Hello Doctors!

First of all I would like to tell you how much I love your show, not to mention how much I have learned even at my age of 55.

I have two daughter's (32 & 34 years old.)  I have also been blessed with a healthy beautiful granddaughter and grandson.  They truly are the loves of my life!  Other than suffering with disthymia for many many years I never had any major health problems.  My medical problems started to occur at the age of 45 and then when I turned 50 that is when the following problems really started to way heavily on my body and mind.

During the past 10 years I have been diagnosed with Pagets Disease, treatment resistant depression, general anxiety disorder, degenerative disk disease (L4 & L5) and (C1 & C2) spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis in the knees, spine, hands, and hips.  I also have been diagnosed with restless legs and arms syndrome and as of March 13, 2009 I was diagnosed with massive bilateral idiopathic pulmonary embolisms and a problem with one of my hear valves.  Just putting this down on paper makes me realize how pathetic my health is not to mention how this only makes my depression worse.  Although I am on 300 mg's of zytram, 150 mg's of Lyrica and 40 mg's of peroxicam, I still suffer from chronic pain every day and all day long.  My depression is pretty bad and the days when I do not go out I just sit around the house in my p.j.'s and cry.   

What really bothers me is that when I was diagnosed with blood clots in my lungs by my family doctor told me to get to the E.R. right away as this could be fatal.  She also said that she was going to call or fax my blood results (D-dimer) to the E.R. and tell them to expect me.  I was at the hospital within 20 minutes and I waited to talk to the triage nurse in between patients.  I was pretty scared and did not know what to expect.  So once the triage nurse was free, I politely told her what was going on with me and my doctor told me to come to the E.R. as soon as possible.  She was beyond rude and a total disgrace to the profession and said, "How do you know you have blood clots in the lungs....did you have a lung scan?  I told her that I had the D-dimer blood test and it came back positive.  She then told me, "that test always comes back with a false positive reading."  I also told her that my doctor was going to call ahead and she said, "Well she didn't call me!!"  She then told me to take a little white ticket and wait my turn.  Half an hour later it was my turn to see a triage nurse and don't I have the pleasure of seeing the same one that told me to wait my turn.  She continued to rudely aske me some medical questions.  After I went through that 15 minutes of hell with her she then told me to go and sit in the waiting room.  Five hours later I was called into the second waiting room and sat there for another hour.  Finally six hours from the time I first came into the E.R. I was seen by an intern.  I have absolutlely no problems with an intern taking care of me or treating me.  (I am and always have been very co-operative with people who are in training and want to better themselves.  I truly respect them for thier decision and I will let them do what ever is necessary in order for them to learn.)  This intern wasted another half an hour with me and tried to blame my symptoms on stress.  Can you believe this?  I told her that I had a D-dimer test that morning in that hospital along with an echo cardiogram.  My doctor called me at home and told me to go to the E.R. NOW!  This intern also told me that a D-dimer test always comes back with a false positive reading.  I was about to scream!!  She then sends me back to the waiting room for another hour and then comes back to tell me that they want to repeat the D-dimer test and give me a cardiogram.  The nightmare continues as my male nurse tells me that he was going to take a blood sample for a D-dimer test and did not believe me that I had pulmonary embolisms.  One hour later the test results came back and guess what?  I actually did have a embolism and with me having so much trouble with my breathing it had to be in my lungs.  DO YOU THINK???  The Intern then tells my male nurse to give me a shot of fragmin in my stomach, for me to go home and a doctor from the Thrombo Clinic was going to call me tomorrow a.m. which was a Saturday.  I walked into that E.R. at 2:00 p.m. and walked out at 10:00 p.m. with a life threatening illness.

The next day I did not hear a word from this doctor in the Thrombo Clinic and I did not hear a word from him the next day as well.  On Monday a.m. I called the E.R. and I could not get through (all circuits were busy) so I thought then it could not have been a very big deal with not hearing from the Thrombo Clinic and with me having an injection of fragmin on the Friday evening I guess I will be okay.  I did call my family doc and she was away for an extended vacation.  Great!  I finally seen my family doc on April 3rd and she freaked.  She immediatley called the Thrombo Clinic and got me in right away.  She also prescribed warfarin for me which I had to start taking immediately.  I walked around for 23 days with this blood clot in my lung and no one seemed to be very concerned about it.  When I had my first visit with the Thrombo Clinic I was sent down to nuclear medicine and then back to the clinic for an Ultra Sound.  The test in nuclear medicine was inconclusive so then I came back the next day for a CT Scan.  After I had the CT Scan and saw my Thrombo doc, he said that I do have a blood clot in my lung.  They have no idea where it came from as the ultra sound was clear and I have not had any surgery.  That day I had to start injecting myself with fragmin on a daily basis for a week as well as take warfarin on a daily basis.  When I went back for my second visit for some reason my Thrombo doc gave me the results of the CT Scan and I almost dropped to the floor.  The radiologist's opinion was: massive bilateral pulmonary embolisms.  Massive!  Did I have massive bilateral pulmonary embolisms on March 13th when I first went into the E.R. and then sent home to fend for myself?  Or did these massive bilateral pulmonary embolisms occur while I was walking around for 23 days and not being treated for them.  Everyone in the Thrombo Clinic was horrified that I was treated that way in the E.R. and then to be sent home with no prescriptions or a stat appointment to see the Thrombo doc the very next day.  Everyone was also telling me that I was very lucky to still be alive as one of the blood clots could have very well ended up in my heart or brain.  My third appointment I had the pleasure of being seen by a different Thrombo doc and he was stunned to hear my story and read all of the reports, including the E.R. report.  He also said to me, "If you had died after being treated that way in the E.R. and then sent home with no medication or a stat appointment with a Thrombo doc the very next day, your families lawyers would be all over this hospital!" 

I realize that doctors swear an oath and never talk down or bad about thier piers.  I am wondering and very interested to find out if I have a case of malpractice.  Clearly I did not die but who knows how worse my condition became as I walked around for 23 days without being treated for my pulmonary embolisms. 

UNBELIEVABLE!!  I have always felt blessed to live in Canada where we have such a wonderful health care system.  After that horrific nightmare I can't help but wonder...."Do we really have a wonderful health care system?  Clearly we don't.  In the future if I have any more problems I am calling an ambulance and hopefully I will recieve medical treatment a lot quicker and I won't have to wait around for 8 hours only to be sent home to fend for myself with a time bomb just waiting to explode.  

So this is my story and I am sticking to it!!!  Please let everyone know if this should happen to any of your viewers to please refuse to leave the hospital and insist on seeing a thrombo specialist.   And if all else fails call an ambulance and just go to the next hospital and hopefully they will treat you with dignity, respect and care.  I cannot stress enough about having to be our own advocate!!

From a very frustrated Canadian viewer.