The Shot

Rea started back at MHS last Friday. She was so excited when we got to the school to re-enroll. She was hoping to be able to go to the Homecoming pep rally during 2nd period, so she was anxious to get through the formalities and get to class.

After waiting about 30 minutes (believe me... she was watching the clock!) we finally got to see the Registrar. As we got comfortable in the crappy office chairs, the Registrar alerted us right off the bat that Rea needed a Tetanus shot and would not be allowed enroll until she got one.

Damn. Now I've got to go all the way home for her shot record and try to get her an appointment.

Double Damn. She's gonna miss the pep rally.

So we go all the way home and get the shot record. Meanwhile, I call her doctor's office to see about getting her an appointment for the shot.

Her doctor. The man who has seen every cough, spider bite, sprained ankle, sore throat, twisted knee, ear infection, and acid reflux incident for our entire family for the past 5 years. The doctor, who's old receptionist knew me by voice and greeted me with "which one is it this time?"

There was never a wait, you see, as the old receptionist always told me to "come on in and we'll work you in right away." The old receptionist made sure that we never had to wait more than 5 minutes before being called by the nurse to "come on back". As she waited for us to sashay our way across the waiting room floor, she never failed to ask us about personal things that were going on ("Bubsy, are you playing football this year?", "Piggy, how's softball going?"). You couldn't help but feel special and a bit smug knowing that the others who were still waiting their turn must have felt a little bit envious of the greeting we received.

Well, the old receptionist, Miss S, left a year ago to spend more time with her grandchild and has left me desperate for some kind of comfort when I have to make a call to the doctor. Instead of being greeted by the caring voice of Miss S, you are greeted by a very formal voice who shows absolutely no concern for who you are or why you are calling. She simply takes your information and, with a few strokes on the keyboard, tells the computer who you are and what you want and waits for it to tell her when you can be "scheduled", which is usually, on average, about 2 days away (add 2 days if you call before the weekend). No matter how hard you try to plead your case (ex: "My child is sick with 103 fever"), the answer is always the same, "I'm sorry, we just can't see you until then. We are booked solid."

Now, you can only imagine what went through my mind when I knew I had to take Rea for a shot. A shot which she had to have before going back to school. I was desperate and really wished Miss S was there to help me out. Instead, when I called I was met with the same cold, lackluster voice that had answered the phone each time I called in the past 12 months.

When I explained my situation to her, her response didn't surprise me. "I'm sorry, but we can't 'work her in' until next week."

Work her in?? Work her in?? Working someone in means, working them in between appointments NOW. Not Tuesday! Are you kidding me?

Honestly, how long does it take to get a tetanus shot? 3 minutes? Rea's records are on file and the only thing I was asking for was a simple shot. Tuesday...that's 4 days away!

I was disgusted and frustrated and immediately vowed not to EVER go back to the doctor and his nurses that we have trusted and admired for 5 years. These are people that we stop and talk to at the grocery store, or on the sidewalk. All because of his new receptionist, who's icy personality and inability to make a decision for herself without consulting her trusted computer, has made my life a living hell whenever one of my children is in need of medical care.

Knowing we needed the shot immediately, we were forced to wait until 10:00 when the local Urgent Care clinic opened. It cost me $200 for the shot and office visit (they don't accept my insurance) and the office visit took more than an hour because the doctor decided that he was going to give me my money's worth and give Rea a full physical, even though I told him that she didn't need one. He asked her every question in the book, the proceeded to ask me to give him a FULL medical history on her father and me, since we were her parents, after all. He then checked her spine, heart, lungs, reflexes, balance, agility, muscular activity, bowels, and eyes, ears, nose and throat. Whew! And imagine, all we needed was a tetanus shot!

When the doctor got finished with his unnecessary exam, he left the room, told the nurse to prepare the shot, and VOILA! Within 3 minutes the nurse had prepared the shot, administered it, and we were out the door and on our way to the parking lot.

AAARRRGGGHH! was all I could think as we drove back to the damn school with the damn shot record, signed by the damn doctor who charged me $200 damn dollars and took so damn long because he insisted on a damn physical, all because of the damn icy receptionist that replaced Miss S. couldn't work us into her damn schedule because her damn computer told her they were too damn busy.

Damn it Miss S, why did you have to go?