Tuesday 10 April 2012
Last Monday we went up to our clinic to sign the millions of consent forms we need to sign each time we do IVF & of course pay them a truckload of money. I wonder if companies really understand that there staff are the face of the company and how one bad experience can make you walk?
Having 9 Cycles under our belt and been a customer of the clinic since early 2010 we know many of the staff & they are great, friendly & helpful. Unfortunately last Monday NONE of those staff were around!!
When you have an appointment with one of the nurses they always come to the waiting room and get you say come on through & have a chat, last week the nurse J walked to the waiting room door and decided polite formalities were a waste of time & waved us in like we were a plane about to land on an air strip. We got in the room and had to ask for a drink which is normally always offered then go through the paperwork & ask questions about how we get the medications down to my donor (had the courier info been arranged as we asked) & had the ultrasound clinics near my donor who's info she & I had provided them with weeks ago been checked & were they suitable for her to have her scans at?
A big sigh & a no was what we got. I was then told the ultrasound info would be in another nurses file to which I asked her to go & get it (not impressed by my asking this). While she went to do this incredibly hard job of getting the info they had been asked to get weeks ago a scientist was sent in to see us to address our other questions.
Great the 3 scientists we know there are all lovely and so helpful with all your questions & if they don't know the answer off the top of their head they go & check & come back to you in a few minutes. The door opened and in walked a young girl with too much eye make up & an annoying giggle. (I did an inner role but told myself to not judge on appearances). So we discussed with her that this was of course a donor egg cycle & every question we asked we got an 'I don't know'. When I asked a question she told me, that didn't have to be discussed now but could be discussed WHEN I WOKE UP FORM EGG COLLECTION. I LOST it - I told her I was not the one having egg collection and the donor we had been discussing for the past 20 minutes was. To which I got a giggly sorry. H just went deathly pale and I switched off as I was not going to cry in front of this stupid girl. I made peace a long time ago that I was getting help from someone else in the form of donor eggs but to have that said to me just bought home that this is the first cycle I wont be doing the egg collection process & made me feel like a total failure.
H couldn't take one more 'I don't know' and told her to go & find out the answers. Then cheery nurse J came back having done nothing about the ultrasound clinics and said anyone would be fine. I calmly told her anyone would not be fine, that is why Dr J asked us & to provide a choice of several clinics locally near my donor so the clinic could call and check if they did the exact type of scanning Dr J needed and were familiar with the whole process. Again the nurse blew me off and said clinic A would be fine & she would fax a referral to them. As Friday was Good Friday & my donor and I were taking out last pill that day we had to get the medications organised. I was given mine & told the clinic would phone with the cost of couriers (I found it hard to believe they didn't have costs as I am not the first person to have an interstate donor or for them to have a patient interstate that sees them).
I left very aggro at the attitudes & what had happened & also on the verge of tears about the comment about my waking up from egg pick collection. I dropped H back to work & I came home & just felt numb. H wanted to have a chat but I just couldn't speak and I couldn't cry either. When I feel hurt & numb like that I can only cope by going to bed & pulling the covers over my head & hoping sleep will provide some relief.
Late that day I got a call about the courier prices. I was told there was a SLIGHT difference in prices. OK - Courier A was $660 for same day delivery and courier B was $33.50 for overnight delivery. That's more than a slight difference and if I had known what a stuff up the medications were going to be I would have collected them myself in person to make sure everything was there & flown there & back in the same day for about $150. I of course chose the $33.50 courier although I was tried to be talked into the $660 one (again I could fly there & back for about $150 or less).
When the medications arrived my donor gave me a call & we were having a chat when she told me that she was missing the pen. The pen is exactly that! A pen with a changeable needle tip - you load the ampules of the medication in to it, dial your dosage. My Angel phoned the clinic when she saw this was missing on Wednesday & they express posted her one. (we better not be charged for that postage cost - I don't take kindly to paying for mistakes!!)
I will be phoning today to find out who is in charge and telling them about our experience & all the mistakes that were made and how heartbreaking thoughtless comments made can be.
On the positive side my donor called me Sunday very excited to see AF had come for her and she was starting her medication yesterday. I'm still waiting and if it does not show will go for a blood test no doubt to see where I am at. So its all started and for that we are very excited.
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