well - have you gone to a local doc where you are for follow-up? I know Dr Murphy is a great surgeon but may lack personality and bedside manner we sometimes want. I was just up in Boston for my screw removal with Dr Millis. He too is a tought man to get a hold of - but will usually get back with you. He called me the day before my removal and gave me his cell number after the removal and I was told to call him the next morning before I flew back to Florida. If you are truly unhappy with Dr Murphy's response - you could always try to go see Dr Millis about your other hip. (Or even the doc that did Lauren's hip).
So anyway - my screws came out (under local and some sedation) on Monday and they are HUGE!! Not sure what to do with them yet. I have pain where the incision is - but have my vicodin. :)
Hope your hip/hips feel better soon!
If your gut tells you to go to PT - then trust your gut and go.
Beth
OMG, I'm floored at this conversation you had with your doc. I'm so sorry you waited 2 months for that! I hope PT has started and you're well on your way to getting rid of that limp.
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