It is hard to know. I had five months worth of an infection wandering around inside me after my appendix burst and when it was all over it was quite clear what should have been done

The transmission of info from one doctor to another or what the xray says, etc. and how a second or third doctor sees it can be iffy. That's why I am religious about seeing my primary care doctor often and making the best relationship with him that I can, so when I have a problem elsewhere I feel he might know me a little better by now and/or I him so I can quiz him to death about things and ask to see results and we can hammer out what is going on so I am comfortable moving forward.

That you wanted to go to Duke, no one really thought about or knew until you asked, and that was wonderful on your part but was a game changer. My file is getting pretty thick over the years and, even though I see my doctor 4 times a year, I'm sure he has hundreds of other patients and I have 2-3 problems, etc., all my little details are in there but not on the tip of his remembering until I re-mention what I think is relevant.

You were a good advocate for yourself and things worked out fine? I would just remember this incident and use it in the future to know what to look for? My $3,000 appendix burst operation ended up costing $30,000 and causing me problems I'm now experiencing but the education for me and my surgeon/doctor at the time was pretty good too, will help others.