Cooperative Living January/February 2024 - 32

RURAL LIVING
Into the Vortex
A surprise journey through modern healthcare
by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Columnist
W
ell, without
any clue,
I have
entered yet again
into what I call the
" medical vortex. "
It might almost be
funny if it weren't so scary.
There I was, walking purposefully
along the wooded roads and fields near
my house, and feeling great.
Then, I went to the doctor for a
check-up. That's how it always begins
to swirl in the medical vortex.
The doctor listens to my heart and
says, " Your heart murmur seems to be
getting louder. "
Reader Photo
Now, I can't remember when some
doctor or other didn't mention that I
had a heart murmur. But they always
seemed as if it were nothing to worry
about. Of course, usually during those
past times, there were other more dire
things we were actually worrying about.
Anyway, next thing I know, I'm off
to a nearby hospital, which I do not
happen to prefer or ever use, for an
electrocardiogram. It doesn't hurt, and
you get to look at whatever it is they're
looking at. Trouble is, you don't have
the faintest idea what it is you're looking
at, other than your beating heart.
The hospital then says it will let me
know the results in " 24 to 48 hours. "
So I go home and wait.
And wait and wait. The
results did not come
back for five weeks. Is it
any wonder I don't like
this hospital? Ironically,
the bill arrived weeks
before the results.
When the results
finally did arrive, I found
myself shuttled off to a
cardiologist. He held up
my electrocardiogram and
said to me, " This is very
concerning. " Words you
do not ever want to hear.
He said whatever
procedures needed to be
done - and he laid out a
specific protocol - could
" probably wait until after
the holidays. " This was
in mid-November. This
was fine with me. I'm a
procrastinator, as you may
know by now.
Yet, the very next day,
I got a call from a different
32 ● Cooperative Living ●
January-February 2024
hospital, one that I actually
love - as much as one can love
a hospital. I have always had
as good an experience as one
can have at this hospital. They
say to find someone to drive me there
and then back home, in about a week.
And not to eat or drink after midnight -
you know the drill.
So I spent a week in utter angst.
I was a mess. There was nothing I could
do but wait.
I finally went on Nov. 30, and I had a
transesophageal echocardiogram, a TEE.
This is where you gargle some foul-tasting
lidocaine a few times, and then you get
some heavy-duty drug injected in your
arm, and then they stick a long tube with
a camera down your throat, through your
chest, and behind your heart, so they
can take a few snapshots. It wasn't as bad
as I had feared, probably because I was
half out of it.
So now, as I write this, I wait for
the cardiologist to call me back with
the results. That could happen today, or
next week, or, who knows when? But
I know how the medical vortex works.
It's never " everything's OK; don't worry. "
There's always one more scary step,
followed by another, and perhaps even
another. What a way to spend the
holidays! I am asking for your prayers,
please, if you're so inclined. By the time
you read this, I will probably have more
to say about it. 
To order a copy of Margo's " A Party of One, "
call (540) 468-2147 Mon.-Wed., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
or email therecorderoffice@gmail.com.
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Living, P.O. Box 2340, Glen Allen, VA 23058-2340 or
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Cooperative Living January/February 2024

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