Above and Beyond with My VA Hospital

God bless the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, a caring health facility.

Starring Dr. Patricia Nguyen, Dr.Mitchell Wong and Angella in the pharmacy at the VA PAHCS.

Dr. Nguyen a pre-eminent cardiologist is always over booked but on my very recent date, Dr.Nguyen broke her previous record for keeping me waiting.

After sitting in the waiting room for 45 minutes, building up a head of indignant steam, a nurse came along to take my 'vitals': blood pressure, temperature, weight, etc. Then back to the fucking waiting room.

After another 15 minutes, along comes a different nurse and escorts me to the examination room. 15 minutes later, in walks a doctor, not Dr Nguyen, who introduces himself. I look at him like a bull with a bastard calf and ask him what the hell he wanted. 'Just want to ask you some questions,' he says.

'Where is Dr Nguyen?'.

'Dr Nguyen will be along in a few minutes'.

By then I've gone aerobic, my blood pressure has gone through the roof and I say to that fresh faced doctor 'Fuck you, I'm outta here.', and to my car...drove home, wired for sound, sucking wind all the way.

(Went for a blood test necessary to get my thyroid pill prescription renewed.)

About an hour later at home, Dr.Nguyen phoned, to my huge surprise, apologetically and insisted on 'interviewing' me for about 20 minutes. I complained, in my usual grating voice that her scheduling person was an overbooking maniac. Dr.Nguyen, in spite of my bitching and complaining gave me survival guidance.

In my 91 1/2 years of being 'doctored', this and my next day experience with Dr.Wong, really stand out. I could have laid down and died in the Menlo Medical Clinic and my doctor would have stepped over my body to get to the next paying patient.

Phone me? The Menlo Medical Clinic? That's a joke.

The next day, schlepping my weary ass back down to the VA was more than I could contemplate. I cancelled my appointment with the great, Dr. Mitchell Wong my Primary Care physician, who then phoned to check up on me.

Dr.Wong put me through his wringer, checking up and advising me with his survival wisdom.That made two phone calls in 24 hours from two caring physicians.

Ah, but those thyroid pills were a problem that Dr.Wong solved. Dr. Wong leaned on the pharmacy to get the pills out the same day.

Lo and behold Angella from the VA pharmacy phoned at 5:30 PM to tell me that she was going to drop them off at my place after work.

The VA PAHCS is a shining model of fostering a culture of caring. How lucky can I be.

And yeah, no woman will have me, thank God, because I no longer drive at night. Gotta have concern for the other drivers on the road...Hello Lyft/Uber.

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