S had an appointment with his new Primary Care Manager.

We just returned home from S’s appointment with his new Primary Care Manager (PCM) at the Family Practice Clinic.  This was a big deal because S had no desire to leave Pediatrics, but he is aging out of Peds next week.  His pediatrician had a plan to move him upstairs.  Things didn’t go according to plan, but it all worked out in the end.  (My husband is awesome at making phone calls and emailing people).

S met his new doctor’s nurse first.  She was quite funny and joked around about S having to leave Peds.  He laughed.  Then the doctor came in and joked around about having to leave Peds.  First impressions were good.  [My husband and I are both seen in this clinic, but we have different providers.]

The doctor was very thorough.  He asked S a lot of questions about his medications and why he takes them.  He asked which specialists he sees and why.  S had prepared for this prior to the appointment.  He made a list of his medications.  He had a list of provider’s names and locations. He put these lists on his phone.  He left his phone at home.  

We discussed protocol for refilling prescriptions, how often the doctor wants to see him, the best way to contact him, etc.  The doctor did a good job of talking to S and not us.  The doctor put in a prescription for him to be picked up today and lab work that needed to be done to check his Vitamin D levels and Thyroid.

We went to the pharmacy where we waited 30 minutes for S’s number to be called only to find out there was nothing in the system yet.  This is not uncommon for him.  We don’t know why. He is convinced that there is a virus in the hospital’s computer system that does this to him. The pharmacy tried calling back to the doctor and no one answered the phone.  At that point, we just went to the lab.  It was a prescription that isn’t critical to be filled right now.

We went to the lab next.  That was fast.  He checked in, waited a couple of minutes, and they called his number.  When asked which arm he preferred to have his blood drawn from, his response was, “Neither.”   

Overall, it was a good morning at the hospital.  S liked the nurse.  He liked the doctor.  His comment when we left was, “Everyone was very polite and helpful.”  He was right.  I had soldiers offer to load his wheelchair for me.  A soldier came and closed the van door after S got in the van.  People offered to switch seats with us in waiting rooms to make things easier for S to get around.  

After a good morning like this, I need to sit on the couch with chocolate and enjoy it!