Besides the car breaking down (which is now fixed, thank goodness), I've been wild-goose chasing with the various doctors who see Nolan. Monday night, I received an automated appointment confirmation call from the ENT. I confirmed the appointment and was glad to be all set in that area.
Caller ID told me the ENT was on the phone this morning. The office person there asked if we had any of the tests performed since our previous visit. Our last visit was when Nolan was 8 weeks old, and I had done every test she ordered.
"Did you do the EKG?" asks the office person.
"Yep. In early November. It's done."
"We don't have any record of it. I'll have to call the hospital to get a record."\
"OK- it was done. I haven't heard anything back."
"Did you do the urinalysis?"
"Yep. At the pediatrician's office in early November."
"No record of that, either. We'll call and get it."
Then she asks about the hearing exams:
"Did you ever do the diagnostic ABR?"
"You have no record of that?"
"No. They never sent us anything."
"I have all the records- I'm picking up aids tomorrow so I can get extra copies."
"Great- bring copies. We'll put them in his files. Did you do the CT scan?"
Now this is where I get frustrated!
"No, the ENT never ordered the CT scan."
"Oh, do you still want to come in? We can't do anything without the CT scan!"
"Yes, I still want to come in. She said we'd do the CT scan at the next visit, and this is the next visit."
There was more hullaballoo about needing insurance approval and the feeling that I would be wasting the ENT's time, but I don't care. I need someone else to look at Nolan's head and if I cancel this appointment, I have a feeling MORE things will get lost and put off.
The most fabulous moms (and dads) at listen-up.org suggested I create a binder with all of Nolan's medical reports, since lack of communication between the physicians is common. I have all of his hearing related things, but none of his medical things. I'll make sure to get some copies at this next appointment!
3 comments:
I'm frustrated for you just reading this! I'm not quite sure why the ENT needs a CT scan to see Nolan. Drew didn't have his until he was over 6 months old (easier for sedation), and he was a CI canidate!
A binder is an excellent idea! I keep everything filed in there. It makes you feel much more organized and when you are at an appointment and they don't have a copy of a report you can just pull it out and have them copy it on the spot.
When I saw the ENT originally, she wanted to wait until he was older for the CT scan. I have a feeling the office person is a bit confused- Nolan was just 8 weeks at the first meeting and the ENT said we'd schedule it later. It is amazing how quickly a group of doctors and their cadre can make you feel like an incompetent moron, though!
We went in at 3 months to see an ENT up at Children's Hospital in Denver (after seeing a local regular ENT) and she recommended doing a CT scan for Luca just to make sure everything looked ok in the ear. It seemed pretty routine for her with a child with a hearing loss. She was a pediatric ENT that specialized in ears specifically.
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