So, out of the clinic, rush to PDX and off to Oakland. Here we are in Vacaville, California. Mom and I thought a drive clear into Sacramento last night (late) would be nuts and we'd get the most sleep if we stayed here in a Fairfield Inn. Anyway, we're awakening and slowly working our way out of here. We'd like to make it to grandma's home before conference starts so we can get in all of the first session....and the rest too.

Mom hasn't fully recovered from her flight back to the states from the Netherlands. She got back last Tuesday, but is making progress in dropping her jet-lag status.

We are going to spend today and part of tomorrow at Grandma's house then drive to Fremont to stay overnight with the Carliles until we have to leave on Monday to catch a late flight home. I think we get back to PDX at about 2145 on Monday night. So, if you wish to contact us up to then, a call to our cells would be the way to do it.

I had a weird experience last evening. I had a 1700 patient, whom we were warned about from previous providers that she was a screamer, onery, full of filthy language, and basically could not comprhend anything you told her concerning her surgery. Well, she called at 1700 and said she'd be a half an hour late. She was told by our staff that if she exceeded 15 miniutes overdue, she'd be rescheduled. So, she didn't show up and I was allowed to leave by 1730 to make my flight to OAK.

So, I am ready to go out the door and she showed up at the front desk. She was beside herself. "Where is the >>>>>>ing Dr Stinchfield, that son-of-a-xxxxxx, I know
he is in here, Go....mmit"; "where the XXXK is he?". I know he is here because when I called they said he was seeing a patient". Well, at 1700, when she called, I was. But, that patient left at 1700 and we were to see this woman. So, I'm about to leave and our regional manager comes back and tells me to stay low; this woman is enraged. I'm in my office waiting for mom to show up to pick me up for the airport. I look out my back window, through the closed blinds, and I see this woman, with the look of satan walking up the back approach to my back door. She pounds on the back door, wham, wham, wham. Then, of course, one of the other doctors goes to the back door and opens the door.....swosh..the woman bursts into the clinic, via the back door and down the hall she comes, yelling, "where is he?, where is the Goxxxxm Dr Stinchfield, I know he is in here". Of course, I am cowering behind the door to my office as she rattles the handle. However, she cannot open the "locked door" (actually my foot pressed tighely against the door", and still continues to yell as the regional manger rounds the corner of the hallway and confronts the irrate beast". He tells her she cannot come in here and she continues her outrage and satanic verbage. A repeat of her current phrases multiple times causes the manager to tell her to leave or he'll call the police and have her removed. She torts back with, "you go right ahead you GD jerk; I'm not afraid of you and you go ahead and call 911". I want to see that GD Dr Stinchfield, where is he? Blah, blah, blah. on it goes of another 3-5 minutes and then out the back door he gets her to move. Egads. Then, she walks up to the front of the building and continues swearing and going on and on. The staff comes back and tells me to go ahead and leave, but, hey, mom isn't here yet...I'm on the cell phone to her during this whole ordeal. Finally, they tell me mom drove up to the door and that the woman had left the scene. Out the back door, off to the airport and no devil in sight. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh..........what a way to end an otherwise, pleasant day. :).

This woman has a book of complaint sheets in her folder with counter-complaints from staffs from other clinics. And to top it off, apparently she has been seen twice before by other oral surgeons and only wants to have IV sedation (I don't do them), but doesn't want to pay for it and is then usually turned away to seek a provider who does do IV seds. IV is an additional $350.00 and most of my patients cannot afford it so I defer to our other provider oral surgeon. The sad thing is that the woman is so lost that she doesn't really know why she is referred to us in the first place. Her first comment when coming into the building was, and is always the same, "I don't why the XXck I am here; you GD people set me up for some XXXXXXX evaluation and, GDit, I don't want to be here in the first place.". Fun. Oh well, I guess this why we get paid big bucks, right.. So, with that, I look forward to her return and pleasant demeanor. Hope she is on time, next time.

Hey, what a day. It is 0528 and I'm ready to go. This is a good day.

We love you all. Keep pounding away. We really enjoy having family close to us. If you move our way, yes, we will babysit on occasion. Love you, Dad (and sleeping mom).