"Nurse Practitioner Helped Me Understand My Swollen Elbow"

It was a challenge to understand how to call the acute care during the weekend. My family doctor had reminded me about this part of  Primary Care  in Calgary if needed. I had to look further online and learned that I could only get an appointment by contacting Health Link first. So fortunately on Saturday I didn’t have to wait to speak to a nurse on Health Link. I couldn’t get an appointment until late morning, this past Monday. I was very relieved. 

On my visit I didn’t have to wait long and received care from the intake nurse who gathered the information. 

I only waited a short time before the NP came to see me. They helped me understand better that the first diagnosis, of my arm, that already suffers from lymphoma (since a double mastectomy 8 years ago), from my family doctor that I had cellulitis and was given 10 days of antibiotics, on my next visit with my family doctor who then said I had bursitis. My instructions by my family doctor were to put ice on every few hours. No explanation was given how the diagnosis had changed and no more antibiotics prescribed. 

So over the weekend I was at a loss to understand the change or an add on. I appreciated that the NP felt my hot elbow and looked carefully for any other markings. And gave me a form to get blood work done. I never felt silly for needing more explanation about the change of diagnosis by my family doctor and I appreciated that they wanted to be certain that my body was operating as well as possible. As I live alone and in my late seventy's.