Medical Imagines

Solo Specialist Appointment

Hi everyone!

This is my first time writing anything like this, so please let me know if you like it!

Some of these may loosely be based on my own experience with chronic illness and medical experiences, and some may not be. Please let me know if there's anything I can be doing better or that you would like to see! One question that I have for you: do you want me to put either my name or a generic name in, or is Y/N best?

Thanks,

Ash

    Today was the day. But not just any day, the day. The day I would meet with a new specialist, to see if they had any ideas on what I should or should not be doing. Months of waiting, insurance approvals, and more led up to this moment. After the last doctor accused me of faking, I knew I needed to go elsewhere.

    I tried to keep busy all day, just not to think about it. I made sure that my medical binder was prepped the night before, and that I gave myself plenty of time to get there. I had my route planned in my head, especially because it was raining. I left about an hour before my appointment, because on a good day it takes about 30 minutes to get to my appointment, and with the rain, I wanted to give myself plenty of time. Because of my parent's work schedule, neither of them were able to come with me, which only made me more nervous. I have done several specialist appointments by myself, but never for a brand new doctor.

    As I was driving to the hospital, the rain increased, only making my anxiety more intense. I turned on my favorite soundtrack, and just drove as fast as I could safely get there.

    Pulling up to the hospital, I could feel my stomach getting a ton of butterflies. Once I found the parking garage, (which took a lot more time than I thought) I found the correct building. Once I knew where the appointment was, I still had about 30 minutes until my appointment time. I decided to walk some laps around the hospital to get some steps in, and get my mind off of what was about to happen.

    After about 15 minutes had passed, I came back into the office. I filled out the forms I needed to, and then only waited for about 5 minutes before I was called back.

    "Hi, my name is Carly, and I'm going to just take your vitals before the doctor comes in." The nurse cheerfully said.

    "Perfect." I replied. 'I'll be honest, my vitals have been all over the place, which I guess explains why I'm here." I shakily told her, not wanting to cry from anxiety in front of her.

    "It's not a problem at all." She smiled warmly as she spoke. "This is just a starting point, so it's totally normal for your vitals to be not a typical person's 'normal'. If you would rather not know them, I can just write them in your chart."

    I thought it was so sweet of her for giving me that option. "I'm ok to know, but thank you so much for offering that as an option. I may have to take advantage of that in the future."

    The next few minutes were silent as she took my vitals. After she was done, she told me that my blood pressure and pulse were high, and that my temperature was low. Both of those have become normal for me. I gave her my medical binder for my medication information as well as the blood sugar journal that I've been keeping the last few weeks.

    "You are the most organized patient by far, and also my youngest today!" Carly said sweetly.

    "Thank you. I try to make both of our lives easier." I timidly replied.

    "The doctor will be in shortly. He's running on time today, so it should be no more than 20 minutes." She told me as she left the room.

    That was when I got the most nervous. Just sitting in the room, on the examination table, not knowing what I was supposed to do. I knew that this was probably a good thing, but I was still so nervous. My heart felt as if it was pounding out of my chest, and that it was going to explode. My goal was to not have a panic attack throughout this process.

    After what felt like forever, but couldn't have been more than a few minutes, I heard a knock on the door.

    "Y/N? Good afternoon, my name is Dr. Smith, how are you?" He asked, trying to make me feel comfortable. He was a pretty young doctor, probably early 30s at most, and seemed nice.

    "I'm doing well, and how are you?" I replied, hoping to make a good first impression, because I've learned that first impressions make a huge difference.

    "I'm doing well, thank you for asking. Let's get right into this. I've briefly looked over your chart, and it seems as though you are not a typical case."

    "You're right about that. We should probably start from the beginning." I laughed and starting going over my medical history.

    For the next 45 minutes, we talk through everything that has happened with my health, what is manageable, and what is not. After continuing the conversation, we discovered one potential surgical option, but he would like me to wait until I'm back from my summer internship to do it, because insurance approval will take a long time.

    "Y/N, it was great to meet you today. I'm hopeful that this surgery will work, and if you need anything in the coming weeks, please let me know, and good luck with your internship this summer!"

    "Thank you so much for your time. I will look into this and make sure that this is the right option for me, and then we will start the insurance approval process. I definitely feel good about the preliminary meeting, so thank you." I told him, picking up my binder, and putting my shoes on that had to be taken off for the exam.

    After that, it was not raining as much, so I thankfully got to my car mostly dry, and was able to have a peaceful drive home. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, all because one doctor took the time to listen.

Well, there it is! I hope you all enjoy this one, and please let me know of any other ones that you think I should make, or if I should make something longer.

Ash