Yesterday was another day full of frustrations as well as fun.
The fun was meeting up with Cathy and Tom K. They are visiting a time share property by WDW this week and then staying with us next week. We met them for lunch, which they bought for us (Thanks, Tom and Cathy!) and then we relaxed in the pool, hot tub, and lounge chairs until dinner. That was a great afternoon.
The frustration was in trying to schedule that appointment with a gastroenterologist and a colonoscopy. Two different people gave us the same name of a GI doctor in Celebration. Mark also had the name of a doctor recommended in the ER as well as two other groups in Kissimmee. His plan was to start with the one in Celebration and try everyone here before turning to those in MD. Dr. Anwer, the one recommended in Celebration, said he could see Mark for a consultation appointment on April 23, the day before we leave, meaning if anything had to be done, like a colonoscopy, it would have to wait until after June 6 when we returned.
Mark declined that appointment. After talking it over, we decided to skip all the Florida doctors, assuming we would get the same results and just go straight to the doctor in Laurel who did his previous colonoscopies.
NO! Turns out he doesn't take Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal Plan. Crazy! Mark was on a different Federal insurance plan back then. Then he called one that my sister Cindy used for her colonoscopy last year. That man is no longer with the group he was with then, but they would be happy to check if they took his insurance. They said they would call back. Then he called a doctor in Columbia that he found through his insurance's website, but by that time we were having lunch with Cathy K and she had also used him and recommended him. Great. They gave him an appointment for May 14 but it would be June before any colonoscopy could be scheduled. AARGH. We'll be on the road to Buffalo and then back here by then. The good news about his office, though, was that they kindly pointed out that any doctor who did the colonoscopy would have to be the doctor who did any follow up surgery or work because it's not pictures, it's real time looking. If he had the colonoscopy in MD, any doctor in Florida would just want to do it over again. UGH. No thanks.
So he called back Dr. Anwer in Celebration and took the appointment for April 23. Hopefully it will all be fine. Then the colonoscopy and any further procedures will have to wait until after June 6.
LOL!! A few hours after he made that appointment, the doctor in Towson who was checking on the insurance called back and said she could make him an appointment. He declined. We are sticking with Dr. Anwer.
In the meantime, Mark has increased his fiber intake and water intake and is feeling better. There are still some symptoms that are troubling, but he is doing okay and thinks he can hang on. Worse comes to worse, we will be in an ER in Maryland in May, but neither of us really thinks it will come to that.
Now for the really great news, my weight. I am 267.6 this morning, down a whopping SEVEN pounds. Basically that is where I was just before Passover, so that extra weight is gone. I'm still up 11 pounds from six months ago when I went to Dr. Vijay, the medical oncologist that I'm seeing today. She probably will not be happy. I'm also still up five pounds from March 15 when I saw our primary care doctor. It's not a good number, but it's down. Today I'll take it.
It's going to be another busy day. After my oncology check up, I am getting my hair cut and colored, and then we are meeting my sister-in-law, Denise, for dinner at the Plant City Outback Steakhouse. That's about half way from where we are in Poinciana to where she is staying in Sarasota. I can't wait, but I also have to be sensible in the restaurant. Here's the rules: NO Wallaby Darned even though it's my most favorite drink in the entire world and I haven't had one in years; NO bread; No Bloomin' Onion. If I eat only what I eat at the lunches for NAARFE, which is salad, fish, and vegetables, I should not undo this weight loss. I'm also planning to walk today. Wish me luck.
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