Frustration

Ok so now I want to sit in a corner and rock myself back and forth and remind myself that many have waited longer and are still waiting........................... But that still doesn't stop me from being mad.  I called the Assessment centre today to find out the status of my file like i usually do on about a weekly basis.  Last I was tol;d was waiting on Dr's dictated notes to be added.  When I called today I was then told told that Kelly the Nutritionist was on holidays for 2 weeks and they don't have her completed notes....... You have to be kidding me!!! I haven't seen Kelly in ages. What the hell has she been doing ???? So now I have to wait the 2 weeks untill she returns and then wait untill however long it takes to do the report from the nutrtionist then Ron has to review the file and THEN it will be sent to Hamilton.  So I wil guess no one will need to dust a spot on the bench for me for a few months at least

I have no words of advice - but damn, I would be frustrated too! Sorry to hear this news! 

So sorry to hear this, Bain.  I know you've been waiting a long time for this, and these types of unnecessary setbacks really suck, but keep bugging them - they just might finally get to it!

 Hi,

I am sorry to hear the bad news. At least your waiting is not as long as Quebec. I submitted my referral in Dec of 2008 and just got approved two months ago. Goodluck and I hope it happens sooner for you.

It sucks when what you want depends on the actions of others *****ally have no idea how important this is to you.  For them it's just a job and if they don't get around to it today, then oh well, it'll it get done at some point.  And meanwhile you are anxiously waiting, falsely believe that everything is moving along smoothly. 

I read your last post about Dr Abu-Bakkari.  I'm not a big fan of his.  My husband sees him because he is diabetic and to be approved for funding for his insulin pump he has to see the endocrinologist on a regular basis and Abu-Bakarri is the only one in town.  I've heard from other nurses and doctors that he is so overwhelmed with all of the paperwork and forms that need to be done for the insulin pump funding because they all have to be filled out by him...not a nurse or a family doctor, but him...and he is not at all happy about it.  So I think he puts a lot of stuff off and also think he "phones it in" a LOT.  At my husband's last appt he was upset with my husband because he said he hasn't had his blood work done since 2002!  My husband told him that he sees him regularly and it is he who orders the blood work which he has done about every 3 - 6months!  This was among other completely stupid things the doctor did and said during the appt.  But what do you do?  He's the only guy around and appts with him are necessary. 

When I went to meet with my surgeon before my surgery the only person I couldn't get in to see at the same time was the psychologist.  This was in December and they told me they could get me in to see him in January...but I didn't want to wait that long so I told them I'd just see someone in town and fax the results to them.  I got home, made an appt right away, was in to see the guy within 2 days and thought I'd be having surgery in no time.  Because I was seeing a guy in town and not in Duluth at the WLS clinic I had to pay out of pocket.  No big deal.  I figured the guy would just bill me and it would all be good.  In the meantime I kept calling his office, getting voicemail, and on the voicemail asking when the report would be done.  He never got back to me.  I called over and over again.  Finally I got a hold of someone and they told me that the report had been done for a couple of weeks but I had to pay for the appt first before they'd release it to me!  WHAT!  No one told me that, no one sent me a bill.  I would have paid it the day of the appt if I had known that.  And I definitely would have come right down to pay it if only they had answered their phones or returned their messages.  Needless to say, by the time I paid the $400, got the report in my hands and faxed it to the clinic, it was the same amount of time as if I had just gone to their appt in January. 

Anyway, I know how much waiting sucks, and it really sucks when they do these things which cause the wait to be longer.  However in the end, (and I know  you don't want to hear this, but here goes anyway) you will get your surgery, you will lose the weight and you will get to your goal before you even realize it.  And at that time it will seem like this wait was nothing.

Take care!

it's easier said than done, but I waited almost a year to the date from the time of approval from OHIP to my actual surgery date....and although at times I was anxious I took the time to read and learn as much as I could and to begin improve my eating habits, eliminated pop out of my diet and made other small changes.

Keep in mind you don;t know her (Kelly's) workload her issues or how many days a week she works, maybe she only works 2 days a week at that clinic, or maybe she took over someone else's workload in addition to her own..and we ALL know very well, that when someone goes on vacation or leave etc, RARELY is there anyone to pick up the slack..so unfortunatly the people waiting for items...well they get frustrated and righty so......service is service and we expect things in a timely manner...

How about calling and asking to speak to Kelly when she is due back and "kill her with kindness"       tell her that you are sure that she has lots of things to do, but if she could look and do your stuff soon you woudl REALLY appreciate it.

Today my mom had her regular INR app't at her cardiologists office when I told Kylee that Thursday weren't good for my mom...she said well I only have Fridays and Mondays and that would have to be at 2:15...which doens't fit..so I said I really need to have her do this on my lunch hour...to which Kylee responded okay just bring  her at 1:00

I thanked her for her flexibility...like I said "kill them with kindness"...

HUGS.....I hope that you will find many wonderful ways to pass the time until the "ball get rolling".

i am sorry to hear about your wait.....i have started this journey in march of 2010 and 16 months later i am still not done ......i finally have my operation aug 15 and that is if they dont cancel it if something comes up.....i have been waiting a year and after if not more to get this done and when i was in ottawa this last time ....there was a lady there waiting three years.....i thought my wait was long until i met her.......keep your chin up and keep going.....

I think you might be right about the few more months thing.  For me, it was just shy of 10 months from my orientation  beginning of October /10 to surgery last Friday, July 22.  I feel for you, I know how frustrating it is to wait, but it's only been 6 months since your orientation.  I believe that's the date the Ministry uses for their wait times - hopefully no longer than 12 months.  So according to that, you've got a bit of a wait yet.  But, if your file goes down within a month, things go pretty quick from that point, so it might be October-ish.  That's not so bad, right!!  Hang in there, however hard it may be.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it isn't a train!

Boy, no wonder you're frustrated! Don't you just find that one of the worst things about this process is having to wait for and rely on other people for what you need?  I know that they are likely very busy so I hate to crash on them but, geez, if they could only stop & really realize how it feels to be in our shoes & to have to wait for them to send in a report or something...I really  hope that you get things moving a little faster in the coming month or so, Bain! If nothing else, this journey certainly makes us learn to be patient, whether we want to or not.
PS - I would agree about calling Kelly when she returns and just totally "kill her with kindness". Ask about her vacation & be sure to tell her that you can't wait to hurry things along so that you can be fit enough to go on vacation too - LOL! Hey, who knows, maybe it will help light a fire......

Deb

dear Bain, I am sending to you a hug because I know exactly what you are going through HOWEVER hang in there and as all the others have said it will happen.  my story was one started 3 years before and was approved to go to Duluth then had that stopped while they set this centre up in tbay,  it was very frustrating and then like you i was following up on a regular basis to only find out that they sent out a letter saying please do not call .. we will call you.  i was not impressed and noted such to Ron and others at the presurgery session.  anyways all that to say that i am a firm believer that things happen for a reason and in due time. i know may think i am crazy however in the end it was good for me. i finally did get my date abd everything had fallen into place and I am now 3 weeka out from the surgery. 

I also know that when i was talking to some of the staff there they have more than 400+ patients and then some which means that their workload is very heavy.  i also know regardless of those things our file needs to be moved along. once Kelly has done what she needs to do, i know they have daily reviews of all files and then again on Fridays so hopefully yours will be there sooner then later.  i do know that Ron is open to receiving calls so keep on him. 

hang in there and soon you will be on the bench with us too