Gratitude Discussion Group

@lioness

How sweet is the stained glass picture your grandson made for you! Made with love for sure. How old is he? I love his use of color and the balance he achieved in this abstract.

@lioness @parus @gingerw

At Kaiser and some other places now you must call and request the results of your tests. I think insurance, for-profit healthcare, and limited number of doctors have caused the problem. To be profitable (or in some instances to break even) doctors are required to see a certain number of patients each day. This means they can only spend minimal time with patients who aren't acute. If they fall below their required number they often must take a cut in pay, or they may lose their jobs.

Computers have actually helped the doctors and nurses, and ultimately patients. Previously doctors would see their patients and at the end of each day they dictated their findings to tape to be transcribed the following day by staff and assigned the ICD number that corresponded to the patient's medical problem. The staff often needed to review the doctors handwritten notes to confirm their transcription. Have you tried to read doctor handwriting? It's terrible! Also, doctors often didn't like to to dictate their findings after a long day at work (12+ hours), so they let the patient files build up for a few weeks before trying to do them in a marathon session. This resulted in errors and difficulty for the patient who was awaiting their insurance reimbursement. With the computers doctors spend much less time transcribing information and are assured that the information entered is correct as they have you in the room when they are recording it. Things are more accurate and mistakes are hopefully fewer in number.

All change is difficult to adjust to, but in the long run computer use will improve the care given. I can't say the same about having to change doctors so often! I feel for you Parus. I hope Medicare for All (universal, single payer) will solve some of these problems for all of us. It will at the least, not be profit-oriented! It seems that "the Golden Calf" worship has led us to the state we're in these days. I hope my explanation has been helpful. This is from my 8 years working in healthcare/hospitals/clinics at an administrative level and seeing the challenges and changes that doctors and nurses are dealing with. The vast majority of healthcare professionals are truly interested in helping their patients improve. Only a few are truly bad at their jobs.

I am grateful for my 8 years of experience in Healthcare as it has given me compassion and empathy for those who work tirelessly to help those of us who need their expertise.

@gailb It was a!ways a guessing game when it came to reading Dr,s orders ..

Everyone, sorry I've been absent so much these days. I've just gotten myself so involved locally and am doing so many "things" it's hard for me to make sure I do everything. I'm just now to the point of realizing that I must schedule time for the most important things or they will slip through the cracks. Mayo Connect is extremely important to me. So, I'm scheduling time now to review posts and respond.

I think I also needed a break from the groups here while I established my new outside interests to the point that they are now part of my life. I'm sifting through all the new activities and deciding which to leave behind and which to keep. Time and energy limits require prioritization of the things most important to me. I'm slowly adjusting to my new life here after 3 years of not having friends or being connected to my local community. I am so grateful for the support of Mayo Connect and you each individually. I feel like the people in this group are truly great friends of mine.

@parus When I first was reading your posts you seemed (to me) to be so down and hopeless that I was worried about you harming yourself. Not so anymore! Your posts have changed so much over the past year and become happy, open, free and joking. I am so happy about this change and I wanted to be sure you appreciate the work you've done to get to where you are now. I certainly appreciate your strength and love. Your posts and sharing help me to be better. You are a wonder!

@lioness You have been consistently a helper of others. I love how you share your knowledge with us every time you post. You have rarely asked for support, but when you do you have laid the groundwork for everyone to want to help you. What a caring and lovely woman you are.

@merpreb When you first started posting, I felt envious of you, and had some fear that in my absence you would acquire my friends here. You have done exactly that, and now I am thankful for your support of them! You offer very concrete support, information, and loving care. I'm no longer fearing loss of those people you support. I'm grateful for your posts and time here. You are a gift.

@gingerw You are another wonderfully supportive and caring person whose posts are spot on. I love reading your recommendations and how doing those things yourself has helped you. I'm grateful for your presence on this Connect.

I'm not meaning to leave people out of my post, I just wanted to be sure I expressed my feelings for those I have thanked here. I hope I don't sound like I'm assuming a "superior" position to anyone with my appreciations, as I truly see us as equals in everything.

Hi I’m new to the group and Mayo Clinic. I’ve been coming here since October 2018. I had an Acoustic Neuroma tumor in my left ear since 2014. I’m 61 years young. The tumor began to grow and cause problems for me. The neurosurgeon I was seeing for it kept telling me it hadn’t changed in size but my symptoms sure had changed. So I looked to my ENT for help and told him I wanted to go to Mayo Clinic for the surgery to remove the tumor and get a cochlear nerve implant because my hearing was diminishing in my only good ear. I was down to 45% hearing in my right ear and no hearing in my left ear. That’s what the Audiologists found her at Mayo. I still had life in my cochlear nerve if they turned the volume up all the way. So this meant I had a 50% chance of the surgery working. I have Dr Matthew Carlson as my Doctor here at Mayo. I come back Monday for them to turn on my implant for me. I also have Aniket Saoji that is doing everything for my implant and Christopher J Plummer that worked with Dr Carlson on me! They are the best angels you can have!!! I’m so anxious to hear out of my left ear. I just know this is going to work. These three angels that operated on me worked a miracle for me on the 21st and they are my 1st and biggest gratitude!!!!

Liz waiting to hear in Illinois