I\u2019m about up to here with the sue-er people.\u00a0 You know those people, right? The \u201cI slipped on a grape and now I\u2019m going to own all your stuff\u201d kind of people? Those people are not my favorite.\u00a0 They\u2019re responsible for taking this whole bad situation with #4 and making it about 11 times harder than it ever needed to be.\u00a0 Because of them, the medical people are all afraid of being sued.<\/p>\n
Like yesterday.\u00a0 Oh my goodness.\u00a0 Yesterday\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n
Hang on while I back the ADD train up and get you up to speed.<\/p>\n
#4 has JRA (for those of you who are new.\u00a0\u00a0 Hi, new people!).\u00a0 She\u2019s 7 and has been on methotrexate (a chemotherapy drug) for a month now.\u00a0 With no results.\u00a0 Zip.\u00a0 Nada.\u00a0 Bupkiss.\u00a0 In fact she\u2019s gotten worse.\u00a0 (Both knees, two toes, an ankle and a foot) Monday, we made the hour long trek down to Scottish Rite hospital to meet with her rheumatologist.\u00a0 (I\u2019m going to start calling her Dr. Rheumy.)\u00a0 Dr Rheumy prescribed an immuno-suppressant to add to the chemo to try and stop the destruction of her joints.\u00a0 (It\u2019s a lot to take in.\u00a0 Stop when you need to\u2026\u2026ready to keep going?\u00a0 Good.) The only hitch in our giddy-up was that if she happened to have Tuberculosis, it would be really ugly, so they tested her.<\/p>\n
Have you ever had a TB test before? I hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 It\u2019s a shot.\u00a0 Another one.\u00a0 They put the gunk under the skin on your arm and then wait 48 hours to see what it does.\u00a0 If you get an injection site bruise, you\u2019re healthy.\u00a0 If is gets red, swollen, and lumpy\u2026..you need to see a doctor.\u00a0 So they placed it at the hospital and said that her pediatrician could read it, or a nurse, or a PA, or just about any medical person with extra letters after their name.\u00a0 They sign the paper; we fax it in; she starts the new medication.\u00a0 Easy Peasy.<\/p>\n
They lied.\u00a0 Because, you see, they\u2019d forgotten about the sue-er people.\u00a0 (You knew I\u2019d get to them eventually.)<\/p>\n
I called our family doctor on Wed just before lunch to see if we could pop in to have him take a look and sign the paper.\u00a0 (It\u2019s the one benefit of having a sick kid. The doctor becomes a friend.\u00a0 He even lets me call him Travis, which is kinda weird because his name is Steve.)<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d Travis said.\u00a0 \u201cThe medical group that owns the office won\u2019t let me read any TB test I haven\u2019t placed.\u00a0 If I could, I\u2019d swing by your house and do it on my way home so that you don\u2019t have to drag the whole crew out with you, but they won\u2019t let me.\u00a0 I\u2019d be fired if I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d asked the incredulous me. \u201cWhy would they fire you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if I read it, then I\u2019m guaranteeing that the test was done right.\u00a0 If it wasn\u2019t, then you could sue<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 We both know I won\u2019t, but I let it drop.\u00a0 He was genuinely sorry, and I\u2019m not going to jeopardize his family for a dumb TB test that the hospital said anyone could read.\u00a0 (The truth is that the day may come when I ask him to stand on principle with us and risk his job.\u00a0 I\u2019m saving that atomic option for the big stuff.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t big.\u00a0 Yet.)<\/p>\n
So I went across the street to CVS because they have a clinic.\u00a0 The P.A. looked at #4\u2019s arm and confidently said, \u201cThat\u2019s a negative test result.\u201d<\/p>\n
To which I replied, \u201cGreat.\u00a0 Can you sign the paper that says that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, no ma\u2019am.\u00a0 It\u2019s against out policy.\u00a0 If I signed that you could sue me.\u201d<\/p>\n
So I went to the ER clinic thing down the way.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s definitely a negative test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you sign?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNuh-uh.\u00a0 I\u2019d get fired.\u00a0 You could sue us.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time I got to the last clinic near us (yes, I realize it would have been faster to drive the hour to downtown Dallas\u2026..I get it NOW.\u00a0 Yesterday I was looking for a little easier.)\u00a0 The super nice doctor looked at #4 and repeated the now familiar words.\u00a0 \u201cShe doesn\u2019t have TB, but I can\u2019t sign your paper.\u00a0 I\u2019d get fired and you could sue.\u201d<\/p>\n
My daughter looked up at me with an exasperated huff and said \u201cWhy can\u2019t anyone help us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s because we\u2019re looking for healers, my love, and they\u2019ve all been replaced by bureaucrats.\u201d<\/p>\n
So we made the hour drive for the less than 5 minute exam and then the hour drive home.\u00a0 What should have taken 10 minutes at a local doctor\u2019s office had taken over 6 hours, but at least we now had the new prescription to take to the pharmacy.<\/p>\n
When I went back to pick up her refills and the new one, the pharmacy tech said \u201cI\u2019m sorry Mrs Frech.\u00a0 You\u2019ll have to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there a problem?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pharmacist isn\u2019t here and she has to counsel you on the methotrexate.\u00a0 It\u2019s company policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe already did.\u00a0 Last month.\u00a0 This is a refill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has to do it every time. We can\u2019t give you the medication until she checks the box that says she read the warning information to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same script as last month?\u00a0 Why can\u2019t you read it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a pharmacist.\u00a0 I\u2019m not qualified.\u00a0 If I did it and you didn\u2019t understand what I said\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI could sue?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, ma\u2019am. You could.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m about up to here with the sue-er people.\u00a0 You know those people, right? The \u201cI slipped on a grape and now I\u2019m going to own all your stuff\u201d kind of people? Those people are not my favorite.\u00a0 They\u2019re responsible for taking this whole bad situation with #4 and making it about 11 times harder […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1979,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n