Yet Another Clinic Day

Today has been one of those days I would like to forget in a hurry.  It started off well enough but ended up with me feeling frustrated and furious....

Early to rise as is usual for a clinic day, I have noticed in recent weeks that even though we have just passed our summer solstice, it is already getting light later in the mornings.  So going outside at 4am is no longer fun when you know that dawn will not be breaking for more than an hour away and with talk on our radios of suspects and guns and suspicious vehicles seen in the area, I do not know how safe it is to be outside at that time of the morning.  However when needs must, then you do what you have to...

We left an hour later than we usually do, as Kyle took a day's leave to go with us and officially meet NiQi's doctor at the clinic. With him in the driving seat for a change, we went via the highway instead of the R101, which is much quicker to travel, but you never know if or when there may be an accident en route.  Today was a good day for us as we only hit one spot of backed up traffic and then when it dissipated and we made it onto the next section of road, we were left wondering what it was that had caused so much chaos.  No matter though, as we continued fairly painlessly, arriving at Charlotte Maxeke at 7.45am.  Being the first week of clinic in the new year, we knew it would be busy and it sure was.  NiQi was 3rd on the list so there was a while of waiting before her turn to go in.  In the meantime she went to lung function and was happy that it was the same as her last visit in December.  Her weight was down another 400g, the second month in a row - so even after all the Christmas and New Year celebrations and the mounds of food she ate, it made no difference at all.

Back upstairs and waiting for the doctor, NiQi used her time to confirm her bed at Milpark and get authorization from Discovery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Following protocol, she phoned on Monday to the doctors rooms at Milpark to book a bed and was told that they would speak to the doctor as they usually do admissions on a Tuesday, but if there was a problem they would phone her back.  NO PHONE CALL...
Again, as per usual and per instruction she phoned yesterday to Discovery for authorization for admission and after giving all her details, was told that she must phone today............
First phone call was to Discovery, repeating everything to the call centre person that she had said just yesterday, she had the phone call disconnected.  Usually when this happens - as it has happened before - they call back, but not today!!!!!  So another call, repetition of the now 2 previous conversations, and finally it sounded like she would get authorization.  Not a chance, she was asked for an 'imap' or 'mappi' code or something like that, that she didn't have and so had to wait to see the doctor before getting it.  As it turned out, her doctor didn't know either so that didn't help her at all.
Next call to check that a bed was still available....NOT A CHANCE.....Milpark told her that a bed hadn't been booked and there were none available.....gross negligence on the part of the doctor's rooms me thinks!!!!!  Well woop-de-do, the day was getting better.

Finally NiQi went in to see the doctor and Kyle went in with her so he could see and hear first hand what happens at a clinic appointment.  An hour plus later she was finished and a decision was made for her to be admitted to ward 496, Charlotte Maxeke in the interim and then Monday she will be transferred to Milpark.

While NiQi tried to organize herself, she had Kyle and I mixing up Colistin and Tazabac - and here I might add that after mixing 18 bottles of Colistin, I think that nurses deserve a pay increase!!!!!!  Her first dose was running through and she was feeling dizzy, nauseous and sleepy - Happy wasn't there but Grumpy was...LOL, so Kyle and I decided to leave her be to have a rest and we made our way home.

Home held more fun for the day, but that's another tale....