The reason one establishes a doctor is for when there is something truly wrong. Not just an errant pimple, but something really, really bad. It's then that you expect the doctor, who has devoted her life to serving others, to really step up to the plate.
When I called on Thursday at 2:00, having come from the internal medicine with a tentative diagnosis of ""parasites"" (with meds and three types of bodily substance analysis) and a bloody, rashy torso - from underarms to elbows to chest to hands - that the internal medicine doctor said he had really no idea what it was, and handed me cortisone - well - this was the time I expect my dermatologist to come through. Blood, cracks in skin and probable parasitic invasion? Surely this was the time Dr. Nixon could shine.
I called the office and explained my situation. While I wasn't expecting outright panic, I was expecting some concern. Apparently there was a 3:15 appointment. I was hopeful. The receptionist went to the back - oh, apparently the doctor was leaving early. Well, then someone could see me Friday, yes? There are two doctors? Possibly Indian Trail office? No, she said - possibly if there was a cancellation. Monday be okay? Four days out? With crawling skin and bloody arms and chest? Sure.
I don't give a damn if my doctor goes to Harvard or Yale. I give a damn that my doctor cares, knows and tries. That the office people are instructed that when a patient bloody well has a bloody problem, that they are to do everything possible to get that patient help. My father was a small-town doctor, and his life was devoted to the service that appears in a crunch - when Maggie's test shows aggressive cancer, and he calls her at 10:00 p.m. (he is still there testing her tissue) to get her to the hospital immediately. So my dermatologist - who sees slow cancers and chronic acne and warts - my dermatologist had the chance to use her knowledge for good so that I wouldn't have to throw myself on unknowledgable Urgent Care, and instead she's leaving early. Gotta find the good doctors who will be there when it counts.
more