Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season
and spent time with their loved ones. I definitely did, what with spending time
with all my brothers and actually getting out to play Lazer Tag, which kind of
shows you never really grow up if you don’t want to. It was as close to
paradise as I think I’ve gotten in a long time.
I’m back in Iowa, though, and I have an appointment set up
with the Mayo Clinic in early February to take a look at my poor left foot,
which is still in an air cast two months after it had been broken. The usual
time it takes a broken foot to heal is eight to ten weeks, according to my
kendo sensei, who has dealt with broken bones before. The ten week mark has
come and gone, and it will be a good three weeks before I get to see the doctor
at the Mayo Clinic. I’ve almost gotten used to this stupid cast, but there are
still times, like if I’m trying to climb stairs, that it’s particularly
frustrating. What makes it more frustrating is that the doctor’s office here in
Cresco has, after years of being quite reliable, decided to turn into a
Kafkaesque nightmare.
I suppose it started with the doctor I went in to see being
very sure I had just sprained my foot. Just in case, though, I should get an
X-ray. This isn’t exactly unknown—when I broke my leg in sixth grade the doctor
was sure I’d sprained my leg until the X-ray showed a crack through both the
tibia and fibula. And I would have bet money against a broken bone this time. Still,
she gave me and air cast, and said I might want to think about going to a
podiatrist.
The past couple of times I’ve gone in to get my foot checked,
though, the diagnosis has been reversed. On the first follow-up visit, the
doctor didn’t think I was healing at all, and that I should probably go to
Decorah to see a podiatrist. Two days later, I got a call from the doctor’s
office, where the doctor’s nurse told me that a radiologist looked at my X-rays
and said that actually, my foot was healing up nicely (but wouldn’t I like to
see a podiatrist anyway?).
The next trip in, the doctor said I was healing up nicely
and actually gave me a boot that would give me more mobility than the air cast.
Two days later, her nurse called and let me know that actually, the radiologist
hadn’t seen any significant healing and I might want to think about scheduling
an appointment with a podiatrist.
A couple of things have bothered me about this series of
events. First, why not tell me to visit a podiatrist? It’s like they keep
trying to upsell me doctor-wise, but they don’t tell me why. Just that a
podiatrist might have a better idea of what’s going on. It’s my choice, though.
This is what the doctor has told me over and over again, as though she were
selling me on the idea of going to see a podiatrist instead of saying I need
to, although to be fair she’s now said I need to because there hasn’t been any
healing, which of course comes after she said I was healing. Oh, and if my foot
does need some more care, then why not send me to, say, an orthopedic surgeon?
Someone who can determine if I need surgery or not?
This is why I am more than happy to switch doctors. I am
taking advantage of the fact that I live an hour away from one of the best
medical clinics in the world and going to them. While a copywriter who lives in
the middle of nowhere with a broken foot is a far cry from the prestige of
treating the king of a foreign country with a wasting disease, I will have the
privilege and the comfort of knowing some of the best doctors in the world will
be examining me. I want a straight answer and good advice more than anything
else right now.
I apologize that this is kind of an introspective blog, with
a lot more complaining about the doctors in the area than actually talking
about the neat things I’ve encountered in Iowa. Doctors screwing up is not
restricted to northeast Iowa. It’s not limited to small towns, for that matter.
Still, getting out of this cast is a pretty important part of my life right
now. I promise I’ll come back next week with something neat about the northeast
Iowa region.
