Meredith Cunningham

Review of Norman Parathyroid Center

This review comes about seven hours after surgery ...

This review comes about seven hours after surgery with Drs Norman and Carling because I am still marveling at what was far and away the best interaction I ve ever had with the medical profession in my life and need to evangelize to any folks out there with high calcium.

If you spend any time on the Parathyroid Center s website, you ll find a wealth of information. I m not talking about WebMD BS ... this is hours and hours of info that empowers patients. It put me in a position to decline meaningless appointments and procedures my home based endocrinologist set up for me. I ve never felt competent to tell a physician no in the past because I m not a doctor or medical professional (lawyer here) and appreciate and rely upon my doctors expertise. But, the Center s website convinced me that, in this case and under these narrow circumstances, I could and should say no. The expense I would have incurred from those visits/procedures helped offset the cost of my consult with the Parathyroid Center (I m an out of state patient).

Everyone at the Center was beyond responsive after I first reached out to become a patient. Communications are by phone, email, and Apps super flexible and super convenient. There was never a need for me to prompt a response as I ve seen friends and family have to do so often with other providers. That responsiveness, alone, was such a relief. I knew I d not have to shoulder the anxiety too many patients bear when their providers aren t helpful and proactive.

Once I got my date for surgery, I was directed to the Center s surgery App, which has even more information detailing what to expect when I walked into the hospital this morning and afterwards. Imagine knowing exactly what to expect every step of the way, from 5A admitting to 11A discharge. I contrast my experience today with a low-information Caesarian I endured years ago. The anxiety the latter caused was terrible, esp during something so wonderful as having a child, and, upon reflection, unfair. (I adored my OBGYN; times, however, have changed and there s no reason to leave any patient uninformed in 2020.)

There were no deviations today from what the App told me I should expect (to my knowledge). Everything was choreographed beautifully; the providers were excellent and attentive; the facility very accessible and (I can t believe I have to say this, but given other experiences) sparkling clean. After surgery, my nurse never left my bedside. Period. Contrast that with a hospital experience I had with a family member when I taught myself how to recalibrate an IV monitor because it (erroneously) set off its alarm every few minutes and it took an attendant much, much longer to get around to us to flip its switch.

Recovery, such that it is, has been very comfortable. A little headache coming off anesthesia was the worst part of it but the providers (and I am so sorry to not remember everyone s name) quickly fixed that. My throat feels sore, but not like it was incised; more like recovering from a cold that included a sore throat. And, I feel good ... really, really good.

As if to punctuate all of this, Dr. Norman just phoned as I was typing to check in on me. So, I ll quote him in closing: If you have high calcium, you have a tumor that needs to be taken out. Please have Dr. Norman and his amazing team do the honors for you.