Assertiveness Pays Off

After writing the last post about anxiety, and also e-mailing my doctors, I figured I might as well try to call Heather again, because she is the gatekeeper on getting me in for the "gold seeds" consultation. 

I happened to catch her on the phone--and she was very nice and professional--and she said, "Oh, you're on my list of people to call today," which, at this point, wasn't good enough for me. 

However, we both stayed friendly, and I now have an appointment with a Dr. Ferguson for next Tuesday, which was the soonest they could get me in. I do think that is OK. Then it will take a day or two to schedule the appointment to actually place the seeds--this is a day surgery, I'm going to be loopy and will need a driver, so the sooner I have that date and time the better.

Then the cyberknife team has to wait a week for the seeds to heal, so that they don't move. After that I go in for the planning CT for the cyberknife, then Dr. Lee the Second (Cyberknife Guy) and his team spend a few days or a week doing the math, and then I'm on the table.

Thank goodness! 

Cyberknife will take five days of daily treatment, and possibly have some side effects like irritation to the bladder and also the bowel. I can deal with that. Also, last time I had cyberknife, I felt sickish for a few days afterward, which I believe was caused by dead cancer cells in my blood. It was a weird sensation, but now that I know it can happen, I will just take it easy for awhile after the treatment is over. 

Next step: E-mail my doctors and let them know that I have dealt with the problem but I'm also going to ask them to gently lean on Dr. Ferguson, the doctor I am seeing next week, to let him know that this is (I am) a patient who is in danger of losing control of her legs. My dog will be very unhappy if I have to walk him from a wheelchair. Not to mention me.

Jeanne Sather 2010. 

Comments

[Stephanie]

So very glad you took the Bull by the horns and made the phone call till you got through.

Sometimes this is the ONLY way to preserve our sanity - to take some action, be assertive!

Once we have made some progress we can settle down a little and relax into other activities we need to handle.

Hope the Xanax has done it work now.

[Jeanne]

Thanks, Steph.

I'd waited 24 hour for a call back, so why should I wait longer? But that's a hard lesson to learn, because we've all been taught to be "nice girls."

My journalism training helped me get over this. If I needed to talk to someone, I would call every day and leave a message until I got through. The trick is never to get mad, always to accept their apology for not calling back sooner--in fact, to brush it off (Oh, I know you're busy ...) But to stay persistent.

When I was a wire service reporter, covering breaking news, I would call every 10 minutes, even though I had left a message the previous time. I would also ask to be put on hold till the person I wanted/needed to talk to was available.

In those days, my job was on the line, so I got good at it. Now, my life is on the line, so I hope I'm even better at getting what I need in a timely fashion.

[Jeannie]

Waiting more than 24 hours can be agonizing when time is of the essence. I’m so glad you were able to make contact.

Your journalism training paid off yet again, and I hope sharing your trials helps others reading your blog.

Take care,
Jeannie