Having just found out last week that Monica is indeed pregnant, yesterday's scheduled doctor visit should have been a breeze; a calming measure for a mom-to-be. Unfortunately, the majority of yesterday was anything but comforting.
We arrived at the doctor's office early, knowing full well that there would be paperwork to fill out since it was our first visit. Everything proceeded routinely until the receptionist, after looking over Monica's paperwork, called her back up to the desk and informed her that the doctor she was supposed to see that day didn't deliver babies for a hospital that takes our [crappy] insurance [Aetna.] Monica, being rather emotional and high-strung already, asked the lady if the doctor could still see her, and informed her that we would pick a different doctor if necessary.
Now I'm not entirely sure what the receptionist said to Monica, and I'm sure it wasn't meant to come across in a mean or condescending manner, but it was all Monica's already frazzled nerves could handle. Without going into details, since it's pointless to dwell on now, let's just say that Monica was "less than happy", and that we proceeded to "vacate the doctor's office in an abrupt and aggressive manner." [I just love euphemisms, don't you?]
Outside in the car, I tried to calm Monica down, letting her know that I would go back in and talk to the receptionist, to see if there was anyway that the doctor COULD see her that day, even if it was only the one time. The receptionist told me that if the doctor's office was going to assume responsibility for the pregnancy, that the same doctor would have to work with Monica throughout the entire time she was pregnant, and since the doctor she was scheduled to visit didn't deliver at the hospital Monica has selected for the birth, it would be better if we saw the other doctor that they'd given us a name and number for.
Now I can understand that the doctor's office was just trying to cover it's own @ss, but they could have given Monica more detailed information over the phone, when she set the appointment up, alerting her to the fact that the doctor she was scheduling an appointment with would not be available to deliver her baby in her chosen hospital, because he didn't perform deliveries there, and that the hospitals where he DID work, didn't take our form of insurance. Those 2 simple facts would have prevented so much unnecessary stress and frustration!
Anyway, rather annoyed myself at this point, I walked back out to the car to inform a rather distraught Monica that we were going to get her checked out today, even if it meant a visit to the emergency room at St. Mary's.
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I guess I should take a moment to explain some of the back story that preceded this situation.
Monica has been having sharp, stabbing pains in her lower abdomen, and she was worried that something was wrong. Having a history of medical problems on both sides of her family, and basically being told that the chances of her ever getting pregnant were one in a million, it's understandable that the sudden appearance of sharp pains in her abdomen, so soon after learning that she WAS in fact pregnant, lead to some rather worried thoughts, to put it mildly. It was of utmost importance to Monica that she get checked out ASAP, to make sure that nothing was wrong with her. That's the one thing that Monica has always wanted to be - a mother - and she had resigned herself to the fact that it would probably never happen. Now, suddenly she had been given this miraculous gift, her heart's desire, and she wants to do everything she can to make sure this baby is okay! So that's what lead us to the doctor's office yesterday...
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Anyway, I hopped back in the car, made sure that Monica was strapped in (her seatbelt, you twist!), and we headed back toward St. Mary's hospital.
We were supposed to go visit Monica's dad and step-mom yesterday afternoon, and give them the good news, but we knew that if we checked into the ER, that we'd probably miss our dinner date with them. It was more important to make sure everything was okay though, so Monica checked in, saw the Triage nurse fairly quickly, and then we joined the multitude of others in the waiting room. She called her dad and let him know that we probably wouldn't make it for dinner, which was disappointing, but then she gave him the great news and dinner was instantly forgotten. Everyone knows that we've been trying to have a baby since we've been married, over 7 years ago; and everyone knew that there was a slim chance that we ever would, so news like this was an unexpected but extremely welcome surprise! After an animated conversation with her dad, Monica and I settled in for our LONG wait in the St. Mary's ER waiting room [aptly named.]
After a few hours had passed, during which time my boss called to see if I could come in to work, since he'd forgotten to schedule anyone for the ImPress evening shift, they finally called us into the back. Then took blood, did an ultrasound and various other tests and exams, and basically kept us around for another 3 or 4 hours waiting for everything to be finished, and the results to come back.
Final prognosis - Yes, Monica is indeed pregnant (we knew that already); it was too early in the pregnancy to tell exactly how far along she was (but there guess was about 6 weeks or less); everything seems to be okay, but Monica has to schedule a visit with the OB/GYN within the next couple of days, so they can check her out more thoroughly and give her a better idea of what's what.
All that for $50, six hours of our time, and a validated $5 parking fee (which was nice, because the last time I was at that hospital the stupid machine at the gate took $5 of mine, refused to let me out, and made me use my debit card (paying a 2nd time) to get the gate open!) But you can't put a price on peace of mind, and that's what was most important to me...the fact that Monica now knew everything was okay; that the the pains were probably just normal pregnancy pains; and that the pregnancy appeared to be proceeding as normal. THAT, as they say, is priceless.
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So all in all, although yesterday was a very stressful and emotional day for all of us, in the end things turned out okay. After we left the hospital, Monica and I went for a "celebratory" meal at Fatz on Lexington Road, and then came home to relax for a while before bed. This is just the START of the pregnancy, so I'm quite certain things will only get crazier and more chaotic from here, but God willing, in under a year we'll be the proud parents of our first born child (or children. Who knows! *grin*)
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