Having said that, I have never had a single positive experience making appointments or getting referrals. Trying to get a simple physical for the adoption (our home study has been otherwise complete for going on 2 months now) has been quite the challenge.
Thursday, September 9th:
We waited a LONG TIME for my appointment on September 9th. I went to said visit, and the doctor was wonderful. She ordered all the appropriate labs and told me to come back the following week and she would do a papsmear (I hate typing that out loud, but it's crucial to plot development). For a brief moment, I think how smoothly everything is going, but quickly decide to distract myself with other thoughts for fear of jinxing things.
Whoops. Too late.
I go to make a follow-up appointment across the hall, at which point I'm told that I can't make another appointment with her. You see, the appointment I just had was in the Red Team clinic... and I don't "belong" to Red Team. Internal Medicine is my assigned clinic, and that's where I have to go.
Hurray for socialized medicine!
But it gets better. They all but accuse me of having hacked into their computer system or of using my voodoo mind powers to have made the initial Red Team appointment. "Well you clearly don't belong to Red Team, so how you even made that first appointment is questionable."
Like WTF?!?
I called the appointment line. I gave them my information and said I needed a physical for an adoption. I'm sneaky and manipulative like that, I know!
I temporarily gave up, and went to get my blood drawn before the lab closed.
This was Thursday.
I go home, but by the time I'm home the appointment line is closed.
Friday, September 10th:
After getting off work that afternoon, I called Tricare to make an appointment with Internal Medicine... for September 20th. Compared to how long I waited last time, this is fast. Foolishly, I got optimistic and reassured myself that "I already have all my labs done, so I can get everything completed at this appointment and I'll be done."
...or not.
The TriCare appointment people then specifically tell me my primary doctor can NOT do a papsmear for me, under any circumstances (it has been 4 years since my last, so it was required for the physical). Their first available appointment? OCTOBER 20TH. At this point I give up on being nice, and tell them NO-freakin-WAY.
NOPE.
NOT ACCEPTABLE.
"FIX THIS!"
After much complaining, they manage to find me a sooner appointment with the OBGYN clinic for... October 18th. Because that's so much better.
At this point I start crying for about 3 seconds. That's all I had time for. I got over it, and put my game face back on.
And I flipped out more. It tends to do the trick with TriCare.
I'm eventually told that once I year I can do a self-referral off-post for a well-woman exam. SUCESS!
At this point it's 5pm, and the civilian doctors offices are closed.
Monday, September 13th:
I go to Fort Lewis (All these clinics are located in Madigan Hospital/Medical Center) to get my TB test (a 50 minute drive from work, 1 hour in-clinic, and then a 30 minute drive home.)
Finally, I'm home.
I call the tri-care approved doctors to set up an appointment. Everyone has appointments for the following week (roughly two weeks from my initial doctor's appointment). A reasonable timeline... except that I was due to start my... er, "monthly" THIS weekend. So it was the week of the 13th or else I'd have to wait until at LEAST September 24th... after my appointment for the physical (where everything needs to be signed off at).
The civilian doctors have ONE available appointment for the next day, the 14th, at 11:15am... when I'm at work. I call around to find a co-worker who can cover for me. NOBODY can.
Ultimately, I decide that ensuring this physical doesn't get pushed out by another 6ish weeks is WORTH the risk of getting fired. I take the appointment, and tell work that I won't be in the next day. They took it well.
Tuesday, September 14th:
Went to the Gyno. Got my lady tests done.
Today, September 15th:
After work, I'll be driving back to Madigan (on Fort Lewis) to get my TB test read.
I'm no medical professional, but I feel no bump. I think I'm clean.
Hopefully this will all be over on the 20th! (Which I also do NOT have coverage at work for... we'll see how that works out.)
The good news?
I picked up paint samples last week for Little Winn's room. WHICH room (s)he gets is still up for debate though, haha. I'll save that for a later post though. :-)
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