Friday, February 03, 2006
On the first of Feb., I got to see an electrophysiologist at Johns Hopkins - one of the reasons we moved up here to Baltimore!!
My regular cardiologist over in Howard County had referred me, and this EP had an opening relatively soon in his schedule. I swear, the longest part of the whole deal was waiting in lines once I got to Johns Hopkins Outpatient Clinic. First you walk in the lobby and wait in a check-in line, to then be told that since you are new you have to go wait in another line to get a "history card" after which you are finally permitted to approach the elevators and go up to the correct floor, where you wait in line for a floor concierge to direct you to the correct wing, where you finally wait in line at the check-in desk for the group of doctors you are actually there to see. At each and every one of these stops, you wind up repeating your name, and your mother's maiden name, and the first 6 digits of pi, and... well, not quite that, but an awful lot of repetitive info - especially given that I had already given all this info during not one, but TWO phone calls the previous week.
Then I got to sit in a waiting area - there are several of them in the cardiology pod, each with at least one more person waiting than there are chairs. I did get a chair, however, and got some knitting done. I am finished with the first wrist-warmer made out of self-striping sock yarn for my friend Fade!! Yeeha!
And in other good news, Dr. Sinha is sure that he can indeed put the third lead in, so that I will have bi-V pacing finally, and he is quite convinced that he can persuade my insurance to pay for it. The fact that my EF is still only 21%, when after 3 years and all the medication and so forth they would expect it to improve to 30%, is prima facie evidence that something needs to be done.
So something will be done, on Thursday, March 2. I have to be there at 6:30 a.m. - I told him I would not even need a sedative, let alone anesthesia, at that hour. Anyway, I am sure they will phone at least once more to ask all the same questions over again about my name and medications and mother's maiden name and pi and the lost treasures of the Incas.
My regular cardiologist over in Howard County had referred me, and this EP had an opening relatively soon in his schedule. I swear, the longest part of the whole deal was waiting in lines once I got to Johns Hopkins Outpatient Clinic. First you walk in the lobby and wait in a check-in line, to then be told that since you are new you have to go wait in another line to get a "history card" after which you are finally permitted to approach the elevators and go up to the correct floor, where you wait in line for a floor concierge to direct you to the correct wing, where you finally wait in line at the check-in desk for the group of doctors you are actually there to see. At each and every one of these stops, you wind up repeating your name, and your mother's maiden name, and the first 6 digits of pi, and... well, not quite that, but an awful lot of repetitive info - especially given that I had already given all this info during not one, but TWO phone calls the previous week.
Then I got to sit in a waiting area - there are several of them in the cardiology pod, each with at least one more person waiting than there are chairs. I did get a chair, however, and got some knitting done. I am finished with the first wrist-warmer made out of self-striping sock yarn for my friend Fade!! Yeeha!
And in other good news, Dr. Sinha is sure that he can indeed put the third lead in, so that I will have bi-V pacing finally, and he is quite convinced that he can persuade my insurance to pay for it. The fact that my EF is still only 21%, when after 3 years and all the medication and so forth they would expect it to improve to 30%, is prima facie evidence that something needs to be done.
So something will be done, on Thursday, March 2. I have to be there at 6:30 a.m. - I told him I would not even need a sedative, let alone anesthesia, at that hour. Anyway, I am sure they will phone at least once more to ask all the same questions over again about my name and medications and mother's maiden name and pi and the lost treasures of the Incas.
