There are many things that make me happy... my husband, my children, my family, warm and sunny days spent tending pretty little flowers like these... just to name a few.
There are other things in this life... tedious things... that make me feel dis... Disappointed. Disgusted. Disenchanted. Disloyal.
I recently took Benett and Ellie to see the pediatrician. We love our pediatrician. She's great with the kids and I feel like they are getting the best care. She's a real mom and can relate to what Monte and I are going through. She's real and it makes her very good at what she does.
At our last visit, I took both children for a 'conjoined' appointment. I was trying to be accommodating. Bringing them both at one time seemed like the thing to do. I had a couple of questions about each... but nothing serious. They were being seen for routine well-child exams.
On this particular day our doctor was late. Late to the tune of an hour and 15 minutes. When she arrived, she apologized and introduced the intern who would be doing the initial exam. I was quietly livid. The kids were vocally livid.
After another 20 minutes, I told this very nice intern that we just had to leave. I had to get back to work for an important meeting. I was no longer able to be so quiet about my lividness. To this, she retrieved our beloved doctor. Who hurried. She hurried through the conjoined appointment. She examined each child quickly. And recommended a couple of additional tests, to help answer the questions that I had. She was very nice, but hurried.
Fast forward to Friday.
On Friday, I got the bill for the conjoined appointment that I scheduled to be accommodating to our medical facility. After all, it was just a well child appointment and my kids could make do with a shared appointment, right?
Wrong. My accommodation earned me an extra $135 charge, over and above the cost of the two well child exams. I didn't fail to notice that the charges weren't shared or conjoined, like the appointment... to be accommodating or otherwise. It certainly wasn't reflective of the time spent on each of my children. Perhaps they were charging me by the minute for my hour and 15 minute wait?
This is not a huge sum of money, but enough to make me feel dis. It turns out, when I asked those questions; it changed my appointment from a routine (hurried) well child exam to something else. The conjoined, accommodating appointment became a (hurried) diagnostic exam.
In the end, the (hurried) conjoined, accommodating appointment cost double what it would have had I been less thoughtful. Less accommodating. Less conjoined. It makes me feel very dis. Disgusted. Disgruntled. Disappointed.
It made me feel dis enough to call and ask for the charges to be reviewed. As it turns out the facility that over-charged me agrees that the over-charge was indeed accurate. Great.
I'll get over being so dis. But what I will not do, ever again, is sacrifice the time that my children each deserve to receive focused care. No more accommodating, conjoined appointments. I'll take each for their very own hour and 15 minute wait.
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