November 3, 2017 I’m waiting in Oakland Kaiser for my first individual appointment with a physical therapist. I’m definitely in pain and seeking relief. Soon a young woman appeared at the door of the clinic and called my name. I would later learn that her name is Carole. She was definitely a Millennial! But she…
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Blood test for Vitamin D3 deficiency
October 31, 2017 Dr. Sharon Olson wrote in my medical file with HelloMD: “Since she is over 50 she cannot make vitamin D in her skin anymore, so she must supplement vitamin D3 and she must have her vitamin D blood level checked mid‐summer and midwinter and adjust her vitamin D3 intake accordingly.” After Dr….
HelloMD
It was not until one day, when I casually asked again how to go about getting a medical marijuana card, that a longtime friend, both on Facebook and in real-time, answered specifically that the best dispensary was Harborside in Oakland and I could get a card through HelloMD. Since my friend’s husband is a retired…
Phone appointment with physical therapist
October 26, 2017, 10:15 a.m. The phone appointment with a physical therapist was scheduled for the next day. He identified himself as Aaron Hopkins, and I wondered if he was the same man that had conducted the Neck Pain Class. But I didn’t ask. I also failed to ask him about the TENS unit (for…
Exploring the Possibility of TENS
As the days passed and I was not able to find any pain relief, I wondered about a TENS unit and emailed Dr. Chan. She responded: ANGELA LAI CHAN MD 10/25/2017 02:01 PM RE: Pain Relief for Chronic Neck Pain Dear Jackie Thank you for your email and taking time to follow up with me….
Office Max Purchase
I had become increasingly dissatisfied with my desk chair which I had purchased in 2010. I got it because it could lean back with an elevated foot rest, but there was never really quite room enough in my home office on Haight Street to completely lean it back. When I got it, I then took…
“Behold, I have given you every green plant”
I have spent many years wishing I had a medical cannabis card. It has been legal in California since 1996, the year I moved to California from Texas. That, in itself, should have some significance. But for the last five years, I have not known where to look or who to ask to find out…
Neck Pain Class
October 12, 2017, 10:45 a.m. Well, this was in the Physical Therapy Department, but not with an individual physical therapist. The room looked vaguely familiar. I would remember later that I had been to a neck pain class after that accident several years ago when our van got sideswiped by a non-insured driver as we…
Dr. Chan’s First Referrals
After that “memorable” appointment with Dr. Chan, when she told me I was too old to have any pain medication, I emailed her that I was still having neck pain and thought maybe I should have a referral to Physical Therapy. This was her response: ANGELA LAI CHAN MD 09/25/2017 11:23 AM RE: Follow up…
Deal Breaker Appointment
This was my annual “free” physical checkup that Medicare is required to offer. I had already checked my lab test results and so I knew that my A1C was 5.9%—right in the middle of the “pre-diabetes” range! I was so elated with this news that it didn’t really bother me that Dr. Chan was on…