NEWS FROM THE FRONT

With partners in waiting after 5+ hrs at LAC USC. The lady in the center is  facing her 2nd recurrence w/ Cancer..  Of course in the same bunch before us was young man with simple cough and cold. 

So this past week have been mostly about going thru all the red tape to find care… My current destination is LAC-USC where I showed up early with all my paper work, and waited closed to 5hrs just to get a referral to see someone at the ENT department.

The day of my appointment I arrived about an hour earlier, still ended up waiting another 4 ½ hrs… and ended up having to cancel a call back for it. I don’t regret it, my priorities are straight and I know, I know, is like that everywhere. It is just the nature of things. But it is frustrating when you been waiting for a while, being bounce around from one department to the other, and just when you are about to finally be seen by a doctor a receptionist tells you that someone misspelled one letter in your name and because is not matching perfectly your ID, you need to go Medical Records, make a line and correct that before you get in line again to see a doctor. Aahhhh!!!

I finally got to see a first year ENT resident, really sweet and wanting to help. He took my history and all the test results. I was asked me to give them the actual biopsy slides, (where the Big “C” was discovered) so their pathology department can review them and make their own diagnosis…so I was able to get those from Kaiser. There was no attending or chief resident around, so now I just have to wait. They are going to review all the test results with their seniors and corresponding departments, and see me in about ten days. The residents explained that because this type of cancer is not very common and super unlikely for it to be in the ear… is imperative that they make sure it has been properly diagnosed. It makes sense.

The one piece of advice I got from another resident was to request another cd of my ct results, because, she said it would most likely get lost. I pleaded her for that please not to be the case with the biopsy slides, it was painful enough to get it the first time around.

The other interesting thing about hospitals, when you are in my situation is how they keep trying to avoid responsibility…I learned recently someone in my situation normally gets set up with a case manager, which is basically someone that does what I’m doing but that is familiar with all the red tape, and thus helps the patient navigate thru applications …Well the folks at  Kaiser claims it should be a case manager at USC, and USC said it should be at Kaiser because they diagnosed me…Oh Jesus!!! I’m just going to trust the saying that asking leads to Rome, and keep on knocking whatever doors I need.

In the meantime, when I’m not in a hospital, or making phone calls researching medical centers, I just tried to do what I would normally do… Well not all of it…This is actually kicking me to make some over due changes to try to help things along. I started wearing a Dr. Mercola Blue Tube headset, that my ultra health-cautious friend, Cathryn gave me. Supposedly it helps protect you about potential radiations that come from heavy use of cell phone…. and God knows I’m practically married to mine. Hey at least is a lot more comfy & with better audio than a blue tooth. More info at www.mercola.com - if anyone is interested.

I also put break to my weakness for fast foods, and started minimizing sugar in my diet. My cancer survivor, Manager, said that Sugar elimination is key !!! So there goes my love for Nica Libres, Mojitos...and Margaritas. I can do without the cake, but my dearest Flor de Canna, I’m sure missing you, missing you a lot.   

My sister Cecilia, who is pregnant with her first baby ;),  and I joke that right now we are pretty much following the same diet, as we are trying to wine down from coffee and have more green tea. The only thing, unlike her, I don’t have an amazing husband chef to cook the healthy dishes…  And not even Cancer can seem to cure my severe allergy for the kitchen. I would gladly clean the bathroom anytime instead of trying to cook. So this is probably the biggest change for me. My dear friend Susan, is trying to give me tips on recipes that even some like me –with no culinary gene – can do.  So yes, any really easy recipes and that are also quick, I’m all ears.  Otherwise is going to be mostly bananas and apples from now on…  

 

I know I don’t always get a chance to reply right away for all you that have reach out. But I do so appreciate the support you are showing me and my family…As well as your suggestions. Honestly it does make a big huge difference.

 Tomorrow I’ll be back at LAC-USC, not to see a doctor, but to be able to complete more necessary paper work… I’m aiming to get there by 6:00 am….It should be fun, for sure at least it is a huge mine fill for character research…Have a good week everyone