I went to the Department of Health (referred to as DOH from now on) at 2:30pm on Tuesday. Jeff went with me and held my hand the entire time.
When the doctor came in and asked me what the ER said, I told him they said I have ovarian cancer. His eyes grew big and was astonished. I thanked him for getting me over to the ER when he did and he agreed.
He explained to me that the DOH works rather slow but he put (in huge lettering) across my file "ASAP - DX: CA". He explained that the first step is an examination by the OBGYN doctor, then the biopsy and surgery.
He personally walked my file over to the Womens Center and made the appointment for me. The best they could do was 9/24/12. He was very disappointed, as was Jeff and I, at the delay. He appologied and reiterated that this is a county facility and they do the best they can. I understood, but it is very frustrating.
He explained to me that I should not miss any appointments and do everything they ask of me. I already knew this but listened anyway. He gave me a prescription for nausea and said if any of my symptoms get any worse I am to go back to the ER.
Jeff and I thanked him and we left.
I got home and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. I was emotionally DRAINED. I slept from around 4pm until 2:30am because my hips and back hurt again. Those are symptoms of ovarian cancer.... I thought it was time to flip the mattress. What do I know :/
So now I wait. Every bad thing imaginable is running through my head. Trying to stay positive is really hard when it's YOUR feet in the shoes of the woman who has the cancer.
Post note: I did call Moffit Cancer Center and my medical records are going to be faxed over to them tomorrow. I should here backfrom them in 3-5 business days but they do take un-funded patients and they are the BEST cancer treatment center in Tampa!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Monday, September 10th, 2012 - The Preliminary Diagnosis
After finally being able to get into the department of health for an appointment, once the doctor assessed me, he ripped up his initial referrals and said I didn't have "weeks" to wait for an exam and wrote a referral to the Emergency Room for testing.
That scared me. Jeff had offered to come with me but I knew it was going to be a long wait and it was only for testing so I told him I'd let him know what was going on periodically and there was no need for him to leave work.
Mondays at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in the ER are a nightmare. Within the six hour wait I had to endure, my blood work was done, I had a urinalysis, an IV started and a CT scan done. So it's not like they weren't doing anything, the availability of beds were low, but the care was still there.
I was happy that my friend Joanne was there working that day and when the night shift came on, she was able to get me in the back a bit sooner. I already knew that she had seen my CT scan results before I did and was not allowed to say anything.
When I was finally able to get a room in the ER, she sat with me when the Physicians Assistant came in to talk to me. He just rattled off the preliminary diagnosis of "ovarian cancer" that was seen on the scan like I already knew I had it. My mind stuck on those two words and I really didn't hear much after that. I wanted him to LEAVE.
When he did leave, I burst into tears and Joanne was immediately holding onto me. I cried and couldn't stop shaking. She didn't leave my side until I asked her to get me some water. I also asked her to text Jeff to get to the hospital immediately.
The doctor came in and offered me some choices since I don't have medical insurance. I could have stayed and let the dept of health come see me in the morning or go home and make an appt with the doh and save myself a whopping hospital bill.
The gave me something for the nausea and something for the pain. I wish they could have given me something to take away the fear as well.
Jeff got there and held onto me for a long time while we both cried. We talked about the options for the evening and we waited for the doctor to call the on call doctor at the doh and find out what they said. We were going to go with what the doh doctor recommended.
It was decided that I would go home and see the doh doctor the next day. There was no real benefit of me staying there.
I was unhooked from my IV and I went home. I got home and took the Ativan they prescribed me for anxiety, and hugged my dog.
I had nightmares about surgery.
That scared me. Jeff had offered to come with me but I knew it was going to be a long wait and it was only for testing so I told him I'd let him know what was going on periodically and there was no need for him to leave work.
Mondays at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in the ER are a nightmare. Within the six hour wait I had to endure, my blood work was done, I had a urinalysis, an IV started and a CT scan done. So it's not like they weren't doing anything, the availability of beds were low, but the care was still there.
I was happy that my friend Joanne was there working that day and when the night shift came on, she was able to get me in the back a bit sooner. I already knew that she had seen my CT scan results before I did and was not allowed to say anything.
When I was finally able to get a room in the ER, she sat with me when the Physicians Assistant came in to talk to me. He just rattled off the preliminary diagnosis of "ovarian cancer" that was seen on the scan like I already knew I had it. My mind stuck on those two words and I really didn't hear much after that. I wanted him to LEAVE.
When he did leave, I burst into tears and Joanne was immediately holding onto me. I cried and couldn't stop shaking. She didn't leave my side until I asked her to get me some water. I also asked her to text Jeff to get to the hospital immediately.
The doctor came in and offered me some choices since I don't have medical insurance. I could have stayed and let the dept of health come see me in the morning or go home and make an appt with the doh and save myself a whopping hospital bill.
The gave me something for the nausea and something for the pain. I wish they could have given me something to take away the fear as well.
Jeff got there and held onto me for a long time while we both cried. We talked about the options for the evening and we waited for the doctor to call the on call doctor at the doh and find out what they said. We were going to go with what the doh doctor recommended.
It was decided that I would go home and see the doh doctor the next day. There was no real benefit of me staying there.
I was unhooked from my IV and I went home. I got home and took the Ativan they prescribed me for anxiety, and hugged my dog.
I had nightmares about surgery.
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