My PM&R (physical medicine and rehabilitation) doctor recommended that I start fresh with physical therapy by going to a new physical therapy center and getting new types of treatment.
I called the recommended PT center to schedule an appointment. After answering the general registration questions, I was asked what type of insurance I have. They don’t accept my insurance. I asked if I could self pay and gave a little background on how I made no progress with my last center. I was put on hold and told something that left me looking for a catch “The doctor, our lead therapist, wants to see you. You can pay whatever you can afford.” This left me a bit uneasy. What would the expectation be? Could I afford it?
I decided to call this morning before my appointment to get some clarity. The person I spoke with assured me the doctor wanted to see me and that I could pay nothing if I couldn’t afford it. Even though I expressed my uneasiness, she urged me to attend my appointment today and go from there.
Dr. S. spent 2 hours with me. He examined me and got me doing lots of different exercises. He doesn’t know what’s causing my problems but says that if I come in to the center every day for 5-7 days, he will have a better idea of whether I will make progress and will have a better idea of what my problem may be. He talked to me about destiny. The role destiny has played in his life and how he believes that everyone, including me, has a predetermined course of events to their lives. That my problem is what it is and all I can do is work at improving the quality of my life
As I was getting to leave, I asked Dr. S. where to submit my payment. He said, “I don’t want any money from you. If I help you get better and in 9 weeks from now and you want to pay me $1 a day, that’s fine. If I don’t help you, please don’t pay me anything.” I asked him why he was doing this for me. “I have enough clients who can pay. I have a nice house. A nice car. I want to help people get better more than anything else.”
I’m a realist and a skeptic and believe most things happen by chance. Meeting Dr. S. today makes destiny seem more like a possibility.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | chronic illness, physical therapy, PM&R
Wow! This guy seems pretty great – I hope he continues to be a help. Even a little help would be a big help, right?
Like you, I’ve been battling semi diagnostics for way too long of a time, and I really appreciate your blog, your out look at your humor. I look forward to poking around your site some more, but for now, I’m just glad that you’re getting some treatment.
You might be interested in checking out my site – I write a comic about my life with multiple autoimmune conditions. It’s “painfully funny’ (ha, ha) and you can find it at http://acomiclifeindeed.wordpress.com
Keep having good days!
- Miss Waxie
LOVE Miss Waxie’s site – it’s brilliant. I’m so glad you left a comment here. I’m linking to your site from here it’s just awesome! Nice to meet you and even though we’re in a club of chronic illness, I do feel better knowing I’m not the sole member.
Wow!!! There are a lot of doctors who have forgotten why they decided to practice medicine to begin with. Apparently not this doctor. That’s awesome!