Just when I begin to wonder what to write about next, life offers up a moment -a lesson- and I am reminded that these everyday experiences often hold meaning worth sharing.
Last week, my mom, who turned 91 on July 26th, woke up and the top of her right hand was swollen and painful. Her wrist hurt and there were periodic shooting pains running up her arm.
She applied some Voltaren® gel, and it subsided a bit. But as the next two days unfolded, her hand became more swollen, and the pain increased.
Being an intrepid New Englander, my mom placed a call to her GP and explained enough to get an appointment that day. She called my sister to say she was heading to the doctor and declined my sister’s offer to accompany her.
After an examination and some blood work, my mother’s doctor instructed her to take Advil for the pain and swelling. He also sent her to the local hospital for an x-ray.
Back at home, her three daughters were in a tizzy, texting back and forth as we hypothesized the cause of my mom’s swelling and pain. Could she have broken her wrist? Was it a blood clot, heart failure, an infection or excess salt intake? Doctor Google had us all thinking the worst.
My mom’s healthcare system has a portal where she can see test results and doctor’s orders. We quickly learned from the x-ray there was no fracture, but there was evidence of degenerative changes in her hand and wrist.
Next, we waited for the blood work. Instead, the next morning there was a note. It stated that my mother’s lab work showed her Rheumatoid factor was abnormal and along with the x-ray showing degenerative changes in her hand and wrist, they were referring her to a rheumatologist.
Rheumatoid arthritis was on our list from Doctor Google, but we all assumed arthritis progressed slowly and my mom’s symptoms occurred suddenly.
In some cases, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can come on suddenly. However, we did not know that the pain and swelling in her feet she had been experiencing for months had any connection to the sudden pain and swelling in her hands. Both are symptoms of RA.
With a potential diagnosis in hand, my sister went about helping my mom schedule an appointment with a rheumatologist. My mom belongs to an HMO, which had a few rheumatologists as part of their plan. Calling around, she found the first available appointment was late September What?
I hear this so often from friends - getting in to see a specialist, even sometimes a GP can take months.
It is taking longer to get specialist appointments these days due to an increased demand for healthcare services (we are an aging population with a host of chronic conditions), a shortage of doctors in certain specialties, and administrative burdens on physicians. These factors have led to packed schedules and longer wait times.
I also hear that when my friends complain, they are often offered an earlier appointment with a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant.
Our healthcare system is struggling to keep up with the growing demand for specialized care.
The rheumatologist’s office with the shortest wait time for an appointment (over 60 days) offered to call my mother if a cancellation occurred and said it is likely they will be able to get her in within a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, my mom is managing swelling and pain with Advil, ice and heat, and not doing things that exacerbate the situation, like screwing on and off the heavy sprinkler head on her hose to water her lawn.
The lawn of course will still get watered, my sister who lives nearby will take over those duties. As she told me the other day, she is “the care center” for old and young, caring for my mom and frequently babysitting her six-year-old grandson.
We are dependent on so many things as we age, the availability of healthcare providers, family and friends who can take over some duties, and a healthcare system that is far from perfect. And while the path isn’t always smooth, the strength of our support networks can make all the difference.