I've Been Bumped Three Days Before Surgery...

[lori67]

Add me to the "bumped" list too.  I had to postpone my surgery a week because my surgeon's wife was due to deliver her baby that week.  Geez, she waited 9 months, was one more week too much to ask??

It all worked out - he took that week off and she was induced.  I told him that she could have him for the week, but that on the 20th of February, he was all mine and he better not get up for the 2am feeding the night before.

Of course, being a planner like most of the rest of you, it drove me crazy trying to reschedule everything I had already scheduled.  I'm learning to be a little more trusting that the world will not spin off its axis if I'm not keeping constant watch over things.

Carrie, I hope you can use your "extra" time to relax and enjoy your family.

Lori

[cmp]

More members in the club--wow! It's beginning to look like surgery that happens according to schedule is practically a freak occurrence!

thanks all for your supportive words and sage advice to view the delay as reprieve at best, minor inconvenience at worst. Ironically, I've found myself more relaxed over this weekend than at any time since my diagnosis! (Frankly, after all the exhaustive overpreparation, there's really nothing else to do but kick back with my family...  )

Sam, I hope your eardrum heals well, and quickly. And though the length of your delay really means starting from scratch on many of your arrangements, I hope the upside is all that extra time to prepare mentally...

Trish--I think you're right about there being a "right" time--I know I will be much calmer at my new date than I would have been tomorrow morning, for one thing... And (have already posted this to the thread you started today), hope tomorrow is "right" for you in every possible way...

Lori--if it was me, your "don't get up for the 2 am feeding" joke wouldn't have been entirely (or even mostly) in jest... And I know exactly what you mean about trying to let go a bit and trust that everything will be fine--seems that's a lesson this whole AN experience drives home over and over, doesn't it?

[coffeylady]

Carrie

I know will go absolutely insane if I get bumped.  The planning and choreography of getting everything lined up and in place is such a delicate balance and production.  UGH

I waited two months for them to schedule my surgery, I thought they forgot about me.  I am scheduled to go into to Boston MGH and meet with Dr. Martuza tomorrow, Wednesday 4th - I will let you know if there has been a message left for me at home, or whether it is a go.

Hang in there
Sharon

[ppearl214]

well, cmp and Sharon, I'm not sure what is going on over at MGH (other than Ted Kennedy's situation and we know golf season is back in action around here......), but if you all get bumped again, let us Boston gang know.... will meet you over at Yawkee/Landsdowne, get us some dawgs and beeah's, cheer on the Sox vs the Rays (looks over shoulder for TampaTim!) .... and we'll focus on other issues to help keep stress levels down.

(seriously, hang in there.... hoping they give you updates sooner than later.  Waiting can really stink sometimes)

Phyl
Nawth of town, total Nawthshawr brat!

[cmp]

if you all get bumped again, let us Boston gang know.... will meet you over at Yawkee/Landsdowne, get us some dawgs and beeah's, cheer on the Sox vs the Rays (looks over shoulder for TampaTim!) .... and we'll focus on other issues to help keep stress levels down. Smiley

Sounds great, Phyl! (In fact, you've tipped me off to a great strategy for combating runaway jitters over this--I'll just twist into a lotus position, close my eyes, and pretend I'm at Fenway on a beautiful day...)

Sharon--Are you going with McKenna/Martuza as a team, then? I called both offices this morning: Laurie, Dr Martuza's coordinator, hasn't yet heard back from Dr McKenna's office (apparently his being called suddenly away and then being out of touch is an absolute first for them--I really hope everything is OK...) Dr McKenna's secretary is out till Thursday (which means maybe that's when he'll be back as well?), so I wasn't able to get any info myself either.

I had been harboring fantasies of a really brief delay (ie surgery next week, while my carefully-made plans are still all simmering nicely on the burners!), but according to Laurie, Dr Martuza's schedule is pretty tight for the rest of this month, so my prospects for a clean adjustment don't look so good right now...

If your surgery's not scheduled till mid-July, though, seems you should still be good to go...

Hope your consult tomorrow goes well!

[Jim Scott]

Having surgery 'bumped' does happen fairly regularly.  I was bumped, too.  However, for good reason that had absolutely nothing to do with the surgeon. 

While undergoing extensive pre-op tests, a CT scan discovered a dark 'mass' on my liver.  Oh-oh.  The knee-jerk reaction was to assume cancer, even though I had no symptoms of any liver malfunction.  My neurosurgeon called me in and very regretfully canceled my scheduled surgery "just until we know what this is".  He made it clear what he thought 'it' (the mass) was when he said he wouldn't want to put me through AN surgery if I had liver cancer, which would give me about six months to live.  Although I kept it to myself, I didn't think I had liver cancer.  MY wife was not quite so sanguine.  My neurosurgeon referred me to a radiation oncologist.  The oncologist sympathized with me, ordered a liver biopsy and told my wife, in private, that she should prepare for the possibility that I might not make it to another Christmas (this was June of 2006).  She was now completely shaken as I had always been in excellent health.  I refused to get panicky until I knew for a medical certainty that I had liver cancer.  I still didn't think I did.   Next day, the biopsy was performed.  My normally serene and practical but, by now, highly stressed wife almost flipped out when the Resident doctor that performed the biopsy informed her that it could take a 'few days' for the results.  She ran into the radiation oncologist in the cafeteria and let him know that 'a few days' was not acceptable.  He readily agreed, muttered something about 'idiot residents' and promised her that he would make sure we had the results in a few hours.  We did.  Having decided to leave the hospital and enjoy a nice lunch as a reward for enduring my liver biopsy, we were at home that evening when the oncology doctor called to tell us that the results showed the 'mass' was actually a hemangioma: a mass of blood vessels and quite common.  Totally benign and not anything to be concerned about as I was asymptomatic.  I could hear the smile in the good doctor's voice as he gave us the news.  We also received a call the next day from my neurosurgeon who, in effect, showered me with effusive praise for not having liver cancer (he meant well).  My AN surgery was promptly rescheduled for about a week later (I had a big AN and was very symptomatic).  The rest, as they say, is history.  Well, history to me, anyway. 

So, I'm also part of the 'bumped surgery club', only with a dramatic little story to go with it.    Its all true, too and I have the medical records to prove it.  The experience certainly put the AN surgery in better perspective.  Cancer scares have that effect.  Fortunately for me, my AN surgery went well and all the tests I had showed that I was in very good health, which was reassuring to myself and my once again serene and always supportive wife.  My neurosurgeon was pleased, too. 

Jim

[cmp]

So, I'm also part of the 'bumped surgery club', only with a dramatic little story to go with it.

"little story"? That's an understatement, Jim! Whew! Your poor wife... And you have amazing powers of self-discipline, if you were able to "refuse to get panicky" until you had a firm diagnosis. In my experience, the panicky part of myself isn't particularly obedient and doesn't take well to being told to sit tight when it doesn't want to... 

Well, I'm really glad that "little" chapter in your remarkable saga is behind you now. Any more like that, and not even medical records will get you a suspension of disbelief!

[er]

Dear CMP,

My fingers are cross for you besides my prayers.

Jim, WOW! I am lost for words for you and your wife.
I almost lost my husband a 1 and half years ago. They gave him a 6 way bypass.
I do not want to go through that again he is like a limb.
eve

[lacey7]

First of all.....that was quite a story, Jim.  I'm so glad that you stayed "positive".  Your poor wife.  That's how I would have been.
CMP.......I hope you have your new date VERY SOON!  It took me a few weeks to get my date, and I felt so much better just knowing the date.  Even tho it was 2 months away, it still made me feel better.
It's 23 days away now....and I really pray nothing happens between now and then.  I just want it DONE, like everyone else here.
You will hear me scream.......all the way from Michigan, if it would be changed!!!  ha.
Please take care of yourself, and call their office again, if you don't hear soon from the doctor on the new date.
God Bless,
Lacey

[wendysig]

Jim -
All I can say is "WOW" that is quite a story!  Glad everything turned out okay.

Wendy

[jerseygirl]

Hi, Carrie,

Sorry you have to deal with the surgery postponement. It is not easy from the emotional and , in your case, logistical standpoint. Any news about the new date? Have you been in touch with the office?

                                    Eve

[lacey7]

Carrie,
Like I said before, I would call their office, if you haven't heard by next week, and ask them what's going on.
Sometimes it's the squeaky AN that gets results!!
And, I think we can all be "squeaky" when we want to!!  ha.
Lacey

[leapyrtwins]

Sometimes I fear I squeak a little too much 

Jan

[cmp]

I've been in touch with both Dr Mckenna's and Dr Martuza's offices yesterday afternoon/today, and may actually have my date this afternoon. Turns out there have been multiple cases of misinformation/missed communication since last Thursday, so I'm more than a little , but I'm working hard to stay focused on hoping I get a date later this month rather than next.

The two possibilities that have been mentioned for this month are June 24 (not good, as we drive my 15 year old son to sleepaway camp the 25th--with his personality I know he'll have a hard time leaving for camp with me in the ICU but also won't do well if he starts camp later than everyone else) and June 30 (this is the date I'm hoping for).

The other date mentioned was July 28th. If that turns out to be when they book me, first I'll get again. And then I'll go really ballistic... (Not so much because I've been waiting for surgery since mid-April, though that's certainly part of it, but because my mother's dementia is rolling along and I want to be more or less back on my feet by late July, not first going under the knife...)

As for the multiple screwups: I won't go into a full litany (too aggravating!), but the real biggie is that Dr Mckenna did NOT suddenly disappear off the face of the earth last Thursday due to a family emergency, as reported by Laurie, Dr Martuza's "coordinator"; according to Dr McKenna's secretary, Helen, who I spoke with yesterday afternoon, I was bumped because he had to book emergency surgery this Monday for a case of his that had become acute. Had I known this, I wouldn't have let a week go by without indulging in some pushy behavior to close the loop and make sure I got rescheduled ASAP. The only reason I was reluctant to be a pest was out of respect for a very nice doctor, who I'd been led to believe was off coping with trauma or loss somewhere!

To add insult to injury, though Laurie claimed on Monday that Dr Mckenna's office was still out of touch and hadn't responded to her email about rebooking me, Helen told me yesterday that I'd actually been booked almost immediately for a new surgery date! (Though of course that makes it hard to explain why I'm still in "what's my date" limbo...) She stopped just short of accusing Laurie of lying, which was a very strange experience for me as the info-seeking patient...

I know Dr Martuza's office is in the process of moving (to another floor or building in MGH, not sure which), so they're in a bit of a tizzy there, and am therefore trying not to be too neurotic or paranoid about any of this. It's hard not to wonder, though, if this SNAFU reflects: a) less than cordial feelings by the two secretaries toward one another, or b) less than cordial feelings by one or both of them toward me!

Either way, if you happen to stop by this thread, please keep your fingers crossed very hard for June 30th as my surgery date...

Carrie

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Carrie:

Oh boy!  What a runaround.   

I hate these doctor's offices that mess patients up with their incompetence and/or lack of communication.  Unfortunately, it's all too common, I'm afraid.  Well, I can certainly understand your annoyance with Dr. Martuza's 'coordinator', who should find another line of work as she doesn't seem to be coordinating very well with you and the doctor.  The mix-up was totally unnecessary...but you already know that.

I'm crossing fingers and hoping for a June 30th surgery date. 

When this is settled, I would make sure that both doctors are made aware of how their staff made things more difficult for you at a time when you're emotionally vulnerable.  That isn't right and they should be told so, with quiet civility, of course.  Maybe after the surgery would be best. 

Jim