Internally Satisfied

Perhaps this month I'm destined to appreciate the underappreciated.

Last week I went to the pulmonologist and he put me on some heartburn medication to help control my asthma (weird, I know, but it worked). He told me to come back in a week and I asked him how late he was available. He asked, "When can you get here?" I told him, and he wrote it down on my check-out slip. The appointments receptionist started to give me a hard time about it, telling me that he's not here that late, and I said, "That's what he wrote down."

Today, I returned. I got caught in after-school traffic in Opelika (and I will definitely not go that way next week when I have an ultrasound at the same time at the next office down the strip) so I called and told the nurse that I was almost there, and she said that she wouldn't let him leave until he saw me. How's that for great customer service?

When I got there, they got me in right away, though I was about 7 minutes late for my appointment. The nurse told me that it was important to her that he know I was on my way because she remembered that he made an exception and stayed late for me.

He was with a patient in the room next to mine when I got there, and I heard him come out and say goodbye to the patient. Then one of his nurses said, "Will you talk to the nurse on the phone. She won't listen to me." And he sighed, and picked up the phone and started talking to a hospital nurse about a patient he had seen who disregarded his diagnosis and went to the emergency room instead. He was obviously flustered. Then I heard him say under his breath, "I'm just trying to get home."

I heard him say my name as he picked up my file, and mumble as he reacquainted himself with my chart. Then he knocked on my door and entered, cheery and happy to see me, never suspecting that I heard the interchange outside. He apologized for being so slow, that he had kidney stones this week and is till recovering, and then he acted like I was the only patient he ever had.

I made sure to thank him profusely, probably too much, for staying late for me and for taking the time to see me. He probably thought I was weird. But I really do appreciate it. I can't take off work right now to go to the doctor, and I was very forthright in telling them, and they were willing to make accommodations. Thank you Internal Medicine Associates!