His knee was killing him. Whenever he walked, it felt like a knife was going into his knee. He called Bellevue Hospital. A woman answered. He said he wanted to get an appointment with a knee doctor. "Do you have a referral?" she asked. He said no. "Then you'll have to see a regular doctor first," she said. "I can't give you an appointment for a regular doctor now. You'll have to call back for an appointment in October." His jaw dropped. "This is March! Did you say October?" She said yes. "You don't have a clinic card," she said, "so the earliest appointment is October." He said he did have a clinic card. "Give me the card number," she said. He gave her the number. "Okay, now I can give you an appointment," she said. Great, he thought. "Go to 2D at 10 a.m. on October 26," she said.