Thank You
Gatekeepers. They’re important. You can’t really get anywhere without going through one. Last week I encountered two of them. I was searching for consultations with doctors to get a second opinion on how to handle the upcoming surgery for my abdominal aortic aneurysm, news I received Monday afternoon. I was calling on Tuesday for appointments that week. I knew it would be hard, but I was ready with as much sweetness and urgency as I could muster.
My first call was to a doctor referred to me by my cousin’s husband earlier that morning. I connected. Was told the earliest appointment was next week. I pleaded, I waited, and suddenly I had an appointment on Wednesday, the next day. I was grateful. Then I got a referral to a doctor in Houston. I hesitated. I called. The scheduler named Delores listened to my story, put me on hold, came back and said we could do a tele-conference on Friday, but I needed to get them my doctors notes and a copy of the scan. Wednesday morning I got copies of the scans and over-nighted them to Houston and faxed the doctor’s notes.
The call for the Friday appointment came Thursday afternoon at 4:30. Delores had gathered up my fax found my scan and gotten them to the doctor. And just like that two strangers had connected me to two doctors under nearly impossible circumstances and I was grateful. And I thought how unsung they were and that it might be nice to celebrate them for what must be a most difficult job. So, this is me tipping my cap and saying, thank you, and hoping they know how grateful this desperate man really is for their help.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale