I have spent nearly 72 hours trying to figure out how to describe my appointment at the Mayo Clinic on Thursday. I just can't decide what to tell you first.

Although I arrived much earlier than I had been told to (it's hard to judge traffic patterns at off hours) and was getting ancy when numerous people were called back before I was, I was quite pleased when the nurse called me at 8:04 a.m.

No nurse came in to take my temp or blood pressure or ask me why I was there. I barely had time to observe my surroundings -- an actual desk with a computer, phone and other medical necessities including an ergonomic chair; a couch!; and other non-medical-feeling necessities -- before Dr. A came in. He shook my hand and we got down to business.

We talked like people, not like a doctor to an idiot patient. He treated me like I understood my body and my condition. Before I even had the chance to launch into my here's-who-I-am-and-you're-gonna-listen-to-me-damnit speach, Dr. A understood the value of getting my input.

He went through all of my notes on the patient medical history form in a pretty detailed fashion: who in your family had cancer? is there a history of diabetes in your family? how did you get all those blood clots? He didn't just glance over the form, he went through it one "yes" at a time. And he took notes and took time to discuss my conditions with me.

"So what can we do for you," he asked in a wonderful Hispanic accent.

"I want to be able to communicate with someone on a weekly or bi-weekly basis so that my basals and bolus ratios can be examined...," I said.

"We have the people for you," he assured me.

Dr. A spent an hour with me. He never left the room. He connected with me the way Dr. C did -- like a person, not a patient. I go back in a week to talk with the pump educator and a nurse practioner, who Dr. A says are better at working with patients on the day-to-day issues of diabetes. And I'm totally fine with that.

This doesn't begin to adequately describe my appointment with Dr. A. I left there feeling empowered, not left behind. I left feeling like this doctor cared about me and understood me.

This, my friends, is a feeling we should all seek from our medical team. And if I hadn't found it here, believe me I would have kept searching, kept fighting for the care I know I deserve.