my ma
So, I went with my Ma to my doctor today. Christ. What you don’t know can kill you. She has been going to our local VA Clinic for well on 8 plus years now. Because of the way this clinic is set up, they only offer doctor visit’s and lab work. All other care is ‘resourced’ out to the larger clinics in big cities that are at least an hour and a half drive from us. Even for a simple x-ray. So, we decided to get her back in with her old doctor (my doctor, & her’s before she went with the VA).
Anyway, when the doc came in, she asked if she was aware of a heart murmur or any other type of heart problems? I promptly said NO. She said that our nurse (we have two of the greatest nurses ever in that office) caught something while taking her blood pressure. Taking her blood pressure! You know how they take the blood pressure at the VA Clinic? With a machine. There is no human touch. No human contact at all. No one listening closely. So the doc listened to her heart and said there was a problem. She did an EEG right there in the office. My Ma has arrhythmia. So tomorrow we go to the hospital for an Echo-Cardiogram. Who knows how long this has been going on. Or how long it would have continued if she hadn’t seen this doctor. Ma will be 70 this year. This should have been a routine test done some time ago. I’m sure budget cuts play an important role in what is done as ’routine’ , but please. I can’t decide if I’m frustrated over the lack of care that this country gives it’s veterans and dependants, or just thankful that we got in, got it caught, and are moving in the right direction now.
We shall see what tomorrow brings us.