Stupid Specialists

Caitlyn and I had a long day yesterday. She had an appointment with an eye specialist at the Janeway children's hospital at 2:40 pm, so we got there at 2:35, hoping that there wouldn't be too much of a wait. Well, the place was packed with bored, hyperactive kids and frustrated, angry parents. That did not bode well for us! Caitlyn was really well behaved, all things considered, although she was a bit overwhelmed by some of the more aggressive, unattended children running around. What a madhouse. Anyway, by 4pm we were still waiting to be seen, and I was getting anxious 'cause I had left Raina home with Jamie, and I imagined she'd be wanting to nurse soon. I had to get pushy with the receptionist, and tell her that we'd been waiting for too long, I had a baby at home to feed, and I would hate to have to cancel the appointment. Luckily she was pretty laid-back and didn't snap back at me :) She did manage to get us in next, although that was just to put in eye drops and then wait for another half hour. While administering the drops, the specialist notes that she's almost 2 and a half years old, and says the turn in her eye is quite pronounced... why hadn't she been seen earlier. The heavy silence as I stared at him must have alerted him. I said, as calmly as possible, that we had been waiting for more than a year for this appointment. The original referral had been lost somewhere in space, had to be resent. The original appointment with the technician was cancelled and rescheduled for months later. The follow-up appointment was cancelled and rescheduled for months later. The appointment we were now attending had been cancelled and rescheduled. Meanwhile, Caitlyn's turned eye is becoming more pronounced. Now, because of the delays, and months of no treatment whatsoever, Caitlyn will need surgery to correct the eye, rather than just wearing a patch and doing some physiotherapy. I am not happy - my baby will have to have surgery on her eye because the health "care" system lost track of her, even though I was diligently trying to keep her name on the forefront of their stupid lists. Of course, we have to wait for a referral to the surgeon, which could take months at the minimum. I couldn't help myself - I said "Do you think she'll get in before she starts school?" Dr. Specialist tried to chuckle, but I was not amused in the slightest, so he cleared his throat and looked away.

Raina is developing a turn in her eye too. I told the specialist this, and that we are already waiting for her appointment. At this point, the referral has been pending for about three months. Are we going to get the run-around again? Is she going to end up needing surgery too? Everyone I've asked has no answers. This is just not how the health care system is supposed to work. I'm starting to feel like an American!