Over a year ago, I came up with the brilliant idea that my husband should retire in the fall so that someone who is supporting a family could keep their job in case of lay offs and he would retire. My dream has always been to live on the ocean. His retirement dream was to live in a log cabin on a lake with a view of the mountains. Now we live on an ocean front house (not a log cabin) in Maine on the ocean which has one floor living for me. It also has my husband perfect house requirements - a two car garage and a fireplace.
We closed on the house in January (call me slow, that's okay) and moved in early March. The truck showed up about a week and a half after us but we are now settled in. We have a lovely view of the ocean. Nice big rooms, and all on one floor.
One of my biggest concerns in moving was having medical care. I have been going to the same medical facility since my first cancer diagnosis in 1981. I became a patient when the hospital was only a few years old. We all had to stand in one line at the front desk to check in at the beginning. Then it became two lines, three, and more. Then we could skip the lobby and check in at the department we were going to. The hospital had two sides - east and west. Then they added a side so they had east, central (formerly east), and west. Then we no longer had to park in the parking lot, we had to park in the garage (and pay) and they added southeast (which is where you got chemo on level 3) and fancy rooms on levels 6 and 7.
I could explain lots to employees in recent years. They had no idea. Now its all different.
We moved to Maine. Its wonderful. (I dont eat lobster every day but as often as I want.) Seriously in Maine people are like people everywhere, they only eat lobster when they want - stop profiling.
I spent four months looking at houses on line after I got my brilliant idea. Then my husband explained to me that there was no reason to move from a pretty good house to another pretty good house unless it had a wow factor. That was eye opening for me and a good reassurance on what we should do. Seriously, why buy a new house when you have a perfectly good house unless you have a reason? We needed a house with a wow factor.
But I also need medical facilities. I have lots of doctor appointments. I really don't want to drive two hours to every single one. Then there was a new article on a hospital that opened a new facility for primary care and was continuing its expansion. That's what I needed. And expanding medical center that could provide me with the care I need. Awesome. And we found the perfect house with the wow factor that should last us 20 years. We packed up and moved.
Whoa!
New state. New hospital. New laws.
Its so confusing. But I am working with everyone to help figure this out for me. I have several new doctors. I will have more new doctors. But I feel okay about my health. I have been pretty stable for the last years. I brought many medical records to my new doctors. I was given a six page form from my PCP and added another four pages of details that didn't fit on their forms. I told them that my old doctors are happy to talk to my new ones.
But here's the difference. My new PCP moved to Maine a few years ago. In the state she used to live in she coudn't prescribe several of my meds. But then she found out she could. But I have to see her every 3 months. But my other doctors I can see a lot less often.
I can work with this but I also need to learn to talk to new doctors. And they got a new phone system. I hate going to doctors. But Im still here so I'm okay.
This has been a LOT of CHANGE in the past six months. I don't even notice it as much but on some level I realize they need a lot of my information.
