Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Saturday, September 24, 2016

No Guardian Angel

Before I go further let me explain the reason I do not believe in guardian angels. The people I know who believe in such a thing also believe there's only one God, and that God favors the United States. That makes no sense to me. I have to believe if we live in a world of guardian angels they have to be everywhere, since they seem to be the product of one God. Surely God would not play favorites by countries. If there are guardian angels for the children in Syria I have to say they're doing a poor job. I choose to go it without guardian angels, I don't trust them.


That said, this young woman was a real game changer in our lives this week. We had received a phone call from the cardiologist's office saying the Medicare contract for the new cardiologist had not yet been approved and therefore she was not yet seeing Medicare patients. I was told they would need to move Bob's upcoming appointment out six weeks. I was not happy but saw I would have to take it higher than the appointment desk to get the problem resolved. 

I was surprised a few days later to get a phone call from the happy nurse pictured above. I had spoken to her on the phone a time or two but had no face to put with the name, didn't really know anything about her. 

She said she was looking at Bob's file and saw his appointment had be moved to November and wanted to know why. After I explained she said she was not happy with the situation and would get back to me.  Shortly I received a call from an appointment person who moved his appointment to yesterday morning.


We assumed they had worked something out and we would be seeing the new cardiologist.


Wrong, we saw the cardiologist pictured above. Later I would learn the nurse works for this man and thought he would be a perfect fit for Bob. 

We were a bit confused at first. My only real concern was the possibility of an accent Bob would have a hard time understanding. He is Filipino and does have some accent but not enough to be a problem. He was wonderful with Bob and talked to me like he thought I had a brain. 

I got more information from him in that one visit than I'd gotten in 12 years from our cardiologist that retired. The old cardiologist very much believed only one person needed to know the details and that was him. He did not welcome questions. This man welcomed questions saying it was our right to know. (Would you believe he's been in practice 20 years?)

We left very happy with the new cardiologist.

20 comments:

  1. Wow! You and Bob are so deserving of a fine cardiologist who KNOWS you have a brain and encourages you to make use of it! He sounds like just the ticket for Bob. I'm happy for both of you.

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    1. It was not always easy working with the previous cardiologist. I'm looking forward to working with this one.

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  2. Oh Linda, this story brought a tear to my eye. Being older, we have a vulnerability that many times is not appreciated by doctor's offices or those younger that we are.

    I have worked in the field, so am very aware of the difference in personalities of health care providers. The ones who communicate fully with the patient and the family member are truly a treasure. It is very easy to tell if someone is just going through the motions versus if they really care about you as a person. You have a gem here with this cardiologist!

    So glad that your "guardian angel" was watching out for you and Bob.

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    1. Of all Bob's doctors the cardiologist was the most difficult. Am so looking forward to working with this one.

      Bob once had a cardiologist he really did not like. The referring doctor asked me to go with Bob to a visit to see if I could figure out what the problem was because the man was a very respected doctor.

      It took me no time at all to see the problem The doctor was Korean with a heavy accent. He was very serious, and seldom smiled.

      Bob had great difficulty understanding the man. Bob likes to banter and tease with his doctors. Humor often doesn't translate well between cultures.

      We got a new referral.

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  3. I don't believe in guardian angels but I do believe there are some truly wonderful people in the world who just happen to work in the medical field and you lucked out to find both a nurse and a doctor. Glad for you and Bob!

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    1. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this new situation.

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  4. I am so happy for both of you. I had the very same experience. As I commented before, my former cardiologist retired. He never answered my questions satisfactorily, and never gave any information. I'm so pleased with my new doctor. He listens, answers, takes his time and explains things thoroughly. I wish my former cardio guy a very long a happy retirement. :) I hope things continue to go well for Bob and his new cardio guy. It looks like things worked out for the best.

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    1. Since that is the specialist we use more than any other I feel very fortunate to have this doctor on Bob's care team.

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  5. It's all about communication which has to go both ways.

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    1. Communication seems to be the key to solving most situation.

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  6. Great news on the cardiologist!

    That said, I do believe in guardians angels. (and I think God is an equal opportunity God. Not just Americans. LOL)

    My oldest daughter was with her girlfriends in Hawaii on the Big Island, celebrating the end of their first semester of finals. My daughter's roommate was a girl from the islands, and her mom worked at a car lot. Because my daughter had an athletic scholarship, we didn't want her that far away without a vehicle, so we bought her a used Camaro from her roommate's mom. Lovely car with a hatchback. Anyhow, after finals, my daughter and four girlfriends got in the car to drive to the volcano. At night. Light drizzle (it rains a LOT in Hilo and the east side of the Big Island.) As they were coming back down from the volcano (NO road lighting), my daughter missed a stop sign at a T stop, and hydroplaned off the road, wedging the car between dense trees. The girls all managed to climb out the hatchback. If the car hadn't had a hatchback, who knows how long they would've been there. Anyhow, everyone had seat belts on except the girl on the hump in the back. She had broken her leg. The girls had to walk to the Volcano Center to call for help. This was before kids had cell phones. They got there, and called their Coach, who called for an ambulance, and then they called the parents. It was going to take over an hour to get that ambulance to them, and it was past midnight by then, pitch black, raining.

    Suddenly, a car showed up with a couple. SUV, in fact. They said they were a doctor husband and wife, from the cruise ship. They tended to the girls, and drove them to the hospital ahead of the ambulance.

    When we tried to contact them on the cruise ship the next day, they had absolutely record of that couple on the ship.

    Guardian Angels. They exist. I believe, even if you don't.

    No rhyme nor reason for whom they help, or when. I can live with that.

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    1. I'm glad your daughter and her friends received the help they needed.

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  7. Well, Good! Having to change cardiologists turned into a blessing!

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    1. I am very pleased the situation turned out so well. A cardiologist is a must in our household and it will be so much better dealing with one that doesn't mind answering questions.

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  8. Wonderful news. I hate changing doctors but sometimes I stumble into the best situations. I'm so glad for you two.

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    1. I really feel like we get good healthcare here. I feel like the cardiologist that retired took very good care of Bob but he wasn't always easy to deal with. I am so looking forward to working with this new one.

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  9. I do not in any way fit your profile of angel believers, but I do believe in some angelic presence (just for convenience of terminology) in life on a metaphoric level. It's about just the type of thing that happened for you and Bob here. In truth, though, one has to wonder why the angelic presence did not manifest itself ages ago!!

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    1. Now Olga I'm not smart enough to deal with life on a metaphoric level. My question to a guardian angel would have to be "where were you the last 12 years?" "How come you suddenly decided to show up?"

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  10. What a blessing! That's just wonderful! What an encouraging thing this turned out to be!

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    1. We feel very fortunate to have the health care we receive here.

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