Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Local Woman Stabbed Numerous Times

I have survived my fine-needle thyroid biopsy. HooRah!

Not that it was a pleasant experience. The Doc said it would take about 30 minutes for the procedure, but it was actually about 45 minutes. I arrived around 8:10 to go through admitting. Wonder of wonders, I was the only one there, and was taken right in, which is quite different from my radioactive iodine test where I was fifth in line to get my paperwork.

From there, Optimist H and I proceeded to the radiology sitting area, where the mother of a student popped over to visit. Not that I minded, because it passed the 10 minutes that I had to wait, and took my mind off my predicament. What I minded was the receptionist from my gyno's office, walking through on her way up to the 4th floor, who stopped in front of me to ask if I was there for a test. Not that it was her business. There is such a thing as HIPAA, or whatever that dealybob is called. So I didn't have to answer her, but being an honest type of gal, I did. She looked a bit displeased. I told her I was still keeping my appointment with the ENT she referred me to next Wednesday, and that he would be getting a copy of the results, as well as my gyno, who just may or may not be her husband. She editorialized a bit snippily that Gyno could access them on his computer, and that the reason they don't usually do this fine-needle test is because often times you do not get enough tissue. I'm thinking it's because the fine-needle test is less expensive than the coarse-needle test, but that's just how my mind works. What difference is it to her which test I have? I'm sure the ENT can still recommend the other test if he thinks there is not enough info.

Here's the thing...I am the one who has to decide what course of treatment I want. It makes no matter to me that Gyno and Doc may have friction between them, or jealousy, or a sweet kickback deal with their referrals. I like each one of them for their very different bedside manners, and I'm not going to be put in the middle like an after-thought in their divorce. Doc says he has a lot of thyroid nodules in his practice, and that the hospital lab does these fine-needle tests for him all the time. Gyno's receptionist (who may or may not be his wife, she of the same name as that signed on Gyno's patient Christmas cards) says he is very cautious with his patients, and refers them to the new young hotshot ENT. When I asked Gyno how many people he had sent to Hotshot, he told me "Three." To me, that's not a lot. Anyhoo, if Hotshot doesn't want to advise me according to the fine-needle test, I'm thinkin' I need a second opinion. From what I've read, a fine-needle biopsy gives more info than a radioactive iodine scan, which is what Gyno sent me for in the beginning.

Now that the preliminaries are out of the way...I am bored with the subject, and will make you wait until tomorrow to hear about my neck-stabbing. Let it suffice to say that I am fine right now, except for the feeling that my neck has suffered numerous stabbings. I am going to get a bag of ice to throw on it for 20 minutes, and kick back in my recliner and watch The Shining, which the #1 son paid Amazon $9.99 to download, after I forbade him to download it for free from The Pirate Bay. Dot org. Which he says everyone will know what it is, just put 'TPB' for short. I told him old people like me do NOT know that site, and that you might as well call it Illegal Downloading Arrest Me Now.

I'm not paying $1.92 million for that boy's criminal activities! I have a thyroid to raise.

2 comments:

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Okay, the receptionist is the one who is questioning your judgement? I would have had to put her in her place! Enjoy the movie.... well, as much as one can enjoy The Shining without having weird dreams all night!

Hillbilly Mom said...

Kathy,
Now that you spell it out for me, that is actually absurd. I really think she is the gyno's wife, what with acting like her opinion matters and all.

My buddy Mabel called right when we started the movie, so I missed about a 45-minute chunk of it. Funny thing... it took the #1 son 45 minutes to get it working on the big screen. He was fiddling with two different laptops and the satellite receiver and the dvd player and a little speaker. I don't know how he did it. But Mabel had her timing honed down to the second. We were in the opening credits, that cliffhanging drive through the mountains to the Overlook Hotel. Since I had seen it already, I didn't miss much.