Mrs. HM's KNEEds Are Not Being Met

Same old broken record. Since my orthopedist appointment about a knee replacement on March 5, I have not heard anything about a strategy to remedy his reason for declining such surgery. 

You may recall that the orthopedist was concerned about the redness in my lower right leg, fearing it might turn into cellulitis and spread to the joint with surgery. He advised me to see my regular practitioner as soon as possible to evaluate the situation, and get a referral to a cardiologist or lymphatic doctor.

I got an appointment with my NP on March 9. He said it looked like lymphedema, and was going to refer me to the Wound Care Clinic for evaluation and possible remediation such as pressure stockings and exercises. While in the exam room, I twice asked him if I should call there for an appointment. He said no, that THEY would call ME.

So I waited for my call. And waited. Gave them a week. I know these things don't happen overnight. Then sent a message through YourChart on March 18 to make sure that was the plan. His nurse's response was that she saw it in my file, and since they didn't seem to be able to reach me, that I should call them. 

I called the Wound Care Center on March 20 and left a message. Then called back later in the afternoon when I had no response. The gal said they didn't do lymphedema at the Wound Care Clinic. That it should be Physical Therapy. She said she would talk to my NP about it, and that somebody from Physical Therapy would call me about an appointment.

So I waited for my call. And waited. Then sent another message through YourChart on March 25, asking again if I was supposed to be getting some kind of appointment for treatment, per my discussion with NP and Wound Care. YourChart says to give 48 hours for a reply. That passed on Friday afternoon.

So I am waiting. For any kind of response. Even Farmer H has quit nagging me, and says he has no idea where to go from here, since I have tried and tried to get a response and advice.

I suppose I will call on Tuesday (March 31) to talk to a real person, who will listen disinterestedly and type up what I say and put it in a message for my NP, whose nurse will look at it and give me more useless instructions, or ignore it altogether.

It has now been three weeks since the orthopedist said I should get an appointment right away to deal with the issue. I am supposed to go back to the NP in May, to see how two months of intervening therapy have affected the problem. Right now, I don't see any point of that appointment, since it will just be the passage of two months.

I know this is not an emergency situation. But you'd think by now, I would have encountered at least one person who can do their job.