We Waited 2 Hours for THAT???

When Matt was diagnosed with MS, he was also told that he had a heterozygous factor V mutation. That's what the PA that gave us the diagnosis "opened" with. Factor V is a specific gene mutation that promotes blood clotting, and having this mutation (does this make Matty a mutant? I THINK SO!) means that you are at a higher risk for blood clots. Matty calls it his "bonus disease". Anyhow, the neurologist recommended we go see a hematologist. He knows a guy in the building who could also use some of our time and money.

Our appointment was at 10:15. At 11:15 Matty asked the woman at the front window if she could predict how much longer it might be. She couldn't. So we continued to sit in the waiting room, the youngest people there by 20 years at least, and watched people get called in and leave and we're just sitting there. I should mention that the vast majority of hematologists, especially here in the 'burgh are really called hematologist/oncologists. This is because many cancers are treated with "liquid therapies." So not only are we the youngest by at least 20 years, it also looks as though we might be the only people there without cancer. Happy Holidays.

At 11:45 Matt asked the woman at the front window again. She explains that most of these folks are just here getting their treatments, and isn't sure how much later our doctor will be. Oh, and the treatments are administered by nurses, not doctors (I don't imagine many hematologist/oncologists actually hook their own patients up to the chemo machine) so who knows what the hell was taking this guy so long. Well, second inquiry as to where the doctor might be hiding seemed to do the trick. A couple minutes later we were escorted to an exam room. To wait for another 30 minutes in place where it was not possible to inquire about anything. There weren't even magazines in the room. Not a Southern Living or Redbook to be found.

At 12:20 or so the doctor came in. He was nice enough - very clinical, very doctory, very short and skinny. He went over a couple of things and then basically told us there wasn't really anything to worry about. Mutants like Matty are only at a slightly increased risk for developing blood clots, so unless a clot happens he doesn't need to even bother to take an aspirin. This of course is good news. We figured it was nothing, but it's good to hear it from a very very busy doctor. Plus we got to eat lunch at Kings since we had been there so long.