Journey or Destination?

All went well for me and Friend today - but I am left wondering where everything went wrong with the medical profession. Friend was seen by a Senior Nurse practitioner who had all the personality of a dead wet fish. Things didn't start well when he opened with "How are you?" as he shut the door and then proceeded to look through all her notes without saying another word and some frustration and much page turning back and forth. Seriously? Should he not have looked at these before entering the room? He did not introduce himself to me nor ask who I was, how very rude - bound to get my back up even more! He then asked questions and scribbled in her notes, not responding to what she was actually saying. I wanted to demand to see his notes at the end to ensure he had actually written what she had said, not just  how he interpreted it if he was even listening. Friend asked her questions and stated her issues but in an understated way and got little response and I clarified that when she said she was tired she meant that in the previous  3 week cycle she had only left the house once and that was for a medical appointment. When she said she made herself meals and had to force herself to eat she meant her friends brought her meals for 2 of the 3 weeks as she was incapable of making them. She was amazed she finally got some better pain relief advice- I guess he finally realised that she is a positive, uncomplaining person and the reality of her situation was actually far worse than she was letting on. I did freak him out and he turned into startled rabbit in the  headlights when I told him the medication had to be compatible with her alternative self medication!! He pretended like Dr to know nothing about it when the hospital actually has a Dr researching its efficacy for pain management!!! He scurried out the room to check with someone!
So after this I left Friend to weights and bloods and went to my Dental appointment - different totally in manner, smiling, engaging with me, listening. However, you knew there was going to be a however?! After stating the sedative he would use and its effects, Midazolam which I used to give to my children when  they had a severe or prolonged or multiple seizures!  When asked he said yes there would be memory loss from 12 to 24 hours, he then proceeded to discuss with my dentist what to do first.They were looking at my teeth diagram so I walked over and joined them. He pointed to two of my teeth and advised to do these fillings first then the other two. Neither was where I had experienced pain - so I asked for clarification as to which tooth it was  to be told the lower as it was the one previously drilled but not filled due to my miss swallow, apnea then panic attack / adrenaline rush ( self diagnosis here folks!) She proceeded to say I needed a filling. "Not root canal" I asked - no she said with eyebrows raised as if it wasn't her who had suggested this initially!! 
So at this point I explained I had no fear of the dentist, injections, drilling or pain - just the compromised fear of swallowing and subsequent results if I did which were totally beyond my control. I stated memory loss and such a course of action just for a filling was not acceptable to me - there would be no way back from this in the future I feared. I would rather take valium prior to appointment,  minimal numbing, and the pain to take my mind off the swallowing! They looked at me in surprise and said that wasn't the usual reaction!!! However he said he had a gag reflex beyond his control and completely understood and said if it didn't work out how I wanted I could fall back on the Midazolam. He also waived the £80 consultation fee!!
So both Friend and I got positive results today but oh did we have to work for it! I'm relieved I am not facing a major procedure which has been linked to the incidence of auto immune deficiency conditions afterwards but frustrated and angry I have had months believing this was what was going to happen! 
Why can't they think before they open their mouths, why can't they listen to what you are saying, why do they often seem to lack any type of empathy? Is this the result of cuts in the Health service and management strategies that dehumanise their own staff? 
The rest of the day was far more soothing - lunch and shop at Waitrose, Strawberry, Wild Alpine strawberry  and Broad Bean picking on the allotment with Camera man. 
My blip? The new walkway erected over the dual carriageway leading to the Tamar Bridge or deepest darkest Cornwall! I think it sums up my feelings on the path people are made to follow when they become involved with the medical profession - unable to see what is below them and has necessitated the journey, walking down a route into an unknown destination. Lucky this woman and her two children came along and the bird of freedom flew in the sky!!!!!!!!