O.K. I have thought about this for some time and I think now is a good time to let it out.
A few weeks ago my mother had an appointment with her "primary care physician". Everything was fine until my mother had mentioned a pain in her left calf. She was honest with her doctor about the location and the circumstances that would elevate the level of pain. Her doctor wastes no time in getting her set up for an ultra-sound to check for blood clots. My mom left her regular appointment at about 9:00 and called me.
9:00. I am working and Melissa had taken Kayla to get registered at Granite Park Jr. High. Mom calls and explains what is going on and being that she has no mode of self-transportation, I would have to help her get to her ultra-sound appointment in 1 hour. Not a problem, I am familiar with this, however I have no way to help her right away. The next thing that runs through my mind is when she had an open sore on her toe and had to spend a full week in the hospital. I did not want to go through that again.
9:30. Melissa arrives at home a few minutes later and I explain the situation to her and, bless her angle wings, I think she wanted to go and help more than I did. Unfortunately, we have children to take care of and one of us will be staying home. Knowing the severity of the situation we had to cancel Emma's appointment with her doctor (she was very sick) and I had to clear my schedule for the day. It was either going to be a short appointment or a hospital stay. We get to the appointment and I am watching the ultra-sound exam and everything is fine with her arteries until....
10:15. To check for blood clots, they apply a great amount of pressure and watch the artery collapse and then spring open. When they got to the back of her lower leg, the artery remained open and was not flexible. I got an empty feeling in my stomach. The exam was soon over and the doctor checking the film had us go downstairs to begin the admittance into the Emergency Department. She had clots. I called Melissa and between the three of us we prepared for a long day, and we also discussed and concluded it would be best to transfer to a different hospital that has a better "financial assistance" program. This was not going to be cheap.
11:30. We are on our way to hospital #2. The computer system was completely down. All the paperwork was being completed by pen and paper. The wait has exhausting, but when we were taken to the E.D. room, we were asked all the questions, why and what's. They needed to talk to hospital #1 to verify everything we were telling them and to start a plan of action. Hospital #1 could not even confirm we were even seen by their radiology department. Finally after a few hours in the emergency department, hospital #2 got all the information required to start treatment.
3:00. No overnight!!!! We were not expecting that, but bet your sweet ass we were accepting it. All she needed to do is give herself 2 shots a day for five days and begin a regimen of cumadin. OK. We can do this. The I.V. is not covered by her health plan, if you want to call it a plan. The cumadin is covered and is relatively inexpensive. The lovenox (I.V.) is approx. $100 PER shot! The math is $1000.00 for this blood thinner. We all know what that means.
3:30. I am sitting in the small office far enough away from everything else you forget you are even in a hospital. The counselor is asking for information that I just don't have. He tells me that my mom and the attending physician will need to sign the application to have the manufacturer "donate" the medicine at no cost to the hospital. So we work our way back to the E.D. to get this accomplished. We meet my mom on the way back and she filled out what I couldn't. The counselor then proceeds to the E.D. for the physicians’ signature and we wait at the pharmacy.
4:15. The counselor re-joins us and explains to us how it will should work, but nothing is a guarantee. We roll the dice and in the end it is covered. (It was not confirmed until after 2 business days). While the Rx is being filled, I take a moment for myself....
I walk out into the bridge area were you can see the rest of the world going about their business. I start to think...
I am really tired... I miss my wife... I miss my kids... I can't wait to see them all... I am alone right now... I have no one to talk to... I do not have a father, brother or sister... Nobody I can pass this onto... I need to "deal" with all of it, every time...
My wife will be there for me when I reach for her... I will be reaching for her more often... She is my support mechanism...
I am sorry to her for this and in the same breath I am thankful and I feel blessed to have her through this and everything else WE will have to endure.
4:45. On our way home.
I hope that at the end of this, none of you will have to feel the isolation I felt for just a few moments. It wasn't the worst thing I have had to deal with but it was the most exhaustive. I hope you all have a strong support mechanism and will appreciate the help you will receive and it helps you get through the tough times.
Thank you to all my friends and I love you all, especially my best friend - Melissa
