I Was Moved to an Examining Room Just Before My Head Exploded

"You've made fine progress since morning. You'll be first in line tomorrow."

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more tolerant of lots of things. With two children of my own, and now 3 beautiful grandchildren and 2 wonderful step-grandsons, I get a chance to test my patience now and then. And of course, almost 38 years of marriage can test anyone’s patience!

But I found something this week that really tested my patience in a big way. A visit for a doctor’s appointment was supposed to be quick and easy. I had the first morning appointment at 8:30 a.m. – no waiting and everyone would be right on time. Right?

After all, I had received the automated message on my voice mail that said, “Please be sure to arrive at least 20 minutes before your appointment. If you are late or fail to show up, you will be charged for the visit in full. You must cancel this appointment 7 days in advance or you will be charged a $25 fee.”

Okay, they are efficient and they like things running on time! Great – that’s what works best for me. Without hesitation, I told my daughter I would have no trouble getting to her house to take care of the children that same morning on time – not to worry.

Arriving as instructed at 8:10 a.m., I waited in a dimly lit waiting room. The reception area was void of any human so I signed the registration pad and sat down with my book. I turned on the waiting room lights since someone had obviously forgotten about them (or had not arrived to turn them on!). With no other patients in site, this would be a piece of cake because I would get 100% of their attention.

About 8:35 a.m., a woman appeared at the reception desk – obviously not happy to be there, grumpy, and with absolutely no smile or expression on her face other than a slight grimace.  I decided to be friendly because she was obviously having a bad morning so I said, “Good morning” in my cheeriest voice (maybe this would speed the registration process along I thought). A nod of her head was about all I got.

It was now 8:40 a.m. and I was anxious. An 8:30 a.m. appointment should begin at 8:30 – right? After all, I was instructed to arrive early.

I decided that it was all okay now since the receptionist had arrived and I could hear doctors laughing in the hallways. I knew I would be whisked to the examining room in minutes and would be headed out the door no later than 9:00 a.m. as planned. Doctors only allow 10-15 minutes per patient visit so there was no danger of me being there longer.

By 8:50 a.m., my pulse was racing, my face was getting red, and my patience was wearing thin. Thank goodness they finally called me back to the examining room before my head exploded. It took only seconds to check blood pressure, weight (argh), and temperature. Now it was 8:53 a.m. and I was still a bit anxious. I could hear footsteps, conversation, and other noises from outside. I even heard doctors talking and laughing (their laughing made me want to race out of the room and scold them for being so loud and being so late — hadn’t their mothers taught them manners! – but I still had some semblance of patience left so I sat on my hands).

Finally, the doctor opened the door at 9:10 a.m. after I had been in the office waiting for almost an hour. The visit went without incident and all was well and I was soon headed out the door.

I raced to my car and quickly hit speed dial to let my daughter know that I was on the way to pick up the children, but was running late – which also meant she was running late to her own appointment now and her patience was effectively and understandably wearing thin.

Maybe my patience and tolerance is not as great as I thought it was. But I did feel that my time was disrespected and I was angry. Instead of allowing it to ruin my day, I pushed it out of my mind and decided to enjoy the rest of my day doing all of the things I had planned. After all, nothing could be changed at this point.

Now, if I can just find the address to send a bill to the doctor’s practice for “fee for being late for an appointment”.