Wednesday 11th January 2012, 11:30 AM
The waiting room from hell
Last call of the day. This was an unscheduled request to present myself to Dr Teresa Guerrero-Urbano at the Cancer Outpatients Day Clinic, which is in a much older part of Guy's Hospital than I had seen before. I made myself known to reception and we were asked to wait.
It's the biggest waiting room I have seen so far, at least the size of half a tennis court, and packed. Packed like a rural bus in South America. Jo and I found two seats between a man sitting with a piglet on his lap and and old woman with a screaming baby. The wait was interminable. The room was a constant 'hubbub' of noise, people talking, coughing, hacking, mobile phones, babies crying, kids running up & down shouting & screaming, and the ever present clucking from the crates of chickens piled in one corner.
After 45 minutes we were called in to a consulting room, I'm beginning to wonder if Dr Teresa actually exists. We met with Dr Mary Lei and one of the two medical students who's assisting her. This was very much a brief "all systems go" conversation, a catch up and a what to expect next. I queried the 'minor anomalous' blood test result from a week or so ago, 'just a blip', either something I had eaten or possibly just a blip, nothing to worry about, last blood test was fine and Kidney Test via Nuclear Medicine all OK.
Jo told them how very impressed we both were with Clinical Nursing Specialist Myleyne Frieres. Dr Lei was not surprised, she said that Myleyne is one of the very best experts they have at that sort of thing, I'm not surprised either. Jo was most impressed with her apparent ability to divert me back on subject while I'm mid anecdote. Dr Lei was surprised and asked whether that was permissible and Jo told her "Oh Yes, I just don't know how to myself - I'll have to get her to show me", "Dr Lei said, yes me too". I don't know what they were talking about.
Four days off to get used to 'pipie' and rest and then 1st Chemo on Monday.
Edited with thanks to Jo W
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