So today I was supposed to be going to my first appointment with Jammy. Its not his first appointment on base but it is his first appointment that I was going to. I knew I was allowed to go to his appointments but I didnt know (until this last week) that I was SUPPOSED to be going to them. I have since learned the hard way that my amazing wonderful hubby that takes such good care of me and everyone else needs and advocate and thats where I step in! (here is where I would insert a picture of me standing with my hands on my hips wearing a cape and a shirt that said "super luci", well it would be if I had any of those things, but I dont, except for hips and hands, I have those!)
The morning started off good. I woke up with the first alarm (didnt even hit snooze! GO ME) got up and picked out my clothes and got dressed. Was ready before he was even! I was so proud. We left the house at 5 and stopped for coffee and had a little while to talk after we got to base before he left for PT. I saw he was hurting this morning but I was so hopeful that after the appointment with the doctor he would have a brand new profile that would keep him from continually having to hurt himself because of "procedure." So I happily played my game on my phone and waited for my husband to return and the sun to come up!
After PT we decided to go grab breakfast even though neither one of us was hungry and (despite the high levels of caffeine and that I had taken my meds this morning) I was getting a little tired. I am not used to 4 am mornings and thoroughly believe they should be illegal lol :p. We grab some food, go back to base, Jammy goes and changes out of his PTs and we head happily to the hospital for his appointment. I felt strange when we got there because I was the only spouse in the waiting room and I could see that Jammy was nervous so I stayed pretty quiet. When they called him back I knew something was going to go terribly wrong this day, however I didnt know it would be the whole fucking day. They call him back and the nurse very rudely tells me "You can NOT go back with him. I have to triage him ALONE. They will come back for you later!" I tried to smile as sweetly as I could and said as nicely as I could muster "Ok! No problem! I understand!" and proceeded to sit back down and wait. After 20 mins had past I started getting antsy. After 40 mins had passed the antsiness went away and was replaced by annoyed. Then at the hour mark, annoyed gave way to thoroughly pissed off. Thats about the time Jammy came out. He was pissed as well. I could see it on his face before I could even get to him. The first thing he said was "I kept telling her you were out here, she said that they were too far behind to let you come back." I looked at the COMPLETELY EMPTY waiting room and said..."Oh yeah, they are SWAMPED."
After that things just went down hill. The people we had to go see after that were either out or busy. The Nurse Case manager couldnt fit us in, which means that he couldnt get the appointment for his MRI or his appointment to go back to see the doctor. At the end of the day I was livid and so was Jammy. I decided something had to be done so I decided while he went to last formation I was going to go see his Ombudsman. This is supposed to be the "impartial advocate." I waited outside his office until the person before me left and then knocked and introduced myself. I proceeded to tell him my issues and why I was pissed. My husband is in pain, constantly. However the doctor will not put him on a profile that says he can take it a little easier at PT. Not for at least two days. The doctor would not let me come back today, when I was told I could come to all appointments. He stopped me there and told me that we had to request SPECIAL appointments for FAMILY to accompany him. They only schedule our soldiers for 20 minute appointments so (and I quote) "the doctors dont have time to answer questions and deal with issues that the family might have." I lost it. I told him that 20 minutes obviously wasnt enough time for him to address the issues HE has so something is obviously wrong. He said he would call the Nurse Case Manager and tell her to set up Family Appointments from now on. I didnt ask him but I am pretty sure this means another months wait before he can see his doctor. Yes you heard me right IT TOOK A MONTH FOR A WOUNDED WARRIOR TO SEE HIS DOCTOR. They couldnt fit him in before that. Anyone else see something wrong with this?
So after I left the Ombudsman's office I felt a little better about the situation (stress the little). I am hoping we can figure out what is really wrong with my husband and find a way to get him back into the job he loves so dearly. I just want to see him happy again. Just for a day. This constant state of pain and frustration is so hard on me. Especially since I cant do anything for him to help.
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