I just finished taking a shower. "Well that's lovely Kelsey, I took one too this morning. What about it?" Well, I hadn't taken one in 5 days. Not by choice, thank you.
This all started over a year ago when I found a small, pea-sized lump in my left breast (which I will now refer to at LB for all my male friends and family who don't want to keep reading the full on "left breast" words regarding their daughter/friend/sisters/etc..). My midwife at the time wasn't concerned. I had recently had a baby and finished nursing, so she was inclined to think it was a clogged milk duct, or something else harmless of the sort. She told me to not worry and come back in a year if it was still there or had grown.
Fast forward a year plus, and now we are in Oman. Well, the lump was still there, and in fact, had recently grown since moving here. And occasionally it felt a bit achy, or made my armpit feel achy. This bothered me. So I finally decided to go to the local private hospital our school uses to see one of the OB's. Let's just say that trip cascaded me into a whole new world of healthcare. And I liked it, for the most part.
I called to make my appointment and got an appointment for two days out. Honestly, getting appointments is not hard here. I got the confirming text to my phone about the appointment, to which you respond "1" for confirm, and "2" to cancel, and sent me "1" reply.
The OB I saw was a lovely woman from India. Dr. Canchana (sp?). Despite telling the schedulers why I was coming (who also, by the way, failed to actually have me on the schedule after all the process described above), asked me why I was there. We went over some basic history for my records and she informed me that routine annual "woman's" appointments weren't covered on my insurance unless it was recommended by a doctor, so would just do the LB exam to check the lump. Doctors here in Oman tend to be more "business" like and not so personal, touchy-feely as in the states. Sit there, take your shirt off, and let me check you out.
After the exam, she sat me down and said although she wasn't highly concerned, since the lump had grown over the year, she would schedule me for an ultrasound exam and then a follow up with the surgeon. Huh what? How did we get from basic exam to surgeon? Apparently this was all "just in case" and he would review the ultrasound findings and discuss options with me if they were necessary. I also have discovered since then that the insurance card I carry with TAISM which is like gold, and yes, it is actually gold colored. Wave that card and you are covered. I have paid a total of $15.50 over the course of my family's medical care in Oman and that was simply to set up Aberly's and my medical files at the hospital.
Anyways, I came back for my ultrasound a few days later. I couldn't understand about half of what my tech was saying as she had a pretty thick accent (I have learned to decipher most accents here very well otherwise) but understood that there was some concern because the object on the screen showed "vascularity", and on top of the fact that in had grown in the last year, raised more concern. I headed upstairs with my folder and reel of ultrasound photos for my own viewing pleasure, and waited to see the surgeon, Dr. Ladha. Oh, and finding him took some time. Some wings of the hospital are well marked and directed to, this one was not.
Dr. Ladha was great. He made me smile. He looked at the records, felt me up for himself (yes, a nurse was present), and suggested scheduling surgery to get it out and confirm it was benign. I realized he wanted to schedule it that moment, so I said I would get back to him since I needed to talk to my husband to find out what would work best for our schedule. He said, okay, no problem, get yourself admitted before you leave, and then call to make the appointment. Hey, I can do that. I was ready to head downstairs, but oh wait, they wanted to draw blood that moment to have that taken care of before my surgery at whatever future date. Bleah, I hate having my blood drawn since I have "baby" veins and often have to be stuck multiple times to get a draw. I tried to convey that to the lovely Asian lady prepping to take my blood. She smiled, pricked me, and hit the vein first shot. She was probably smirking to herself thinking, "Lady, I learned to take blood on a bunch of small people, you are nothing."
The day of my surgery, I arrived and was lead to my room. They are much more casual in that regard. "Here is your room, put that gown on, someone will be back in 10 or 15 minutes". And that was that. I waited, and finally they did. Dr. Ladha came as well to see me to make sure I was okay and didn't have any questions. The rest of the experience from there was pretty normal. I was put on to the rolling bed, wheeled to the OR and asked by every nurse, orderly, and doctor that we were operating on my LB. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. My anesthesiologist was a beautiful woman who you would never take to be in the medical field. She got me hooked up and I was out within the minute. I woke up in post-op, and then sent back to my room to relax. I was picked up by Colin and out of the hospital by 5:00 PM to recover at home, but with the strict instructions to not lift things (okay, how do I do that with a 2-year old?), take it easy (again, a 2-year old), and NOT SHOWER until my follow-up appointment to check the incision 4 days later. What???
So, I did well. I "took it easy" the best I could as a mom, kept lifting things to a minimum, and only took two, mini baths in our shower basin in about 3 inches of water in which I washed my hair with the detachable shower head. Colin had to help me the first time. That is why I brag tonight that I took a shower.
And the final report to the whole LB lump? Benign, just as we all suspected for the most part but wanted confirmed for the peace of mind and since breast cancer is so prevalent and deadly if not detected early on. A fibrous cyst making a happy home in a very inconvenient place for my state of mind. My incision is "perfect" according to Dr. Ladha who I will see one more time in 2 weeks for a final incision inspection. Oh, and another reason why I love the care here. Dr. Ladha called me personally tonight to deliver the lab results since they weren't in yesterday when I saw him. Not a nurse, not a hospital secretary, the doctor himself.
And the amount of money I have paid to Muscat Private for my surgery? Half of the amount I listed above simply to set up my medical file (the other half was for Aberly's file when she had her check-up). The rest, all covered by SAICO, my gold insurance. No copay, no deductible, no nothing. That's pretty amazing and a blessing.
This all started over a year ago when I found a small, pea-sized lump in my left breast (which I will now refer to at LB for all my male friends and family who don't want to keep reading the full on "left breast" words regarding their daughter/friend/sisters/etc..). My midwife at the time wasn't concerned. I had recently had a baby and finished nursing, so she was inclined to think it was a clogged milk duct, or something else harmless of the sort. She told me to not worry and come back in a year if it was still there or had grown.
Fast forward a year plus, and now we are in Oman. Well, the lump was still there, and in fact, had recently grown since moving here. And occasionally it felt a bit achy, or made my armpit feel achy. This bothered me. So I finally decided to go to the local private hospital our school uses to see one of the OB's. Let's just say that trip cascaded me into a whole new world of healthcare. And I liked it, for the most part.
I called to make my appointment and got an appointment for two days out. Honestly, getting appointments is not hard here. I got the confirming text to my phone about the appointment, to which you respond "1" for confirm, and "2" to cancel, and sent me "1" reply.
The OB I saw was a lovely woman from India. Dr. Canchana (sp?). Despite telling the schedulers why I was coming (who also, by the way, failed to actually have me on the schedule after all the process described above), asked me why I was there. We went over some basic history for my records and she informed me that routine annual "woman's" appointments weren't covered on my insurance unless it was recommended by a doctor, so would just do the LB exam to check the lump. Doctors here in Oman tend to be more "business" like and not so personal, touchy-feely as in the states. Sit there, take your shirt off, and let me check you out.
After the exam, she sat me down and said although she wasn't highly concerned, since the lump had grown over the year, she would schedule me for an ultrasound exam and then a follow up with the surgeon. Huh what? How did we get from basic exam to surgeon? Apparently this was all "just in case" and he would review the ultrasound findings and discuss options with me if they were necessary. I also have discovered since then that the insurance card I carry with TAISM which is like gold, and yes, it is actually gold colored. Wave that card and you are covered. I have paid a total of $15.50 over the course of my family's medical care in Oman and that was simply to set up Aberly's and my medical files at the hospital.
Anyways, I came back for my ultrasound a few days later. I couldn't understand about half of what my tech was saying as she had a pretty thick accent (I have learned to decipher most accents here very well otherwise) but understood that there was some concern because the object on the screen showed "vascularity", and on top of the fact that in had grown in the last year, raised more concern. I headed upstairs with my folder and reel of ultrasound photos for my own viewing pleasure, and waited to see the surgeon, Dr. Ladha. Oh, and finding him took some time. Some wings of the hospital are well marked and directed to, this one was not.
Dr. Ladha was great. He made me smile. He looked at the records, felt me up for himself (yes, a nurse was present), and suggested scheduling surgery to get it out and confirm it was benign. I realized he wanted to schedule it that moment, so I said I would get back to him since I needed to talk to my husband to find out what would work best for our schedule. He said, okay, no problem, get yourself admitted before you leave, and then call to make the appointment. Hey, I can do that. I was ready to head downstairs, but oh wait, they wanted to draw blood that moment to have that taken care of before my surgery at whatever future date. Bleah, I hate having my blood drawn since I have "baby" veins and often have to be stuck multiple times to get a draw. I tried to convey that to the lovely Asian lady prepping to take my blood. She smiled, pricked me, and hit the vein first shot. She was probably smirking to herself thinking, "Lady, I learned to take blood on a bunch of small people, you are nothing."
The day of my surgery, I arrived and was lead to my room. They are much more casual in that regard. "Here is your room, put that gown on, someone will be back in 10 or 15 minutes". And that was that. I waited, and finally they did. Dr. Ladha came as well to see me to make sure I was okay and didn't have any questions. The rest of the experience from there was pretty normal. I was put on to the rolling bed, wheeled to the OR and asked by every nurse, orderly, and doctor that we were operating on my LB. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. My anesthesiologist was a beautiful woman who you would never take to be in the medical field. She got me hooked up and I was out within the minute. I woke up in post-op, and then sent back to my room to relax. I was picked up by Colin and out of the hospital by 5:00 PM to recover at home, but with the strict instructions to not lift things (okay, how do I do that with a 2-year old?), take it easy (again, a 2-year old), and NOT SHOWER until my follow-up appointment to check the incision 4 days later. What???
So, I did well. I "took it easy" the best I could as a mom, kept lifting things to a minimum, and only took two, mini baths in our shower basin in about 3 inches of water in which I washed my hair with the detachable shower head. Colin had to help me the first time. That is why I brag tonight that I took a shower.
And the final report to the whole LB lump? Benign, just as we all suspected for the most part but wanted confirmed for the peace of mind and since breast cancer is so prevalent and deadly if not detected early on. A fibrous cyst making a happy home in a very inconvenient place for my state of mind. My incision is "perfect" according to Dr. Ladha who I will see one more time in 2 weeks for a final incision inspection. Oh, and another reason why I love the care here. Dr. Ladha called me personally tonight to deliver the lab results since they weren't in yesterday when I saw him. Not a nurse, not a hospital secretary, the doctor himself.
And the amount of money I have paid to Muscat Private for my surgery? Half of the amount I listed above simply to set up my medical file (the other half was for Aberly's file when she had her check-up). The rest, all covered by SAICO, my gold insurance. No copay, no deductible, no nothing. That's pretty amazing and a blessing.
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