Because yesterday was quite possibly one of the worst days in my entire life, I was not able to write a post for today. I had such high hopes for the Mayo Clinic finding a cure for my dad’s illness, but sadly it has become blindingly apparent that the facility is completely incompetent and inept. In fact, I’ve seen Rite Aid stores that were run more efficiently! This place is a complete joke. My dad’s first doctor consultation was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at 12:45 p.m. The clinic called us on Monday night and asked if we could possibly come in early – at noon. So, we did. What time did the doctor see us, you ask? Oh, at around 1:30 p.m. I’m so glad we showed up early! The doctor then had the audacity to inform us that he had not yet had time to go through (or even give a cursory glance to) my dad’s medical records, which my mom had spent numerous hours painstakingly putting together and which we had sent in to him over six weeks ago. The clinic had told us that the records were the most important part of our pre-admittance process, but all evidence to the contrary. After meeting with the doctor, the admittance nurse scheduled my dad’s first test. For when, you ask? Oh, a week from this upcoming Friday. Yes my dad’s initial appointment was on May 4th, but his first test is not scheduled until May 14th – A FULL TEN DAYS LATER! Oh, and what are we supposed to do during those aforementioned ten days? Sit with our proverbial thumbs up our butts, apparently, all the while paying $250 a night for the pleasure of a hotel room in the Rochester area – a place my dad calls the “fun capital of the world”. Before my dad was even accepted, the clinic had specified that he would not be at the facility for a period of more than seven days. Again, all evidence to the contrary! So, unless something changes, we are on the first plane home tomorrow morning. For those of you out there who are considering coming to the Mayo Clinic, or know someone who is, I have two words of advice for you – STAY HOME! I wish we had done the same. We could have spent the $5,00o we shelled out for this trip on some Louis Vuitton luggage instead – it would have served my dad’s illness about just as much as this visit to the Mayo did! Ah, well, at least I got in some good Minnesota stalking – otherwise we’d have absolutely nothing to show for this trip.
