Health Services, Part Deux

I was told to get a knee brace from my physiotherapist last week Friday. My physiotherapist told me that there were 2 places in town that I could get a knee brace from: Northern Hospital Supplies and Alpine Health Supplies. It was 5:45pm by the time I finished my physio session that Friday.

We drove over to Northern Hospital Supplies to see if they were still open, but in the back of my mind, I knew they were closed as THIS WAS Whitehorse after all. It took us awhile to find the place as my physiotherapist gave me the wrong address (she was actually off by 4 city blocks!!). By the time we arrived, it was already 5:50pm, and we still saw the sign that read, "OPEN". I had a big smile on my face as I thought, "today is the day I can walk like a normal person again!". I limped over to the front door and tried to open it but it was locked. I guess the "OPEN" sign was just for decoration! I was let down AGAIN... We decided to go back the next day (Saturday) to see if they would be open.

Most of my friends and family know not to call us ANYTIME in the morning as we're usually still asleep. But on that Saturday morning, I had to wake up early (10:30) as I wanted to get a knee brace so I wouldn't have to be Mr Limpy anymore. If I didn't get my knee fixed, I'd become Mr Red (Faced) and blow up on someone eventually! As usual, my wife likes to take her time to do her makeup so we actually didn't get out of the house until 12pm.

The first place we arrived at was Northern Hospital Supplies. Their sign outside their store said "OPEN" again. I was smarter this time... I asked my wife to go knock on the door as I was still in pain and didn't want to be "let down" again. They were still closed. This time around, I wasn't "let down" because I expected them to be closed! So off we go to Alpine Health Supplies.

The ladies in Alpine Health were really friendly and helpful. There was a knee brace that actually worked for me there, but it was the wrong size. They told me that they had one on order from Vancouver and it would be arriving the following Thursday (read my previous blog entry). I guess since I've already been limping around for a few weeks, I could wait another week... I also knew that I could try the Northern Hospital Supplies store again on Monday.

On Monday, 3 days after I went to see the physiotherapist, I went to work and decided to call Northern Hospital Supplies to see if they were "OPEN" or actually, "still OPEN but CLOSED". To my surprise, they were open for business! The owner told me he had a few knee braces in stock and I could go over and try them. Long story short... he was a really nice gentleman but he didn't have anything that worked for my patella. I limp back to the office and gave Alpine Health a call.

Me: "Hi! This is... Could you please hold the knee brace for me when it arrives from Vancouver"
Alpine Health: "Sure not a problem. We'll hold it for you."

Wow! That means I'll only have to limp another 4 days before it arrives. Now THAT'S SERVICE!

Thursday rolls around and I give Alpine Health a call at 1pm.

Me: "Hi! This is... again. Did you receive the knee brace yet?"
Alpine Health: "Not yet. We are still waiting for Canada Post to deliver the item"
Me: "Not a problem. I'll call you again later this afternoon."

By this time I suspected that I'll never get this stupid piece of plastic that would have taken me 30 minutes to get in a bigger city. I was pretty disappointed again, so when I finished the day at the office, I decided to just "go there" instead of calling them again. My wife came along with me.

Me: "Hi! Did you get the knee brace in?"
Alpine Health: "No not yet. Didn't we call you?"
Me: "Call me? No, no one called me."
Alpine Health: "I told one of the girls to call you to tell you that they didn't ship the item until today."
Me: "Today??? How did THAT happen?"
Alpine Health: "After you called earlier today, we called the manufacturer to find out the tracking number of the package. They told me they didn't ship it until today, so you won't be getting it till next week"
Me: "Oh wow! Now THAT's something I can blog about! Why did they only ship it today??"
Alpine Health: "They were too busy."
Me: "So when do you expect the package to arrive?"
Alpine Health: "It's shipped Xpresspost so it should only take 4 days."
Me: "ONLY 4 days? That's why some people don't buy LOCAL. So I'll see you next week?"
Alpine Health: "I always buy local."
Me: "Ok... I'll see you next week."

At the end of the day, I guess the Vancouver company was "too busy" to ship a knee brace up to Whitehorse, and Alpine Health was "way too busy" to confirm that the item was shipped until I called them. They were probably too busy with 25 customers that show up everyday, and too busy to inform me on the phone that the item hasn't arrived. I'd like to mention the owners at both stores were really friendly and I would have no problems recommending them to anyone (if they have items in stock).

It's unbelievable that there is only one place in Whitehorse I could go, to find a knee brace that I need. It is also unbelievable that I am the only person in Whitehorse that needs a smaller knee brace.

That evening a good friend came by the house to drop off a hiking stick that he just bought online from Lee Valley Tools. He ordered it the same time I found out I needed a knee brace, and it arrived the same day I went to get my non-existent knee brace. Is it better to purchase online, or locally?