i had a call from Jamie tonight. she had an appointment at the Army Hospital to talk to the MDs about getting permission for the surgeon in SF to do the surgery she needs on her back and have the Navy pay for it.
when she arrived for her appointment, she had a NEW doctor. one who was a very unhappy man. somehow, for some reason, he was at the hospital on some type of "tour of inspection" and will be there for the next 10 days. he told her as soon as she went in, "I've been going over files, and when I got to yours, I stopped. YOU are the only patient I'm going to see today, and the first thing I want to know is why you have been in such pain for over a year, and no one has done anything about it!"
so, Jamie laid it all out for him. all the things she has gone through over the last year. and all the "blow-offs" she has gotten from the medics who either didn't believe her or told her "it's the weather" and sent her on her way with ibuprofen, and back to work carrying 80lbs of equipment on her hips. he went ballistic. and she told him about her visit to SF to the surgeon there, and her subsequent telephone conversations with him, what he recommended and that he wanted to be the one to do the surgery, asap. and that she wanted THIS doctor's signature on the forms to allow that to happen and the Navy pay for it.
and he told her, "I'm going to do BETTER than that. I'm going to have you brought back to ME - to Walter Reed Hospital - and *I* am going to do the surgery."
she needs to have them do her MRIs over again [for comparison, i guess] and this man evidently has the authority to insist that the Navy send her to him for him to do the surgery. now, i could have gotten to Seattle. or to San Francisco. but WASHINGTON, DC??? but Jamie insists that i stay home. the Navy will send one of her teammates with her to Walter Reed to stay with her while she is there. then they will send her home for some period of time to recuperate before sending her back to active duty.
so SOMEHOW, all those "good thoughts" and wishes and prayers are paying off at long last!!!!
thank you, everyone!
----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)