After four months of appointments, blood tests and scans of the expensive kind, I’m no closer to understanding what I’ve got than when my GP sent me my ultrasound report. So on Tuesday I decided to take more control of my situation. I wrote a letter with all my unanswered questions to the consultant and took a copy to my GP.
The GP thing was the best move ever as she was appalled that I didn’t have any answers to fairly straightforward questions.
Then the specialist phoned me at home to ask about the letter and STILL didn’t answer any of the questions. He really doesn’t get it and I think I’ve run into a huge cultural wall. I’m just not sure which one.
Is it just that he’s a medical specialist and I’m a medical nothing?
Is it that he’s a man who doesn’t like to be questioned by women?
Is it more that he’s a man from a very male dominated Asian culture and I’m a woman?
At first I was blaming the “Canadian in Britain” thing but I’ve worked with a few specialists over the years and not one has been anything other than polite, respectful of my questions and informative. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve had such a positive experience of all things NHS (National Health Service) that this has really stunned me.
Anyway, after having told me that my case would go to a committee of other specialists, it now seems that he’s going to have a chat with the radiologist. Not good enough.
I’m off to Canada for a month but will be in touch with my GP and insist on seeing a real liver specialist when I get back. I was almost ready to collapse into a depressed heap over this until the husband reminded me that I need to fight for my own health and peace of mind.
So that’s what I’m going to do.
I’m also going to hold steady on the weight thing. I’m still around 144lbs – pretty much where I wanted to be. I don’t want weight loss confusing health issues right now. I am, however, going to get as much fresh air as possible and just walk all I can in daily life until I’m back.
In the mean time, there’s SO MUCH to do before I go.
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