Hospital Red Tape

I had to go in and get blood work done prior to my outpatient procedure this coming Monday.  Getting your blood work done at the hospital prior to a procedure is like getting a tooth pulled without any numbing medication.  You have to register.  You have to check in again at the part of the hospital where they draw the blood.  Not to mention begging them to use my port instead of poking me (I am not an easy person to get blood from or start an IV on).  So the begging paid off - they sent me to another part of the hospital where they would draw blood from my port (good thing).  So you check in there.

Then you sit for another 30 minutes.  The nice nurse draws the blood.  One of the test was and Type and Cross Screen.  So then you have to wait for another nice nurse to work with the nice nurse that drew the blood to double check all the numbers.  Ok - I get it - safety first.

Then you finally leave after two hours.  On the way home, my cell phone rang.  It was the first nice nurse who drew my blood.  She told me that I had to have the test done 3 days prior to the procedure and not 4 days prior to the procedure which of course was today.  At this point, I wanted to scream.  I told her I would call my doc office (there was no way I was going to repeat the above without kicking and screaming first like a baby).  God bless the doc office - they said I didn't have to go back tomorrow!

So I then call the first nice nurse and told her the doc office said I was good to go.  She then told me it was a lab rule and the lab would have to clear it with doc office - fine.  No way I going to repeat the above.

Now I get to go to the hospital on Monday at 9 am for an 11 am procedure.  Gotta love it.  Sit and wait.  As you can tell from this post waiting is not my strong point.  More later -