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Friday, March 18, 2011

Bits and Pieces: My First "Fail Whale" Award

Twitter Fail Whale is backImage by playerx via Flickr
If you use Twitter, you mostly probably have seen him: The Fail Whale. He is the image you get when Twitter is over capacity and you aren't able to post your tweet. He is a creation of artist YiYing Lu (@yiyinglu) and his purpose is to bring a bit of levity to a moment of frustration with Twitter.

Now blame it on the time change, or the weather or that fact that I have been really busy both last week and this week, but I find myself in a grumpy mood and stuck ruminating about some fail whale moments that occurred in the past few weeks.

So I thought 'What better way to get over my grumpy mood than to hand out the occasional Fail Whale Award to the people who inspired this mood in me.'

And The Fail Whale Goes to ... Doctor S.

I had an appointment with a new rheumatologist. It's been a while since I have been seen by one for my fibromyalgia, mostly because the last one wasted my time and didn't do a whole lot for me. As fate would have it, this new doctor just so happened to share office space with the last rheumatologist I had seen. That was a little weird, but since
I heard good things about this new rheumatologist from two different and reliable sources, I decided to give him a try. So I finally made an appointment...

Now if you live with chronic illness, you know what a big deal going to a doctor's appointment is. So I was pretty proud of myself for arriving on time and keeping myself together. That is, until the receptionist discovered that I had been seen by the other doctor in the office.

You see, these two doctors have a policy: they don't see patients that the other one has seen. And apparently, they don't let new patients know that up front. So the long and the short of this story is: I was refused to be seen by Dr. S.

Saying I was pissed doesn't begin to describe how upset I was. Most of all, I was mad I had wasted my precious energy to go to this appointment
and then be handed such an unexpected outcome.

But after I cooled off for a moment, I remembered a sign in this doctor's office: We charge $100 dollars for missed appointments. This was definitely a sign that, no matter how good he might have been, this wasn't the right doctor for me.

If you live in the Los Angeles area and want to know the names of the doctors I am talking about, contact me. Because I will tell you who they are.

Sick Chick Tip: The next time you find you are one of those little birds trying to hold up a huge whale, just forget it and drop the string. Those fail whales are too heavy for you and just not worth your precious effort and energy.

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5 comments

Jamee @ A New Kind of Normal said...

Holy cow! That is AWFUL!!! Why would they have not told you that upfront? Did your records not pull up when they made the appointment? I would have been LIVID!

Headstrong said...

Ee GADS! That's awful! Frustrated Fail Whale, indeed! So sorry you used up precious energy for such an unrewarding activity! And I hope there are a few less Fail Whales on the horizon this weekend!
Cheers,
Headstrong

Emily said...

That's terrible - I agree, why couldn't they have told you before you came to the appointment?

I think you should totally complain to their office manager. They should know how ridiculous things are & how their 'patients' feel about it.

Felicia Fibro said...

If they are going to set such a strict rule they should warn you at the time of making an appointment! I'm sorry you had to deal with their unprofessional behavior! Your "Sick Chick Tip" at the end is cute and true!

Sharon Stevens said...

Selena,
I go to a great MD/holistic doctor in Torrance, CA that is AWESOME!!

His name is Moses Laufer at the Holtorf Medical Group.

They do not accept insurance..you have to pay upfront and bill your insurance yourself, and depending on the type of insurance you have,
they are on the non-preferred doctor list as they are a bit pricey, but SO worth the cost!! Soon all good doctors will go this route.

I have been with him for the last 3 years and he has helped me tremendously! Give him a try
www.holtorfmedicalgroup.com
Best,
Sharon