Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Dreaded Appointment

So, do you remember the horrible last appointment with Dr. K. in August where she embarrassed me in front of my family and was not the doctor I knew? It is the reason I am seeing the counselor (who is also a life coach and I am rather enjoying our visits!) because she thought I needed help dealing with a chronic illness. She referred to me having to leave my job OVER 10 YEARS AGO. I have come so far, have learned so much and have created a new life.

On Monday, I received a private email from Dr. K. thanking me for all my work with other people struggling with ILDs and my work with the Board. Wow. So unexpected.

I was not looking forward to seeing her yesterday. The counselor had prepped me for the visit with fantastic strategies. I kept reviewing them in my head: calm, breathe, both feet on the floor, back to the back of the chair and not lean in, don't just talk but wait for her and so much more.

The morning appointment with the nutritionist went really well. I have maintained the same, exact weight for over a year. Down to the .0. I will see him again in a couple of months. Off I drove to the other campus, had a quick bite of lunch and worked my way to the chest clinic. It was marvelous to be welcomed by everyone! Michael and I had spoken with the staff at their retreat months ago and the entire staff came by to say hello as I was checking in. A good start.

As I was walking to my chair to wait for the appointment, Dr. K. was walking down the hallway, thanked me again and HUGGED ME. Yes, you read that right. This is not a warm, fuzzy human. This was stunning to me and almost threw me off my game! I was expected a drilling and I got a hug?!?

She called me in, I sat, hands folded and not speaking and we began. Calm. She was marvelous. She reviewed my entire medical file. After listening to my lungs, she upped the prednisone and added an antibiotics as something was beginning to brew.

This was not at all what I had anticipated. It was surreal. It was marvelous.

I will meet her again in three months. We will see if the trend continues!

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