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Hiatal hernia and getting treatment at Mayo Clinic
Visiting Mayo Clinic | Last Active: Nov 7, 2023 | Replies (35)Comment receiving replies
A blessing? A 3cm hiatal hernia? Continual discomfort with a myriad of horrible symptoms despite taking all prescribed measures including medication (15 years trying to be a good patient taking all advice given). I need surgery. To suggest it is a blessing that a hospital, such as Mayo, giving no response to a patient who has spend time and money sending all appropriate medical documents is absurd and ludicrous. It seems disingenuous. It feels dismissive. Is this the way people at Mayo in Minnesota deal with a patient’s medical issues? Platitudes? Illness is never a blessing and a lack of response to a patient seeking care is indifference and a lack of professionalism.
A blessing is something miraculous that occurs to someone. A thing conducive to happiness. A hiatal hernia is far from a blessing and it is certainly not happiness. The truth is Mayo refused my case not because I don’t need surgery, as has been indicated by two different gastroenterologist, but because there is criteria (that apparently I did not meet) which has not been communicated to me despite my efforts. While your communication may have been an attempt to make me feel better or as you suggested “blessed” it has confirmed in my mind that I would not at this point ever consider surgery at Mayo.
As a nurse and quite educated I am well aware that there are other qualified physicians and I believe it is my responsibility to find them. I have never experienced in my lifetime a physician looking to find me for treatment.
I do not operate my life on the concept of destiny…hard work, gifts you received both monetarily, genetically, lovingly, along with good health is what shapes a life. Having empathy and a personal vision is also quite helpful. I will seek treatment elsewhere.
Replies to "A blessing? A 3cm hiatal hernia? Continual discomfort with a myriad of horrible symptoms despite taking..."
Oh dear, @elleheart. I can understand your reaction. @happy2bhear, was not speaking on behalf of Mayo Clinic. She and @centre were offering assistance in seeking care should you not be able to get an appointment at Mayo Clinic.
Here in the online forums, words and tone can be easily misunderstood. However, words are the only tool we have. So allow me to say sincerely that no one is suggesting that your condition or needing surgery is a blessing.
Elleheart, I hope your physician will make referrals for you to Mayo Clinic or the institution you and your physician think can help. Fingers crossed that you get answers soon. Let me know if I can help.
Ok I apologize and rescind all my words to you. I DO NOT REPRESENT MAYO OR ANYONE AT MAYO. I DO NOT VOLUNTEER FOR MAYO. I AM only a user of this platform.
I did not intend to discount your pain or your issues finding a doctor.
I was relating my personal experience w stage 3 cancer and some of my friends’ experience w doctors, medical offices in general.
Whenever it becomes a trial to get a response from a particular doctor or office, often we look elsewhere. We don’t want to get involved and discover our first experience was a foreshadowing of future care. That is ME and MY FRIENDS. I was speaking of our way of looking at the medical world.
In no way did I or would I discount your problem with platitudes. I feel your pain in your writing and told you how we deal with it to find a solution and move us off of limbo.
My apologies once again.
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I completed the referral process 3 months ago to Penn State Medical Center, Hershey, for a neurologist and just got an appointment date. I can confirm that any referral to a major medical center takes a lot of time and persistence. Kudos to you for hanging in there.
Although the delay and absence of follow-up on Mayo’s part is not at all good practice, I do have some thoughts about the next steps (Cleveland Clinic? Mass General? Hershey?). Paying attention to human nature, I suggest to have your PCP make the referral directly ( that office will make the necessary calls, faxes, etc a lot faster than the surgeon’s office).
Penn State Hershey wanted nothing directly from me. It had to come from the PCP office, the neurosurgeon’s office, and the PT clinic. Maybe they do that to make sure that the “chain of evidence” is pristine and not tampered with by a determined nefarious patient. I too was in the medical field and you and I knew patients who would harass the docs until they got what they wanted. I also think a direct referral phoned or Faxed in from an MD office communicates the importance of the referral to a peer physician. One last thought, if the surgeon’s letter had specifics about what surgery was needed, Mayo probably didn’t like that- the idea a peer is “telling them what to do when they won’t do it themselves”. Plus maybe they would think you were tied to and would insist on that surgery, rather than their recommendations, if different.
A lot of words, but I honor you for being an excellent health advocate for yourself and (I’m sure) for family who need and want your help also. I didn’t realize when I was in the trenches how much you learn about the ins and outs, the human nature involved, the science AND art of medicine.
Wishing you all the best, I have a childhood book with photos of cats dressed in old-fashioned clothing, with a saying on each page- one of my favorites:
“Purrrseverance counts!”.