Saw Dr. Brinkis, from the (now) 2-person surgical team, including Dr. Sylvestri as the current chief of ECHCS orthopedics and man who fixed my shoulder 3 years ago. Exactly what happened or why was not going to be discussed, except to say that Dr. Park no longer works there – not that he ever really did, as one of the contractors currently doing half the orthopedic surgery at the new hospital here.
As expected, apart from some tests, VA cannot accommodate any further treatment in a timely manner, so I’m being sent off into the civilian medical community to see a spine doctor. This was the last thing I needed, considering spinal issues already constituted the biggest problems in my disability situation. Now there’s a new problem there, and I just hope this new injury isn’t bad enough they need to go in and clean it up.
Still can’t believe I spent the last 6 months telling every VA staffer I encountered from the physical therapist, to the physician assistant to primary care to the surgeon himself, how badly I was doing in vivid detail, and every single one of them sent me away saying or implying there was nothing wrong with me. Perhaps disregarding Dr. Sluder’s April referral offer was unwise, but that was at the time I was still under the delusion of normality being instilled in me with comforting reassurances like “sometimes it just takes longer to get over an operation.” As it turns out, things eventually crystallize with an untreated back injury like this.