Lordy Lordy, the appointment was a shorty
So, I travel down to UBC for my appointment thinking that I am going to be weighed, measured, scanned, poked and prodded. I had psyched myself up for this. I was ready. The drive from the Okanagan Valley to the coast was beautiful and although I hit some snow none of it was on the road which was lovely. It is so beautiful this time of year watching the different stages of spring as I drove farther southwest. It was a really nice drive.
Gas prices were about $1.77/litre so approximately $7.08/gallon. Yeah, I am thanking my lucky stars that I have my car "Prime". It is a Toyota Prius that is a hybrid plug in. Getting excellent mileage is essential especially with prices being this crazy. It was a pleasure to drive however when I got to my destination (my aunt and uncle out in the burbs put me up), my knee was so stiff and sore I could hardly walk.
The following day, I get routed through downtown Vancouver by my stupid GPS which is a test in patience. I finally arrive at UBC, park, pay the steep $7+ for parking and hustle to my appointment. When I arrive I meet with the head of the program at UBC Dr. Fidel. He has a small dated office packed with computers and paper. The dark golden carpet dates this place in the 70's for sure. I sat with him for about 1 hour going over the various answers I had given previously to questionnaires I completed. He was screening to make sure that I was not suffering any major health issues (mentally or physically) that would preclude me from taking the treatment. When we were done, I was like "So what now?".
I was told that I could leave. No testing, no nothing. He said that one of his assistants would be getting in touch with me to go over consent questions and make sure I had no further questions before I started treatment (if I still wanted to). I left his office and went about my business. I decided to stay the night and return home the following day due to me knee being so sore from the driving. This broken leg I have been dealing with has been a real downer. I am feeling a little miffed as it was not made clear that this appointment was just a 1 hour verbal interview.
When I got home I rested and found myself with an email from his assistant providing informed consent documents and asking me to come down the following week to do the informed consent. I responded HELL NO. I requested that the informed consent be done over the phone or FaceTime (I am not going through the expense and trouble of driving all the way down there for what would be a 30 minute appointment). I also requested that if I cannot do that by phone or FaceTime that I do the informed consent when I come down for treatment. Furthermore, I requested that any post treatment follow-up appointments be done by FaceTime or phone. I am still waiting for a reply.
In the mean time, I put a call out on my facebook page for help finding lodging for the period of time I will be down for treatment. So far, no one has offered up suggestions of places to stay but I was pleasantly surprised when I learned of two angels wanting to help.
Two angels donated a generous amount to help me cover the costs I will incur by going down for this treatment. I got the text giving me the news when I was in a store. I just started happy bawling as quietly as I could force myself to be. For the rest of the day I was beyond words. I messaged my angels to tell them that I appreciated their generosity but that I was beyond words and couldn't adequately express myself. Of course my angels were gracious stating "no need" but these angels are special. See, these angels don't know me very well. I have known them for about 10 years but more as acquaintances. This is why I was so touched. These people who aren't regulars in my life thought enough about me, CARED ENOUGH ABOUT ME to do this amazingly generous thing. I am still having a hard time getting my head around that these people would want to help me. I guess that is part of the depression. Self-esteem is one of those things that just takes a shit-kicking. Despite years of therapy and medication, self-esteem is one of those things that takes a lot to truly have. Some days I am kinder to myself than other days and kinder to myself than people but today, two angels showed me love. Love from unexpected places is so awesome!
The following day, I get routed through downtown Vancouver by my stupid GPS which is a test in patience. I finally arrive at UBC, park, pay the steep $7+ for parking and hustle to my appointment. When I arrive I meet with the head of the program at UBC Dr. Fidel. He has a small dated office packed with computers and paper. The dark golden carpet dates this place in the 70's for sure. I sat with him for about 1 hour going over the various answers I had given previously to questionnaires I completed. He was screening to make sure that I was not suffering any major health issues (mentally or physically) that would preclude me from taking the treatment. When we were done, I was like "So what now?".
I was told that I could leave. No testing, no nothing. He said that one of his assistants would be getting in touch with me to go over consent questions and make sure I had no further questions before I started treatment (if I still wanted to). I left his office and went about my business. I decided to stay the night and return home the following day due to me knee being so sore from the driving. This broken leg I have been dealing with has been a real downer. I am feeling a little miffed as it was not made clear that this appointment was just a 1 hour verbal interview.
When I got home I rested and found myself with an email from his assistant providing informed consent documents and asking me to come down the following week to do the informed consent. I responded HELL NO. I requested that the informed consent be done over the phone or FaceTime (I am not going through the expense and trouble of driving all the way down there for what would be a 30 minute appointment). I also requested that if I cannot do that by phone or FaceTime that I do the informed consent when I come down for treatment. Furthermore, I requested that any post treatment follow-up appointments be done by FaceTime or phone. I am still waiting for a reply.
In the mean time, I put a call out on my facebook page for help finding lodging for the period of time I will be down for treatment. So far, no one has offered up suggestions of places to stay but I was pleasantly surprised when I learned of two angels wanting to help.
Two angels donated a generous amount to help me cover the costs I will incur by going down for this treatment. I got the text giving me the news when I was in a store. I just started happy bawling as quietly as I could force myself to be. For the rest of the day I was beyond words. I messaged my angels to tell them that I appreciated their generosity but that I was beyond words and couldn't adequately express myself. Of course my angels were gracious stating "no need" but these angels are special. See, these angels don't know me very well. I have known them for about 10 years but more as acquaintances. This is why I was so touched. These people who aren't regulars in my life thought enough about me, CARED ENOUGH ABOUT ME to do this amazingly generous thing. I am still having a hard time getting my head around that these people would want to help me. I guess that is part of the depression. Self-esteem is one of those things that just takes a shit-kicking. Despite years of therapy and medication, self-esteem is one of those things that takes a lot to truly have. Some days I am kinder to myself than other days and kinder to myself than people but today, two angels showed me love. Love from unexpected places is so awesome!
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