What a Day
A novella featuring a day in which nothing goes well and everything is wrong, perfectly capping off two bad weeks.
Today I had an appointment for the orthopedic doctor for my shoulders. Carless, I had to take buses. Living in Queens, this sucks ass. When I reached the bus stop, my Bus Checker app told me it wouldn't come for 20 minutes, so I started walking through the slush and snow to get 0.7 miles to my next bus line's stop.
Two weeks, exactly, after the last time, my left ankle buckled, this time while I was struggling through ankle-deep slush, and threw me to the ground. I even hit the exact same spot on my right knee; the swelling from last time hadn't even completely dissipated yet. I'd just stopped wearing the ankle brace all the time two days ago. I painfully limped the last .03 mile to the bus stop. In one bit of luck, the bus arrived two minutes after I did. But since I wasn't familiar with the route and couldn't see through the fogged up, snowy windows, I overshot the stop I needed to get off at and had to walk 0.5 miles through ice, snow, and slush to the doctor's office. At least I put an ankle brace on while riding on the bus, even though I worried what other people would think seeing me taking off my boot and sock to do so.
It's still snowing as I do all this. I'd also further hurt my already hurting left shoulder worse flailing on the way to the ground during my fall. It still hurts worse tonight.
Having given myself a lot of extra time to get there, I arrived at the doctor's reception desk 10 minutes before the appointment was scheduled to begin. Filled out a lot of forms, saw the doctor, who analyzed the MRI images I brought with me, the ones I got after falling on my way there two weeks ago. He saw inflammation and tendinitis. Told me to take NSAIDS (which I've already been doing) and gave me a referral to a rheumatologist and physical therapy. Also gave me one for a foot doctor since I mentioned my falls and rotten ankles to him. And that's it: I had to wait two weeks for a five-minute appointment that didn’t do me any immediate good. I killed myself trying to get here for this.
Another bit of good luck, as I got out the bus I needed to take to get home arrived and even waited for me to limp to the stop so I could get on.
I got home and called the rheumatologist's office. The closest appointment available is 9 am on March 22; after that I'd have to wait until April for another appointment. It's a good thing I'm accustomed to living in pain. Since it was after 3 pm(?!?), neither the foot doctor nor the pain management office had anyone there so I couldn't make appointments for either. (For pain management, I still need to get my Nortriptyline prescribed before I run out of my last bottle, but I'm going to have to use mass transit so I want to go to the closer office in New Hyde Park. Also, fuck my cowardly, unfeeling doctor who's only in Syosset and only one day a week who completely let me down. I'm not a fan of the New Hyde Park office though, so I probably need to find a new pain management doctor, something I can't do immediately because I have so much on my plate right now and I currently need my meds immediately.) I have to figure out where I'm going to go for physical therapy, since my PT 1.6 miles away was easier to get to and come home from when I knew I had a car and if I have to go there two to three times a week.... Not that I'm enthused at all about the indoor PT experience during COVID.
Speaking of, I was waiting for news on an attempted used car loan. Some members of my fam took me to Long Island Wednesday to go looking for used cars, first using internet searches the day before to focus our travels. (Our search for used cars in Queens in 2016 took me from one crooked lot to another to another to another. Their online price listings didn't mention that they expected a $2,000 to 3,000 down payment in addition to the actually listed prices, so....) The first car I tried, a 2016 Chevy Sonic, made me very unhappy: a "fuel efficiency" measure that made it hesitant as hell in moving, requiring a double tap to get going, a massive dashboard that was way to close to me as the driver and had some other wtf elements, ugly appearance. For $10,000, I require a car I wouldn't hate to drive. A $6,000 Jetta on another lot was a mess. So much damage. So bad my father apologized for taking me to see it and wasting our time; he'd given it a quick check while driving by the lot the day before and hadn't realized. And that was it; everything else was either too expensive or too old and had too much mileage.
We were all feeling down over lunch at a diner coincidentally across the street from the first lot, but M kept internet searching during it and found a car, a Chevy Malibu, just put up online at said lot we might want to look at. We made a phone call, finished eating, and went over to check it out. While we waited, we all got the news that said car was actually dead and unsellable, but there was another Malibu that came in that maybe we should see. The pearl white exterior was pretty, though the interior was an ugly beige and brown (why, original owner? Why). But the seats were comfortable, it drove so nice, and it had good features. It was a 2011 but had only 65,000 miles, one owner, and a good Carfax. With down payment, it'd be a little over $9,000, so I went for it. Let's try to get a loan.
It helps me financially that I'd be transferring Civic's registration and license plates to the new car.
The first two providers denied me immediately because I live in Queens(!?). It was late in the day, so the salesman said he'd try the other two the next day and call me. As they drove me home, my dad and M assumed the car would be mine but I've been living my life and I'm more familiar with how things actually go so I didn't totally believe it.
The next day, the salesman said my living in Queens was also a problem for the third possible provider. Maybe if I provided a $3,000 down payment? Dude, no. Maybe if I got my dad as a co-signer. He was game for that. Wait, we struck out with this provider anyway. Thursday's snowy weather was so bad in Long Island that the salesman was doing what work he could from home, and he said Friday morning he'd try the fourth and final one.
Today, after a stressful back and forth over the course of a few hours, the salesman said we struck out with the fourth one, despite the co-signing, again mostly because I live in Queens! The salesman said I would be approved if the car was no older than a 2014(?!?). Why? Who tf knows. So the 2011 Malibu isn't happening. My father asked the salesman why he was trying just Suffolk county credit unions instead of a bank and got... I don't even know as an answer. Depending on the weather, the fam might be able to take me there to see two or three cars that might work for me instead. It's a lot of driving though, and my dad is in his 70s. I'm certainly not buying anything I haven't checked out in person or test-driven. I am somewhat worried the salesman may be trying to upsell me because newer cars cost more. We may check other lots. We'll have to see how things go.
But none of this was the easy "You can drive this car off the lot right now!" or "You can come get this car Saturday and drive it home!" I was given.
Also, neither CID-NY nor the Mayor's Office for People With Disabilities ("Disability Service Facilitator," my ass) got back to me on my questions about transportation issues and how I could safely buy a car while keeping my benefits good or get Medicaid to pay for taxis for doctor appointments. My neurologist didn’t return my call either.
I'm so tired. You can comment here or at the Dreamwidth crosspost.
comments at Dreamwidth.
Today I had an appointment for the orthopedic doctor for my shoulders. Carless, I had to take buses. Living in Queens, this sucks ass. When I reached the bus stop, my Bus Checker app told me it wouldn't come for 20 minutes, so I started walking through the slush and snow to get 0.7 miles to my next bus line's stop.
Two weeks, exactly, after the last time, my left ankle buckled, this time while I was struggling through ankle-deep slush, and threw me to the ground. I even hit the exact same spot on my right knee; the swelling from last time hadn't even completely dissipated yet. I'd just stopped wearing the ankle brace all the time two days ago. I painfully limped the last .03 mile to the bus stop. In one bit of luck, the bus arrived two minutes after I did. But since I wasn't familiar with the route and couldn't see through the fogged up, snowy windows, I overshot the stop I needed to get off at and had to walk 0.5 miles through ice, snow, and slush to the doctor's office. At least I put an ankle brace on while riding on the bus, even though I worried what other people would think seeing me taking off my boot and sock to do so.
It's still snowing as I do all this. I'd also further hurt my already hurting left shoulder worse flailing on the way to the ground during my fall. It still hurts worse tonight.
Having given myself a lot of extra time to get there, I arrived at the doctor's reception desk 10 minutes before the appointment was scheduled to begin. Filled out a lot of forms, saw the doctor, who analyzed the MRI images I brought with me, the ones I got after falling on my way there two weeks ago. He saw inflammation and tendinitis. Told me to take NSAIDS (which I've already been doing) and gave me a referral to a rheumatologist and physical therapy. Also gave me one for a foot doctor since I mentioned my falls and rotten ankles to him. And that's it: I had to wait two weeks for a five-minute appointment that didn’t do me any immediate good. I killed myself trying to get here for this.
Another bit of good luck, as I got out the bus I needed to take to get home arrived and even waited for me to limp to the stop so I could get on.
I got home and called the rheumatologist's office. The closest appointment available is 9 am on March 22; after that I'd have to wait until April for another appointment. It's a good thing I'm accustomed to living in pain. Since it was after 3 pm(?!?), neither the foot doctor nor the pain management office had anyone there so I couldn't make appointments for either. (For pain management, I still need to get my Nortriptyline prescribed before I run out of my last bottle, but I'm going to have to use mass transit so I want to go to the closer office in New Hyde Park. Also, fuck my cowardly, unfeeling doctor who's only in Syosset and only one day a week who completely let me down. I'm not a fan of the New Hyde Park office though, so I probably need to find a new pain management doctor, something I can't do immediately because I have so much on my plate right now and I currently need my meds immediately.) I have to figure out where I'm going to go for physical therapy, since my PT 1.6 miles away was easier to get to and come home from when I knew I had a car and if I have to go there two to three times a week.... Not that I'm enthused at all about the indoor PT experience during COVID.
Speaking of, I was waiting for news on an attempted used car loan. Some members of my fam took me to Long Island Wednesday to go looking for used cars, first using internet searches the day before to focus our travels. (Our search for used cars in Queens in 2016 took me from one crooked lot to another to another to another. Their online price listings didn't mention that they expected a $2,000 to 3,000 down payment in addition to the actually listed prices, so....) The first car I tried, a 2016 Chevy Sonic, made me very unhappy: a "fuel efficiency" measure that made it hesitant as hell in moving, requiring a double tap to get going, a massive dashboard that was way to close to me as the driver and had some other wtf elements, ugly appearance. For $10,000, I require a car I wouldn't hate to drive. A $6,000 Jetta on another lot was a mess. So much damage. So bad my father apologized for taking me to see it and wasting our time; he'd given it a quick check while driving by the lot the day before and hadn't realized. And that was it; everything else was either too expensive or too old and had too much mileage.
We were all feeling down over lunch at a diner coincidentally across the street from the first lot, but M kept internet searching during it and found a car, a Chevy Malibu, just put up online at said lot we might want to look at. We made a phone call, finished eating, and went over to check it out. While we waited, we all got the news that said car was actually dead and unsellable, but there was another Malibu that came in that maybe we should see. The pearl white exterior was pretty, though the interior was an ugly beige and brown (why, original owner? Why). But the seats were comfortable, it drove so nice, and it had good features. It was a 2011 but had only 65,000 miles, one owner, and a good Carfax. With down payment, it'd be a little over $9,000, so I went for it. Let's try to get a loan.
It helps me financially that I'd be transferring Civic's registration and license plates to the new car.
The first two providers denied me immediately because I live in Queens(!?). It was late in the day, so the salesman said he'd try the other two the next day and call me. As they drove me home, my dad and M assumed the car would be mine but I've been living my life and I'm more familiar with how things actually go so I didn't totally believe it.
The next day, the salesman said my living in Queens was also a problem for the third possible provider. Maybe if I provided a $3,000 down payment? Dude, no. Maybe if I got my dad as a co-signer. He was game for that. Wait, we struck out with this provider anyway. Thursday's snowy weather was so bad in Long Island that the salesman was doing what work he could from home, and he said Friday morning he'd try the fourth and final one.
Today, after a stressful back and forth over the course of a few hours, the salesman said we struck out with the fourth one, despite the co-signing, again mostly because I live in Queens! The salesman said I would be approved if the car was no older than a 2014(?!?). Why? Who tf knows. So the 2011 Malibu isn't happening. My father asked the salesman why he was trying just Suffolk county credit unions instead of a bank and got... I don't even know as an answer. Depending on the weather, the fam might be able to take me there to see two or three cars that might work for me instead. It's a lot of driving though, and my dad is in his 70s. I'm certainly not buying anything I haven't checked out in person or test-driven. I am somewhat worried the salesman may be trying to upsell me because newer cars cost more. We may check other lots. We'll have to see how things go.
But none of this was the easy "You can drive this car off the lot right now!" or "You can come get this car Saturday and drive it home!" I was given.
Also, neither CID-NY nor the Mayor's Office for People With Disabilities ("Disability Service Facilitator," my ass) got back to me on my questions about transportation issues and how I could safely buy a car while keeping my benefits good or get Medicaid to pay for taxis for doctor appointments. My neurologist didn’t return my call either.
I'm so tired. You can comment here or at the Dreamwidth crosspost.
comments at Dreamwidth.