What's Going on in My Part of the World?
Apr. 2nd, 2009 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittytechWell, I suppose that's kind of a loaded question, but it's been a while
since I posted an update, so here I am.
The last time I wrote in here I talked about the joys of trying to arrange
for my ultrasound.; I honestly didn't think it was going to happen on
Monday. Businesses were still closed all over the place, and although the
Red River finally crested at about 41.8 feet on Saturday afternoon and then
started falling, there was still a lot of concern.
Just a slight diversion from my topic for a minute. A few days ago someone
left a comment and asked me how close I actually am to the flooding. I live
in West Fargo, which is considered to be a separate city from Fargo. They
have a system set up that apparently is supposed to divert water around the
city, and considering that I'm still in this apartment safe and dry, I'd say
it's doing what it's supposed to do. However, because I'm still most
definitely in the Fargo area, I was affected in the sense that
transportation and businesses were still not totally functional, even in
West Fargo. This gave everyone who could possibly help the chance to work on
sand bagging and other things to help get the dikes built up to at least 43
feet. Flood stage of the Red River in this area is 18 feet, and even now the
river is still somewhere over 30 feet, although I haven't gotten a flood
warning email about it recently so can't give an exact level. In any case
though, businesses started to reopen yesterday, and I think things are
gradually starting to get back to some semblance of normal in this area.
Things aren't over, and the new snow that we got on Monday and Tuesday
definitely hasn't helped, but the overall feelings seem to be very positive.
So, now with that out of the way, back to my story. By the time Monday
morning came around, I was pretty much bound and determined that I was going
to have that ultrasound. I was still really frustrated that I hadn't been
notified about any sort of cancellation, and I really didn't want to put
things off. I wasn't unsympathetic to the floods, especially since last
November is still very much on my mind and dreams, but I wanted that test.
So, starting at about 8:00 AM, I started calling the radiology department at
the hospital. For the first hour I kept getting the message that I'd gotten
last week about Friday appointments being cancelled, but there was no new
news. At 9:00 though, the message was changed, and gave me absolutely no
information. So, I called the main hospital number and asked to speak with a
human in radiology. I was reluctantly transferred, but I actually got a real
person. I explained that I was supposed to have an ultrasound that morning
and I was wondering what the status was. The lady told me that things had
been announced on TV. Okay, so the one question that I chose not to ask as
much as I wanted to was, so what about those people who don't watch TV? Does
showing something on a TV screen alleviate the need for a courtesy call to
patients letting them know about changes in their appointments? I wasn't
overly pleased, but at the same time I was really trying to be
understanding. But, things changed when the lady mentioned that one tech had
managed to make it in that morning, and she'd be willing to do the test if I
could get into the hospital. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance.
Fortunately, the cabs were running normally, so I was able to get a cab over
there. They didn't give me any problem at registration; apparently radiology
had notified them that I was coming, so they didn't try to tell me that the
place was closed or anything. It took me $31, and just a little over an hour
for the entire trip, and it would have even been quicker except that someone
else just kind of walked in expecting to have his appointment that day too,
and since his appointment had been scheduled for an earlier time than mine,
they took him first. Since it was so quick, this didn't bother me, and I
thought it was nice that they were being accommodating anyway so I was
willing to wait as long as I needed to in order to get this done.
The next step was what to do about my follow-up appointment. Since my
original visit was at a different clinic, I wasn't sure if I should go back
to my regular place and see my normal doctor or if I should go back to the
new clinic. Yesterday morning I attempted to call the new clinic and the
phone just kept ringing and ringing so I called my original clinic instead.
My doctor's nurse called me back and after a few calls, I'm scheduled to see
my doctor next Tuesday morning. I'm really hoping that he'll be there this
time around!!! Then, while I was writing this entry, I got a call back from
the other clinic. I was told that my blood tests were a bit elevated in
terms of liver function and things, so if she were seeing me she'd recommend
one more test, but obviously that'll be up to my doctor. The ultrasound came
back negative, so that's good, in a way. This other test apparently looks at
the gallbladder and liver too, but somehow it's different, and it can find
things that might not show up on the ultrasound. So, I guess we'll see what
Tuesday shows and go from there. All I know is that I still don't feel all
that good, but it doesn't matter if I'm doing things or just sitting around,
and I can't wear half my jeans because they button and zip, and right now
they're putting too much pressure on me so that means more laundry. It's a
small price to pay for comfort, especially since I can just do it right in
my apartment.
And, speaking of laundry, I really should get off my lazy butt and try to do
a load. But, that's the latest that I have at the moment.
since I posted an update, so here I am.
The last time I wrote in here I talked about the joys of trying to arrange
for my ultrasound.; I honestly didn't think it was going to happen on
Monday. Businesses were still closed all over the place, and although the
Red River finally crested at about 41.8 feet on Saturday afternoon and then
started falling, there was still a lot of concern.
Just a slight diversion from my topic for a minute. A few days ago someone
left a comment and asked me how close I actually am to the flooding. I live
in West Fargo, which is considered to be a separate city from Fargo. They
have a system set up that apparently is supposed to divert water around the
city, and considering that I'm still in this apartment safe and dry, I'd say
it's doing what it's supposed to do. However, because I'm still most
definitely in the Fargo area, I was affected in the sense that
transportation and businesses were still not totally functional, even in
West Fargo. This gave everyone who could possibly help the chance to work on
sand bagging and other things to help get the dikes built up to at least 43
feet. Flood stage of the Red River in this area is 18 feet, and even now the
river is still somewhere over 30 feet, although I haven't gotten a flood
warning email about it recently so can't give an exact level. In any case
though, businesses started to reopen yesterday, and I think things are
gradually starting to get back to some semblance of normal in this area.
Things aren't over, and the new snow that we got on Monday and Tuesday
definitely hasn't helped, but the overall feelings seem to be very positive.
So, now with that out of the way, back to my story. By the time Monday
morning came around, I was pretty much bound and determined that I was going
to have that ultrasound. I was still really frustrated that I hadn't been
notified about any sort of cancellation, and I really didn't want to put
things off. I wasn't unsympathetic to the floods, especially since last
November is still very much on my mind and dreams, but I wanted that test.
So, starting at about 8:00 AM, I started calling the radiology department at
the hospital. For the first hour I kept getting the message that I'd gotten
last week about Friday appointments being cancelled, but there was no new
news. At 9:00 though, the message was changed, and gave me absolutely no
information. So, I called the main hospital number and asked to speak with a
human in radiology. I was reluctantly transferred, but I actually got a real
person. I explained that I was supposed to have an ultrasound that morning
and I was wondering what the status was. The lady told me that things had
been announced on TV. Okay, so the one question that I chose not to ask as
much as I wanted to was, so what about those people who don't watch TV? Does
showing something on a TV screen alleviate the need for a courtesy call to
patients letting them know about changes in their appointments? I wasn't
overly pleased, but at the same time I was really trying to be
understanding. But, things changed when the lady mentioned that one tech had
managed to make it in that morning, and she'd be willing to do the test if I
could get into the hospital. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance.
Fortunately, the cabs were running normally, so I was able to get a cab over
there. They didn't give me any problem at registration; apparently radiology
had notified them that I was coming, so they didn't try to tell me that the
place was closed or anything. It took me $31, and just a little over an hour
for the entire trip, and it would have even been quicker except that someone
else just kind of walked in expecting to have his appointment that day too,
and since his appointment had been scheduled for an earlier time than mine,
they took him first. Since it was so quick, this didn't bother me, and I
thought it was nice that they were being accommodating anyway so I was
willing to wait as long as I needed to in order to get this done.
The next step was what to do about my follow-up appointment. Since my
original visit was at a different clinic, I wasn't sure if I should go back
to my regular place and see my normal doctor or if I should go back to the
new clinic. Yesterday morning I attempted to call the new clinic and the
phone just kept ringing and ringing so I called my original clinic instead.
My doctor's nurse called me back and after a few calls, I'm scheduled to see
my doctor next Tuesday morning. I'm really hoping that he'll be there this
time around!!! Then, while I was writing this entry, I got a call back from
the other clinic. I was told that my blood tests were a bit elevated in
terms of liver function and things, so if she were seeing me she'd recommend
one more test, but obviously that'll be up to my doctor. The ultrasound came
back negative, so that's good, in a way. This other test apparently looks at
the gallbladder and liver too, but somehow it's different, and it can find
things that might not show up on the ultrasound. So, I guess we'll see what
Tuesday shows and go from there. All I know is that I still don't feel all
that good, but it doesn't matter if I'm doing things or just sitting around,
and I can't wear half my jeans because they button and zip, and right now
they're putting too much pressure on me so that means more laundry. It's a
small price to pay for comfort, especially since I can just do it right in
my apartment.
And, speaking of laundry, I really should get off my lazy butt and try to do
a load. But, that's the latest that I have at the moment.
