Finding a doctor in Ottawa is not for the faint-hearted.

In a previous post, I explained that the doctor at a walk-in clinic declined to take me on as a patient because I already had a doctor.

Likewise, Emily's doctor rejected me for almost the same reason - plus, they are a teaching clinic at a hospital and want a "well-rounded practice." I guess they have too many middle-aged diabetics on their rolls.

The good news is that, when Emily's doctor gave me the bad news, she referred me to Health Care Connect a service provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health. Right there, on the first page, it explains how to register to be referred to a doctor and - more importantly for me - how to de-register with a previous doctor. (Actually, the instructions on the site are wrong; you have to phone them in order to de-register. Your doctor cannot do this for you.)

So, I officially divorced my old doctor and signed up to be referred to a new doctor. I still don't have a doctor, but at least I'm making progress.

Meanwhile, I developed a wicked sinus infection and, despite my efforts, my blood sugar continued to fluctuate into the middle and high teens (7 mmol/L is target for diabetics).

So I took myself to a walk-in clinic, the same one, in fact, where the previous doctor had rejected my request to be her patient.

This time, I was seen by an elderly woman with a wild thatch of bright red hair. She reminded me greatly of Ruth Gordon. (She is the star of Harold and Maude, a disturbing movie if ever there was one. Even more disturbing, one of our psychologists strongly implied that I was like the refrigerator mother that Harold keeps trying to reach through his faux suicide attempts.)

Back to our story.

After she wrote the prescriptions for my sinus infection, I asked if she was accepting new patients. She said she was not. I explained my plight and she explained her reasons for only doing walk-in clinics: her husband has summers off and they wish to spend them together, travelling. I told her I would do the same in her shoes.

Then she prescribed low-dose medication for my blood sugar and told me to come back in two weeks and see her during her walk-in hours for follow-up.

So, she didn't take me on as a regular patient, but she is willing to provide some continuity of care. I'm SO relieved! Meanwhile, the hunt for a regular doctor continues.