6.10.2008

Should You Be Worried About Competence At Your Doctor's Office?

Okay, so it's been a little while since my last post. I'd love to be able to tell you that we've got everything figured out and we're getting done with paperwork. Unfortunately, it's just not true. It turns out that even if you have done all of this once before, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to run any smoother. Silly me for being optimistic! :)

Since my last update, I have been to the doctor's office many, many times, like 8. I'm not sick and they didn't find anything wrong with me. It just seems that God is teaching me patience right now and I'm trying to deal with it gracefully. I had to go for my physical, then I had to go back to get my blood drawn (because the day I was there for my physical the lab was closed because someone had come in with the measles), then I got my TB test administered and then went back for my 'girl' physical. However, it was too soon to read my TB test at that same appointment (even though the girl who was scheduling me said I could do it at the same time), so I went back later that day to get the TB test read. You would have thought I could have gotten my paperwork signed and notarized at that visit, but you would be wrong. The notary only works certain hours and they don't necessarily coincide with the doctor's vacation schedule. Then, due to certain miscommunications, I have since been up there on 3, yes 3, separate occasions to pick up my paperwork and I still do not have it!

The final straw for even me, the patient person that I am, was yesterday when I got a message from my physician's assistant. "Yes, Emily, the notary and the doctor are both here today and you should be able to pick up your paperwork anytime after 1:30." Great, Awesome! Finally! So we went yesterday evening to pick it up (of course, this would have to be after the notary had left for the day) and surprise! It is not done. They try to tell me this story about how the notary couldn't sign it that day because she needed to see my ID and write it in her book. I tried to explain the very nice waiting room attendant, Mary, that it is not my signature that needs to be notarized, therefore, not my ID that she needs to see. But of course Mary knows nothing about it and has no power there, so I left again frustrated. Honestly, I want to have faith in my doctor's office, but I think they just forgot about it. When will I get my one piece of paper that says that I am medically capable of raising a child?

I called the notary at the office today to explain to her why she did not need to see my ID and that she needs to notarize the doctor's signature. When I spoke with her, she knew it all already. Of course she doesn't need to see my ID, she tells me. They get things mixed up in that office. She notarized my paperwork this morning. I should be able to pick it up tomorrow after work. I would have gone today, but our car is broken (a whole other story) and I have to pick John up from work. So, if you read this before tomorrow afternoon, please pray that they haven't lost my beautiful, notarized, completed medical form and we can be one step closer to ADOPTION!!!