IT'S A LONG WALK FROM THE STREET - A journey with a guy called "Joe" part 15

I haven’t given you an update on my friend Joe in quite some time. Let me get you up to date kinda quickly here. But first, I have to take you back to January.

That day that we went to Park Place Medical Center and found the facility closed due to the holiday left us with some free time. So, I took advantage of this opportunity to sit and talk with Joe and his stepmother. Joe was complaining a lot about her and she had called me a few times complaining about him. So I thought there needed to be some intervention. Sometimes when family units are reconnecting there will be bumps in the road. Sometimes there will be a need for mediation. So I sat with Joe and his stepmother. I listened to her as she complained about what Joe did and didn’t do. I listened to Joe as he complained about what she would and wouldn’t do. I prayed for wisdom and tried as best I could to mediate. By the time I left I felt that God was working in that house that that the relationship was going to grow.

Joe finally got in for his first appointment at the medical center. The doctor didn’t do too much. I wasn’t with Joe for the appointment. Several weeks later, Joe was scheduled for a follow-up doctor appointment. We arrived at the Park Place Medical Center and signed Joe in for the appointment. A few minutes later we were called to the desk and informed that Joe’s doctor didn’t come into the office that day and that the appointment would have to be rescheduled. So, we rescheduled for the following week on that Thursday. A week passed and we arrived at Park Place for our rescheduled appointment. As we were about to get out of the car, I realized that I left a document that we needed Joe’s doctor to complete. So, I dropped Joe off and left to grab the document – which was only 8 minutes away. Four minutes into my eight-minute trip I got a call from the clerk at Park Place informing me that Joe didn’t have an appointment. She explained that while they found the vacant appointment slot during our previous visit, and told us when the rescheduled appointment would be, AND gave us an appointment card… still they neglected to put Joe’s name in the slot. So, again, the appointment had to be rescheduled.

The following Tuesday, Joe called me and said that he called Park Place to make sure they had his appointment scheduled and there would be no problem when we arrived for his Wednesday appointment. When we arrived on the following day, they did have Joe’s appointment on the schedule. We arrived at 10:41 for Joe’s 10:45 appointment. About 11:00, Joe was called into the back for the nurse to take his weight, temp, pulse and BP. We were sent back to the lobby. About 12:45 we were called to the back for Joe to see the doctor. About 15 minutes later, the doctor arrived in the exam room where Joe and I had been waiting.

The physician examined Joe again, looked over the results from the blood work done at Joe’s previous visit, asked for the documents we needed her to complete… then lowered the boom on us. She informed us that, based on her findings, she could not qualify Joe as being disabled. She would complete the Department of Human Services paperwork but would state that he is able to work with limited lifting – only 15 pounds. She would continue his prescription for the chronic pain he lives with. She would write him a prescription to get a walker to help him walk, but he’s not disabled. She did also complete the form for him to temporarily have disability privileges with the public transit system. Finally, she informed Joe that he has a chronic viral condition. He thought that when he was diagnosed many years ago, it was a virus that would go away once he went through treatment. She informed us that this condition was one that doesn’t go away.

As we left that facility, I saw a look on Joe’s face that I hadn’t seen in three months. I saw hopelessness.