March going out like a....

I went to the appointment with Dad.  What I heard was not good.  Not a whole lot explained, but I got back and looked up pulmonary fibrosis - sounds like a very poor prognosis.  The damage was caused by Dad's rheumatoid arthritis.  No real treatment outside of a lung transplant.  Just treat the symptoms as best they can.  The positives of the day was that Dad was very happy to see me and I think was happy to have me along for the appointment.

On the most anger provoking event of the week - Amy noticed that a spot on Tylan's tooth seemed bigger.  When asked, Tylan indicated there was some discomfort in the tooth when eating or drinking.  It was a tooth that the dentist had told the hygienist to put a "watch" on at the last appt. in late Jan. (I say told the hygienist because even though Amy was there with Ty, the dentist said nothing to Amy about what was seen during the exam, what to watch for, etc.).  Amy called to make an appointment for Tylan to get the spot looked at again and to likely get a filling.  Amy was asked which tooth it was because there were apparently a total of 3 that needed work.  Yep. They neglected to say a word about it.  The usual operating procedure there is that if a cavity is seen during the exam, whoever needs it filled has an appointment before leaving the exam room.  Nothing was said and apparently nothing caught by any of the staff there until Amy called.  I am furious.  We are just done with that dentist - Jensen Dental, by the way.  If you like being treated like a number on a conveyor belt and are comfortable with not really knowing if your family's dental health is taken care of, Jensen Dental is the place for you.  For my family, however, we are done.  Since he moved into his new office, the demeanor of the place has changed.  It used to be that Dr. Jensen would stop and talk for a couple of minutes, now he is so rushed, he barely has time for any questions and there have been appointments where we have been in for a cleaning and have been told that he will review the x-rays, etc. when he returns.  Guess who is doubting that actually happened and is wondering if that constitutes some form of insurance fraud.  Yep - this guy.  Guess who is going to be filing a complaint with the dental board in the state regarding the negligence in the case with Tylan.  You'd better bet your ass that would be me.  I'm also thinking that there are a LOT of websites where one can leave comments and ratings for a provider.  May have to be sure that I'm hitting at least the first 20 or so that come up on a Google search and get the experiences of my family chronicled on those sites.  Tylan will have an appointment with a new dentist this week.  We'll see what is seen and if it is a case of 3 cavities, 2 of which were not mentioned to us.  If that is, in fact, what is seen, the anger level will go up a couple of notches and there is going to be some action.  

Ides of March

Got a text from Dad's wife today, asking that I call her.  Dad has not been in good health recently.  Lots of issues with his lungs going back six months or more.  He found out there was a tiny clot in an artery feeding the lungs.  The clot was too small for any type of procedure.  He has been on oxygen since before Christmas and, at his last doctor's appointment, was told he will be put on a transplant list.  The doctor's office later called to say he would not be on the list as he did not (yet) meet criteria.

Called Joan and found out that Dad is not letting her go to his doctor's appt. on Monday.  She was concerned about this as Dad does not always get all the information that he is given or mixes something up.  She also said Dad has been a bit depressed because he is unable to do the things he had been doing.  So, I'm going to head up to Sioux Falls on Monday and hope that Dad does not kick me out.  It is a little scary, but there have been so many medical issues for Dad (shoulder surgerys, foot infection/toe amputation, heart attack & bypass, diabetes, stroke) that I kind of have more of a "roll with it" thought process with Dad.  That whatever the doctor says, Dad will roll with it and come out the other side.  After his last visit with this doctor, Dad asked around about lung transplant and found someone in his community that knew someone in a neighboring community who had it done.  So, he is thinking about it as an option.

I do want to know from the doctor about what we could expect if Dad did need a transplant, i.e how much quality of life and/or how much life w/out a transplant.  Is his condition going to continue to deteriorate or is it as bad as it is going to get?  A wee bit nervous about the answers, but would prefer to know rather than go off little to no information.