Saturday, Feb 22
I noticed Mathew was jaundiced (yellow), so I took him down to the walk-in clinic run by my doctor's office. Unfortunately, the Nurse Practitioner on duty didn't know either myself or Mathew, and we were met with the same treatment we had met from previous doctors.
"Do you use drugs?"
"Do you have homosexual sex?"
"How much do you drink?"
And finally sending me out of the room in hopes that my son would confess to any number of addictions or activities to explain away his ill health.
(Later, Mathew's Sarcoma Doctor would tell us how often this happens with sarcomas. A social worker called it 'The Story of Sarcoma').
We were told to come back on the scheduled appointment day to get bloodwork results. But as we were leaving the examining room, the nurse told the Nurse Practitioner that the bloodwork was in. I paused, hoping she would call us back into the examining room to give us the results.
I could see her face as she looked at the computer screen.
She looked frightened.
She sent us home and told Mathew to stay hydrated and wait for her call.
Four hours later, she calls and asks to speak to me.
-come by the office and pick up paperwork
-take Mathew to ER
-paperwork would ensure no waiting
Since we were with my parents, they offered to drive. On the way, I told Mathew to let his Dad know. He reached his Stepmom.
"I'm going to the ER; the Doctor thinks there is something wrong with my liver."
Her response. "Probably from drinking too much." ****
********I debated on this part, whether or not to mention Mat's StepMom's remark or omit it entirely, but all of us made mistakes, had the misconceptions. Starting this blog when and where I did, puts her as the first person to be in this position. These mistakes and erroneous ideas are a large and important part of this story because we are all human.
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