HollyAlonzo – Never Giving Up Hope

Oh boy folks. My last couple of days have been terrible! Tuesday I had to go to WIC and then to the dentist. Well I scheduled a ride last Wednesday with Mountain Mobility, it’s sort of like the bus system but for disabled people that does curb to curb service. They are allowed to have an hour and 15 minutes window. So say the appointment is at 1 they have to get you there at least by 12:45, so from that they have an hour and 15 to play with. so they could pick you up as early as 11:30 or later closer to actual time. They get there and are only required to wait 5 minutes and if you are not out there ready they can leave and write you as a no-show. If you get 3 no-shows you lose your service.

So Tuesday I had a trip to the health department in the morning to pick up the WIC. Mountain Mobility picked me up at 8:00 and I got to the health department like at 8:30. My appointment wasn’t until 9:15. This is normal for me to have to wait forever. But the WIC office got me in and did what they needed to do actually early. So I was ready to leave around when my sscheduled appointment was. Well last time I was there they took forever, so i scheduled my return pick up for like an hour and a half after the appointment. So I waited outside for an hour and 15 minutes even though I called dispatch and told them I was ready sooner.

So they drove me back home and I had a little bit of time to do a few things. Then I had to go to the dentist. Appointment was at 1, I didn’t want to be considered a no-show and since I can’t see them from the window or hear if it’s them I have to be outside waiting. I went out at 11:30 because they could get there that early. Waited and waited, no bus. So at 12:30 I call dispatch and tell them I still don’t have a van and my appointment is at 1, I have to be there by 12:45 to fill out papers. They promise a bus asap and I continue waiting. Finally the driver shows up. I swear we hit every red light there was while going to the dentist. I get to the dentists office at 12:59. The driver is an older man and wants to escort me to the counter so I allow him even though I usually find the counter by myself. The lady immediately starts talking to him telling him that he’ll have to help me fill out some papers. He tells her that he can’t, he’s just the driver and all this nonsense. I speak up then and say you’ll have to get someone else to help me fill them out or fill them out yourself. Then she proceeds to talk to my driver! By this point I was getting irritated. She tells him that they may just have to take me home and he explained how the service worked and that I already have a pick up time scheduled so I’d have to wait. I was like, “what? Go home? I’m confused. Go home because I can’t fill out the papers?” She tells me a bunch of crap about how they don’t have the man power to help me. I was like “man power? to fill out some papers? It won’t take more than 5 minutes.” she tells me it’s lengthy, wow a whoel 2 pages! The older gentleman helps me find a chair while the receptionist tries to go find someone to help me.

She comes over to my chair, tells me that she is going to call mountain mobility and let them know that I am ready for pick up. I was like huh? I haven’t seen the dentist yet. She says that noone can help me and I will have to take the papers home and get them filled out and then come back, reschedule my appointment. I said, “all because I can’t fill out the papers you’re going to make me reschedule? And no I can’t get them filled out at home either because my husband is blind too.” That confused her. We argued for about 2 more minutes and she went on about how no she couldn’t do it because it was a legthy form and they just don’t have the time to help me. I argued back that all the time it was taking her to look for someone we could have already had it filled out. Wasn’t getting anywhere with this lady. Asked to speak with her supervisor. She was at lunch. Be back in an hour. Great, I’ll wait.

Finally the office manager came and got me and took me back to her office. Told me that there was just no one to help me and if I’d told them I was blind when they scheduled my appointment they could have scheduled another block of time and had someone there to help me. I said no just get someone to write down the few things I need and that is it. I don’t need a seperate appointment for that. She tried telling me they dind’t have the man power either. I told her if they were that busy, then they needed to hire more people. She said the receptionist couldn’t help me because she’s not allowed to leave the desk and leave the phone unattended. I said great we can fill them out at the counter doesn’t matter to me. She told me no we couldn’t because that would be violating HIPPA. “Well do you know that you are still violating something by refusing to help me fill out these papers?” That caught her off guard. She went on to tell me they were going to reschedule my appointment because it was half past1 by then. I asked her for a written statement saying that they are refusing to help me fill out the paperwork. She wouldn’t do it. I said well I’m not leaving this office until I either see the dentist, or get that written statement.

She called around and got me in at 2 and helped me fill the papers out herself. Hopefully I won’t have to deal with that mess anymore. I had my teeth cleaned and ex-rays and saw the dentist. All four of my wisdom teeth are coming in and they are all impacted. No wonder I’ve been in so much pain. So I have to find an oral surgeon now that will take medicaid and have them all cut out before they cause even more problems.

I got home around the same time Edward got home from work. I told him about my frustrating day and finished off my day pretty good. I was fully intending to file a complaint with someone. I wasn’t sure who I was going to complain to,but I would have figured it out if they would have rescheduled my appointment. I knew the first part of filing a complaint would be proving it so that is why I asked for the written statement. They have to accomidate me and they were not getting that through their thick heads. Many people would have just given in and left, not wasted all of that time. But I was in pain, I knew something was wrong, and I had wasted my time already getting up there and I didn’t want this office thinking that they didn’t have to help disabled people. If we all gave in, then we’d never get anywhere.

Yesterday I called and left a message with an oral surgeon. The only one I could find that would take medicaid is in a town 2 hours away. I was hoping to find one closer. I called my doctor back about a hearing aid. Left a message so hopefully they call me back today. I want to try to get a hearing aid for this left ear.

I’ve been in so much pain for the past week. My wesdom teeth are killing me. My jaw feels like it’s been broken and sometimes I can barely open my mouth. Not to mention I’ve been sick off and on for the past few days. Stomach keeps cramping and so on. So, this has not been a fun week for me. I’m hoping and praying that next week will be better.

Holly