why do they do this!!!!!!!

[gordy]

was schduled for ganma knife today. they cancelled on my yesterday for some reason. i cant believe this goes on. was schuduled about 6 weeks ago. open schuduales for all doctors involved. dont they look at there appointments and relize ....ok i have to work tomarrow?  seems there patients schudales dont matter to them. sorry for venting but it pissed me off. reschudeled for next month now.

[Sue]

Sorry they did that to you.  Doctor's do their scheduling for their own convenience, not for yours. And since your AN is not an "emergency" then they will certainly feel free to bump you if something more urgent shows up on their books, whether it be a serious problem with another patient, equipment maintenance, or golf. 

But I sympathize!! 

Sue in Vancouver USA

[Raydean]

Hi gordy

I'm really sorry that you got bumped around, especially after waiting 6 weeks.  It's pretty hard on the emotions.  I wanted to share that Sue is probably right in that an emergency, a patient with a greater need occurred.   I hope that you can take some comfort in knowing  that most likely you're being bumped allowed someone else in a serious situation to start treatment that in the least would allow a person additional time,  and maybe even  helped to save a life.

I know this to be true because a few months ago my husband was seen for a non AN medical condition as an urgent need patient..  His GK had  to start immediately.  I'm sure that other patients were bumped around in order for him to start his treatments.  I remain thankful to the doctors and the patients that were bumped for giving us the hope that immediate treatment brings. 

Please know that you, by being bumped made a positive difference in someone else life.

Bless you!!!!
Raydean
 

[gordy]

i have no problom with that. if there was an emergency i dont mind one bit, thats what needs to be done, but i dont believe that to be the case since it was the radiation oncoligist that had a conflict. as was told to me they asked her to just do this since i have had posponments in the past but she said she couldnt. to me it doesnt sound like an emergency. and i dont mean to ***** but a longer notice then 18 hours would have been much better bedside manner in my opinion. ok enough of this. hope everyones doing well and have a great weekend.

[tony]

I got "bumped" AFTER they had screwed on the headframe
I was walking around the hospital like the "man in the iron mask"
for 4 hours (ouch)  ...it was only after I packed and went to leave,
still with the mask on.....that they got moving
Interesting conversation...
"Youre NOT leaving" ....."WATCH ME"...."OOHHH"
No I didnt enjoy it - but Gamma is used for other things
and it really is only a one-at-a-time machine
Better Luck Next Time !
Tony

[judzie]

Hi Gordy,
I'm the lady that e-mailed you that I had Dr. Wackym and Dr. Grossheim do my Gamma Knife last year. I was very unhappy with them and the way my surgery went. I did not find this AN site until after I had my surgery. I wish I would of waited and got a second opinion. Did you get a second opionion? I have had nothing but problems since my GK. I had 5 months of headaches and after I saw an acupunturist which someone from the AN site suggested they finally went away. I had one month that I thought my life was finally going back to normal and I started falling in Feb. Then I started having very bad earaches, my face has gone numb and tinglly, I have problems with my left eye and 24/7 I have equilibrium problems that make me nausaus by the end of the day.Plus I have such bad fatigue. I can barely make it through an 8 hour work day. I'm in bed by 8 every night. I could not find an ear doctor that knew about AN's.I asked Dr. Grossheim for referrals to another doctor and she wouldn't give me any. My primary doctor finally did some calling around and I sure wish I would of known about Dr. Steve Millen. He is very knowlegeable in AN's both gamma knife and micro-surgery.His bio is quite impressive.He has done thousands of ear surgeries. He is an older doctor in his early 60's. He told me things that Dr. Wackym never mentioned as a complication. He knows of Dr. Wackym because he is an associate professor at the Medical College. I never asked Dr. Wackym how many GK's he had done.  I also found a neurologist at St. Lukes Dr. Cully White and he asked me why I let a MD do brain surgery on me. Both doctors could not believe that he didn't have a neurologist involved that should of talked to me prior to surgery. I told both of them that he sent me to see an onocologist radiologist. They both asked me for what. I had no idea. I just went. I don't want to scare you but I sure would of wanted someone to tell me their experience. Maybe it's a godsend that it was cancelled. How big is your AN? I went in on Thursday to have a MRI done. I won't find out the results until next Thursday. My 6 month MRI showed no change in the turmor size.

Kathy

[gordy]

thanks for the info kathy. im sorry i never reeeceived an email from you. those two are the ones that were supposed to do my gamma knife. i did first go see dr. harvey, hes a partner with millin i believe. he immediatley told me surgery is needed. well from there i saw the neurosurgeon that he works with in waukesha. after that i spoke to a friend that had sever ear and balance probloms. not an AN. and he told me about wackym. hes very happy with him and a friend that works there says hes one of top in the field. i fell comfortable with him. hes the first that told me that i have opptions where millins partner just sided on the surgery. my AN is 1.5 by 1.5 left sided. some hearing lose and i guess 64% balance gone from there testing, but doesnt affect me much. im reschudeled for july 12. as far as i new its him and the radiation oncologist that will be doing this. have others had neurosurgeons assissting in gamma knife? thanks for the info kathy and i hope your doing better. how large was your NA?

[judzie]

thanks for the info kathy. im sorry i never reeeceived an email from you. those two are the ones that were supposed to do my gamma knife. i did first go see dr. harvey, hes a partner with millin i believe. he immediatley told me surgery is needed. well from there i saw the neurosurgeon that he works with in waukesha. after that i spoke to a friend that had sever ear and balance probloms. not an AN. and he told me about wackym. hes very happy with him and a friend that works there says hes one of top in the field. i fell comfortable with him. hes the first that told me that i have opptions where millins partner just sided on the surgery. my AN is 1.5 by 1.5 left sided. some hearing lose and i guess 64% balance gone from there testing, but doesnt affect me much. im reschudeled for july 12. as far as i new its him and the radiation oncologist that will be doing this. have others had neurosurgeons assissting in gamma knife? thanks for the info kathy and i hope your doing better. how large was your NA?

Hi Gordy,
Saw Dr. Millen today. I had an ENG done and it showed my left cohlear is not functioning at all. So my balance problem is not ear related but radiation damage. He prescribed a tranquilizer to try and shut down my right ear cohlear. Side effect of this pill is that it is going to make me very tired. I have trouble now making it through a 8 hour work day. He only gave me 3 weeks worth. He said if this works I can have surgery to remove the cohlear on my right side or just learn to live with it. Dr. Wackym never mentioned this as a complication nor was it in the 200 pages he gave me to read. I went back and reread them. As for my ear pain, bouncing eye, headaches on my left side only and face tingling I have to learn to live with those too. My life has been forever changed. I have more symptoms now then before my GK. Before I had no symptoms except I would fall once a year but I didn't have this quisey,tipsy feeling that I have now all the time. For the past year I have not been myself and have not had 1 day where I felt well. Did Dr. Waclym give you a  written list of complications? He never gave me one even though he said he did. My turmor was only 11mm by 6mm. I wish now I would of did a wait and see but would of should of isn't going to get me any where and I have to look ahead and not behind. I wish you the best and will keep you in my prayers.
PS: Had my MRI done last week but all Dr. Millen said was the tumor was unchanged. I have an appointment on July 17th to find out what the radiologist report said. Will keep you posted.

Kathy

[Sue]

Kathy, I just want to say I'm so sorry you've had such a bad time since your GK.  You are one of the first ones I've heard about who have really regretted that decision.  I guess it just shows you that none of us knows what the outcome will truly be after whatever treatment we or our doctors decide is best for us.  It's too bad we don't have a crystal ball so we can see what lies ahead.  I do have symptoms that persist after my GK, but nothing like you are experiencing.  I just figure that after the trauma we've put that AN through, there are probably consequences of some sort to deal with. I'm sorry you have more to deal with than most.  Really, really sorry. 


Sue in Vancouver USA