The Nephrologist
The hubby and I were discharged from the hospital and went home. We were both in shock. I don’t think we said two words to each other. I was itching to get home so I could fire up the trusty internet and do some googling.
Shoe and Sock Imprints
I knew the basics. I used to be a Surgical Nurse once upon a time. Of course, I knew my condition was related to the kidneys since Dr. Arrogant said I needed to see a Nephrologist. I had heard of protein being in the urine before, but I didn’t want to think about that possible scenario. Not yet.
I was a little more than pissed with Dr. Bee-ach. Six weeks earlier she had said she noted that the protein in my blood work was really low but she wasn’t concerned about that. Oh no. She was more concerned with my thyroid and sugar levels. When I told Dr. Arrogant about that tidbit he let me know he was going to be calling Dr. Bee-ach to ”talk” to her.
A home, my first search was “protein in urine” and it yielded a word called “proteinuria.” I typed in proteinuria and got various results from Wikipedia to American Kidney Foundation to Hospitals specializing in Kidney Disease to a list of Kidney Disease.
I surfed through the various websites. I was no wiser than I had started out. I realized that I’d just have to wait to see the Neph doctor. Possible conditions ranged from a UTI or urinary tract infection to cancer. Ok for the wide spectrum of possibilities. And I don’t like to speculate…
I went to work the next day. I called Dr. Bee-ach from Hell to let her know that she needed to do a referral. She’d need to contact Dr. Arrogant to get the details. She said she thought Dr. Arrogant was going to do the referral and I reminded her rather rudely that SHE was my Primary Care Physician and SHE needed to process the damned referral and to do it THAT day. I wasn’t playing anymore. I told her I’d call back the next day to get the details and to make sure the referral was complete and we hung up.
The next day, Friday, March 16, 2012, I didn’t get the opportunity to call Dr. Bee-ach. Around 9:30 a.m., my cell phone rang. I didn’ t recognize the number, but knew I was waiting for an important appointment so I answered. The lady on the line said she was from some doctor’s office. It sounded like she said Dr. Asshole. I asked her repeat the name and she did. It still sounded just like Dr. Asshole so I asked her to spell it for me. She did so, and I have to say, it may be spelled different, but it’s pronounced similarly so that’s what we call him. Dr. Asshole, my new Nephrologist.
The receptionist asked me if I could be there at 10:30 a.m. I replied with,”Yes, I can. On what day?” She paused for a moment and said, “Um, today. In an hour.” My first thought was ‘Holy Shit, Batman. Who gets a specialist appointment same day? Like, no one I know.” What I said was, “Yes, I’m on the way.”
My boss was in the field so I texted him. Then I called my husband to come get me. Remember, he wasn’t letting me drive. He arrives about 20 minutes later and off we go. We arrive at Dr. Asshole’s office. I fill out some paperwork and about 10 minutes later, I’m being ushered into the back exam room. Less than 5 minutes after that, Dr. Assholes walks in.
I didn’t have time for formulate a first impression because the first thing out of his mouth was, “What? You didn’t want to stay in the hospital on Wednesday?” I paused and glanced at my husband then back at the man in front of me. I was suddenly mad at Dr. Arrogant now. If I shouldn’t have been discharged two days ago, why was I? I said to Dr. Asshole, “I didn’t know I had a choice. The ER discharged me and told me to follow up with a Nephrologist immediately. The next thing I know…your receptionist calls. Should I have stayed in the hospital?” He responds with one word that will change the course of my life, “Yes.” He gives me a minute to process that information and then tells me he wants to admit me BACK into the hospital to run tests. Since this was Friday, he was going to keep me over the weekend and dependent upon the test results, he wanted to do a kidney biopsy on Monday, but that it was IMPERATIVE to get the fluid retention down ASAP.
About 10 minutes later, I am back at the hospital in admitting.