[NOS2Go4Me]

Dude, I had exactly this kind of experience RIGHT IN CANADA. Sure enough, it took place in North Bay. On that note, I shudder to think of what would have happened if it took place in anywhere smaller than here.

Sprained my ankle / tore ligaments pretty bad. If the ligaments weren't torn, they were pretty damn strained. Note the ambiguity - I never really found out the extent of the damage.

I did this at an ice hockey game last summer. I caught a rut as I went to stop and it locked my foot in place and all of my momentum and weight ratcheted across my one ankle. Not cool. I barely made it off the ice. So, within hours it's swollen larger than my knee / approaching the size of my lower thigh. I can walk on it, sort of - weight is ok, motion is grudgingly accepted. I assess it, no grinding of broken bones is felt, nothing is ready to protrude from within, no interior bleeding. So, ice and elevation. More ice. And more.

The next few days brings the scary bruising. The itching. More ice. I'm barely moving around at work while keeping it elevated (thank you RDP and email!). About 4-5 days in, it's not even budging in size. Now I'm getting a little concerned as more pain seems to come as I walk on it each day.

Call my GP / family doctor. No answer. GJ on that., *thumbsdown*.

Decide to go to a walk-in clinic - and it's advertised as such in the phone book. I arrive. 3 nurses around a computer screen, assuming Facebook or PopCap games or something. NO PATIENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM. I walk in with obvious discomfort and a strange gait. They don't even address the fact that I'm there till I make it to the desk.

I ask to see one of the doctors on duty. They REFUSE. They say I need to make an appointment. I laugh, gesturing around the room. "Where's the mass of patients preventing you from helping me right now?"

They still refuse. I then ask them why they are listed as a WALK IN CLINIC in the phone book. No response. Literally. I then ask what the big deal is for them to write me in as an appointment. They refuse. To this day, I wish I had gotten names. I asked them what they do when someone calls. They say they make an appointment. I said "Good, so let's just make me an appointment:" More refusals.

Now I'm starting to see red. Instead of starting a yelling match that will surely have made them call the cops, I make my way to the door. On the way out the door, they get the finger and "I sure hope you jackasses are enjoying not doing your jobs while collecting my tax dollars". One of them starts to get indignant and offer a retort. I walk out and make sure I slam the door.

Thankfully, a "real" walk-in clinic decides they can see me. They assess a sprain with strained ligaments, order me not to play hockey for at least another 4-5 weeks and to slowly rehab it when I can bear it.

So, I've made a 100% recovery since (thankfully) but there's one hole left - my GP. They finally return my call after I place a second call asking them to evaluate my ankle for my own peace of mind. It takes them the additional 2 days to return my call because I used the words "peace of mind" - their words on the reasoning. To them, that means I'm trying to be frivolous with my piddling torn-up ankle and sniffly kids are obviously far more important. I call them back and inform them that I had since been taken care of properly by one of the walk-ins and that notes were on file of my lack of response from them and my experience with the other clinic. Copies of my remarks were also sent off to my MPP who then forwarded them off to the Minister of Health's office.

Not surprisingly, within weeks the signage outside the "walk-in clinic" that refused to see me was changed to something about a clinic that makes no mention of bieng a "walk-in" clinic. How nice.