My Life With Cancer, “Uh Huh, Uh Huh, Uh Huh” Part 23

I had arrived at 11:23 Pacific time to the Seattle Cancer Alliance, a huge complex that has everything you could possibly think of for curing, studying even probably causing cancer. At 4:45 in the "friggin" afternoon I was finally called in for my 2 PM appointment. I was thinking, for everything I had gone through this better be earth shattering.  It would be......earth something all right.

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I was ushered to a room, where I had the most fantastic view of one of the moldy pillars of I-5, yes it's wet in Seattle even when it's dry.  I waited there for about another half hour until Dr. Pagel's assistant came in.  He was a young guy about my height, spiky hair and glasses, everything you could possibly imagine a Seattle intern would be.

He had all my records (the collection of my greatest cancer hits since 2005), I had filled a complete report about everything I knew about my cancer.  It was all there in writing for anyone to read.  So Dr. Intern proceeds to sit and ask me every question I had just filled out on the questionnaire.

Now as though that wasn't irritating enough, he proceeded to say "Uh Huh" after every sentence I said.  Never looking at me, just writing and saying "Uh Huh".  So I started screwing with him and only answering in half sentences, kind of like Captain Kirk.  He didn't even blink, just wrote never looking at me saying "Uh Huh," so I said "my butt hurt after the bone marrow draw and I couldn't sit to poop. and that my nose itched, that's why I pick it."  Nope nothing, just the same stupid thing.  I started looking for his battery pack, but couldn't find it.

This went on for the entire questionnaire, the one I had carefully filled out, neatly with handwriting a second grader could read.

So far I had ridden with Ma Barker from the airport, waited almost six hours for an appointment that was almost three hours late and had to deal with Dr. Intern, who really needed to go back to "Patient Relationship Class."  What possible could happen that would make my day any merrier.

Up Next  "The Incredible Dr. Pagel"  Part 24