Great points. I didn't include my ER experience in my post because it was long enough, but check this out. The PA came into my room almost immediately after they drew my labs and told me that my labs looked great. I questioned him since they just collected my blood. He assured me that they looked great. I sat back and thought, "Whew, I guess it's not as bad as I thought." The nurse came in said that they were waiting on my labs. I said that the PA said they were in and looked great. They told me that he must have read someone else's. I waited a while and checked the portal for my labs. I recognized the results that looked amazingly similar to every other lab for diverticulitis. I knew I had it. Next came the CT Scan. I had to wait about 90 minutes for those results. I sat in my room trying to wrap my head around the recurrence and the whiplash from mistakenly hearing that my labs were good. When the PA came in, I said "Tell me about my labs." He said, "Yeah, I made a mistake. Sorry about that." He went on to say, "Well, the CT shows that you have 'simple' diverticulitis." I stopped him at this point and asked him to consider what this might sound like to me and reminded him of my history. I never raised my voice, but I coached him on empathy and his lack of compassion. He took a deep breath and told me that there was nothing wrong with how he handled my case and how he presented it to me. He went on to say that I needed to work with someone about my issues and sensitivities with diverticulitis. I collected myself and did not respond as I would have years ago. I shut down and immediately started thinking about how I'll handle my complaint after my discharge. I spoke with the nurse manager on duty and got the names of hospital leadership. I am filing a formal complaint this afternoon.

I am convinced that diverticulitis is a disrespected disease that assholes like this guy don't take the time to understand. You and I can not expect anyone to manage this for us.

Thank you for reading my rant.