I’ve had my fill of the medical world these past few weeks. The Medical Director of Max Health, their parent corporation, stubbornly denied my referral to a Tampa surgeon, despite insistent phone calls to my physician, insurance company, and numerous support folks. I could tell they were tired of my calls when a receptionist accidentally failed to put me on hold, and I clearly heard their comments in the background. The Medical Director, concerned solely for keeping the business in their network ultimately cost them the business of both my wife and me, as I immediately switched to another Primary Care Physician and Millenium Group, despite the fact that we both liked the former doctor. I will now see if this new group will make the referral or if I have to wait until January 1 when my PPO kicks in. 

The difference in professionalism between the larger hospital in Tampa and the Regional hospital in Sarasota was night and day. As a small example, I came home from the Sarasota Hospital with a crude hand-drawn sketch of the procedure they were going to perform compared to the life-size model and four-color brochure that Tampa provided. Plus, they gave me hope that the chest incision might be much smaller than the full open-heart opening that was discussed in Sarasota. This means recovery time could be quicker. The level of experience with the surgeon and staff was also much higher. I’m already grateful that my wife’s family, comprised of several Cardiovascular experts, has pushed me to the bigger city. 

The only promising news here is that my Running Streak continues on, so it’s more and more likely that I will make my 15th anniversary. After the surgery, the doctor said that it will probably be twelve weeks before my broken sternum will have healed enough to withstand the jarring of jogging. Whether I will start another streak is questionable after that long of a layoff. 

Depending on the insurance and related referral snafus, I will have this surgery either in December or January. The surgeon mentioned that if I were to live in Great Britian, it would be a year-and-a-half wait, easing my wife’s concerns about urgency. I’m having no symptoms, so there’s no need to rush into the process without gathering all the pertinent information. It also gives me some time to work out a new plan for my prostrate surgery that was originally scheduled for late next week but has also run into a snag. It’s part of a clinical study that after all these tests and visits that I’ve made with this my second urology group has suddenly found a discrepancy in my subjective answers to their questionnaires about the urgency of my symptoms that could exclude me from the study. 

I did the first questionnaire, wasting my time on similar paperwork for my first urologist, after a two-hour drive to their office. I had to make this lengthy drive because the initial local office closed after accepting me into the study, so I had to seek another group. I felt like my bladder was going to burst as I tried to fill out the redundant forms. At that point, I was also taking medication for the condition, so the answers were probably dramatically different than those I gave on the second visit while I was off the meds. I don’t understand how this paperwork could ultimately exclude me from the surgery, considering all the other tests that they ran on me.

The whole clinical test is sounding more and more like a cruel scam. If they ultimately decide not to let me continue, it will be too late to get my prostrate problems resolved before the heart surgery. This means months and months more of uncomfortable bladder issues while lacking my current mobility. My entire rehab will consist of getting to and from the bathroom without assistance. Then, it will be time to go again… and again.