Recently I found myself on hold on the phone for 15 minutes before hanging up. It was my second attempt to reach an office in our health system. Before the calls I searched the internet for the office names and phone numbers; much quicker to say than to do.
Here is my small dilemma.
As I had mentioned a while back, I was on a User Committee for a residence of people losing their autonomy. I had finished my mandate except for one little step. As committee president I had to hand in my final report to a government office. To whom? and where exactly?
What I already knew before starting this step:
- I needed to hand in my yearly report to someone at the Agency
- the residence administration did not know to whom I must give my report
- the Agency has changed names
- the new name is on the internet
- there isn’t a central office or number to call
- through a few phone calls, I realised the Agency is in the middle of restructuring and people are doing their best to navigate the system themselves.
Here is what frustrates me; my task was simply to hand in a document. To accomplish the task I seemed to have the necessary skills to navigate the net to find the appropriate office. I seem to have the right skill to formulate appropriate questions. I can stay calm…at least on occasion. Last but not least, through the luck of the draw, I have some experience dealing with the school and medical systems.
This situation is so banal. I am not responsible for someone’s life or well-being. I am not afraid of some piece of news. I simply want to hand in my final report as my last act for the committee I was on.
To find the office, I simply had to make a few calls. As I listened to the Muzak while on hold, my mind fluttered away to other times I would phone hospitals. In those instances, not only was my husband’s well-being at risk but also his life.
You might be able to imagine, that in those moments, it was difficult to formulate questions and comments. I was often trying to navigate the system without a compass. It was particularly difficult to find the words because I was always worried that I needed to formulate the right questions when I would finally reach someone.
The worst was to find ourselves in situations when did not know the appropriate vocabulary, the possible services or even where to turn for guidance. Added to that, the risks to a loved one were phenomenal.
When we would try to navigate these scary situations, we were worried, stressed and exhausted.
We needed the endurance of an athlete to navigate through everything.We needed to be extremely adaptable to adjust to the services and the new reality that my husband’s medical condition had us learn to live with.
We needed endurance in waiting whether it be in waiting rooms or at home for the hospital to call for the surgery or test dates.
All in all, it took an amazing amount of energy. In reality you need to be pretty healthy to be sick. (Words borrowed from a dear friend)
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