I went back to the UW, to Dr. Stone, who had ordered my heart catheterization in December 2006. I returned to him because based on our previous interaction, I liked him and I thought he might listen to me. I wanted to speak up and tell him how upset I was. We had an appointment on January 29, 2007, and I told him that in spite of my request not to go in on that right side during the catheterization, it had been done anyway. I was surprised that Dr. Stone did put my complaint in his report. Many of my complaints in the past years had not been included in my records.
He then suggested an exercise program to help force the blood to the left leg, now that other occlusions were supposed to be open. I agreed and went for physical therapy. The physical therapist, a likable young woman, was surprised that all I could walk was less than 3 minutes and only 675 feet before the left leg pain started. She set up the walking program for 4-6 weeks. I was to walk until my leg hurt, and then to stop and repeat several times. I was supposed to dance as much as I could – do anything that would force blood to my left leg. This was a disaster. I did everything I was told, and in just a few days I was worse, walking only 2 minutes before horrible pain. I had to wait three times as long for my leg to recover than what it took me to walk. It was the same as in all of those years before. I then made the phone call to report what was happening. I was told to stop the exercising, as it was not supposed to get worse. There was something else going on.
I was panic- stricken and afraid, but I wasn’t ready to give up. I was so healthy otherwise, that I thought that somehow there would be someone who could do something for me so that I could live a full life and walk without pain and fear. I didn’t want any more mix-ups, and I wanted someone paying close attention to my records. I believed that so many of the errors that had been made in my case occurred because several of the doctors, both at Dean and UW, were not reviewing my records carefully. I had another big decision to make: do I stay with this system or seek out another opinion before I lose a leg or worse? I was aware of good reports about Mayo Clinic and I remembered my sister, and that they had recommended Dr. Acher for the surgery she had needed. I knew that people with significant problems had good results after visiting the Mayo Clinic and that they were known for their excellence in care.
At this time, I was still receiving phone calls from the nice lady with P.U.L.S.E. in New York. The Center for Patient Partnerships at the UW was following me through all of this as well, and the Patient Advocate went with me on 3/20/07 to my primary, Dr. Haas at Dean. Even though I was not involved with Dean he was glad to see me and pleased that I had some trust in him. He called for the referral to Mayo. The referral out of the Dean System had been denied twice before. This time it was accepted because I no longer had Dean Insurance. He called the Mayo Clinic and made an appointment. It would not be until May 3, 2007.
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