[TheForge] the doctor dance OT was Long time no read

[terry l. ridder]

Hello Peter;

ah yes the doctor dance. This all relates back to the head-on-collision
back in 2007. The hospital which had me in ICU in august 2007 placed an
temporary IVC filter in me. 2008 I receive a letter from the hospital
saying that it should be removed. I request the VA hospital Vascular
doctors to remove it. The VA Vascular doctor refuses to remove it.

Fast forward to 2010, the IVC filter is recalled because it has a bad
habit of migrating (medical term)/moving (common folk term). FDA, issues
a medical alert concerning IVC Filters saying that they should be
removed when no longer required/needed. VA Hospital Vascular doctors
again refuse to remove it.

Fast forward to 2013. While x-raying the left hip and left femur to
check on the titanium rods, screws and such, the x-ray tech notices that
the IVC filter is not visible on the x-rays and it should be. The next
week the Chief Medical Office of the VA hospital calls me and says yes
they will remove it but first they have to find it. Many  X-rays and 1
CAT scan later they find it. It is partially entered my heart and
several "legs" of the filter are protruding through the wall of the IVC.
It is unknown whether it would move again or if it is "stuck". If it were
to move again the chances are that I drop dead from a massive heart
attack amd there is no joy in doing that. So now It is July 2013 and I
have been dealing with this since late March.

I call these doctors the clueless idiotic butchers. they have scheduled
surgery 4 times and have yet to get their act together.

The first time they scheduled the surgery they failed to read my entire
medical records and overlooked that fact that I was still on
Warfarin/Rat Poisin. They cut on me I bleed out in short order and there
is no joy in doing that. I pointed this out to them and they said they
would call me right back. They called back in about 5 minutes and
without missing a beat said that they had a scheduling change and would
not be able to do surgery the next day as planned. Was taken off the
Warfarin/Rat Poison.

The next time checked in the hospital and had all the pre-op tests were
done in the operating room all hooked up to IVs and eeg, Heart-lung
machine on standby in case needed. They are ready to knock me out when
one of the doctors comes into the operating room and says; "We have a
problem." to which I said "No you have a problem, I can still leave. You
are one of the few occupations that get away with burying your
mistakes." The doctor did not think it was fun . He said; "The surgical
tool that we absolutely have to have to ensure that we are able to
remove this IVC filter from your heart is compromised. Someone used it
for a demo, put it back in the wrapper back in the box and back into the
surgical supply cabinet. They were trying to obtain one from a nearby
hospital but so far 6 hospitals would not lend them one." I turned to
the surgical nurses and said "Ladies it has been nice chatting with you
but i have a pressing appointment with my lawyers to attend to." and
winked at them. They quickly disconnected me and wheeled me back to the
ICU surgery floor where they were all a buzz about the events in the
operating room. The doctor was given the task of explaining to my family
as to why they screwed up yet again. My middle daughter was livid with
the clueless idiotic butchers. She gave them absolutely no quarter. Full
on verbal assault. I wish i could have heard the exchange.

The third time, they clueless idiotic butchers overbooked the operating
room. Seriously, where did these butchers go to school.

the fourth time, the one doctor just wimped out. said he was not up to
performing surgery that day and we would have to reschedule for a 5th
try.

right now I am looking at going to the University of Pennsylvania
Medical School and have a doctor there who has removed several hundred
of these IVC filters from people remove it.

Getting yourself prepared mentally to have someone muck about in your
chest once is difficult enough. Twice is borderline abuse. Three times
is beyond words. Four times, you are just white knuckled.

On Thu, 11 Jul 2013, Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer wrote:

> Much as playing with 1" plate steel and big cables sounds great fun...
> The ocean is so much bigger than people, that we are insignificant,
> that  her smallest perturbations can casually end our lives.
> Fighting that is a fool's errand.
> Good luck with your doctor dance.
>
>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>