Follow up and pre-op: Bull Shit and Plumbing

 Living in a smaller town has me a bit spoiled in regards to many things.  Rarely do I have to wait more than a few minutes to get a table on a Friday night, lines at the theater typically are not that long (unless it is opening night for a big release…which is something I avoid at all costs, so I’m safe), and when seeing any of my doctors here in town, I am back in the exam room fairly quickly.  Going into Indy to see a specialist is quite a different experience. 

I made sure to be at the urologist office 15 minutes BEFORE my appointment, to assure the women at the front desk had time to copy my insurance card and gather my paperwork.  I was very pleased that I was there early, like they requested in the pre-appointment letter.  On the other hand, I could have arrived 30 minutes late and still made it in plenty of time for my appointment.  We ended up sitting in that waiting room for over an hour.   

On the plus side, we did get to spend that time being entertained by a very animated, 62 year old man who talked about growing corn and the proper way to cook it, raising children, dealing with “street hustlers” and the lack of accountability of his no good druggie brother.  “We was raised by the same mother. There ain’t NO need for him to be doing drugs that way. And it ain’t my job to be taking care of him. I tried that once. Ain’t doing it no more.”   

He was there due to surgical complications of which were bad enough that he was on disability and now basically retired. We are pretty sure that he misses work and REALLY misses being able to talk to people. He was a bit of a character and I really enjoyed interacting with him.  “My mama used to say “All that is is chewed up grass and water.” Ya know what that is?  That is bull shit. That’s what my mama would say.”   Everybody has a story. 

I FINALLY got back to see the doctor.  He said I need  another 2 weeks and then we will test to see if everything has healed. They want to make sure no scar tissue is growing and potentially blocking off the ureter. This could lead to all sorts of complications, including the loss of a kidney…which I suspect would royally suck.  So next Monday (my appointment was last week) I go into the surgery center, go to sleep, have stent removed, contrast injected, piping tested and HOPEFULLY, receive an all clear. Otherwise, another stent is put in and we do the whole thing over a few weeks later.   He also gave me a sample Rx for Flowmax, which is supposed to help me empty my bladder if needed.  Really hoping I won't.

Honestly, as annoyed as I was that I had to wait over an hour for a 5 minute consult with the doctor, I think it was worth it just to listen to the narrative of my waiting room companion.  THIS is the stuff I live for.