Monday, February 07, 2011

Ramble from phair

Wanna hear about a $2100, 4 minute, .9 of a mile ambulance ride and a $1200, 4 hour ER visit? Don't know about the MRI cost but my follow up doc visit was $140. I'm going to guess the bill will cap out at $5000.

Before you cry out for Universal Healthcare, remember I live in the Commonwealth. We've had Universal Healthcare since 2006.

Isn't it working well controlling ridiculous costs?

A week before Christmas, I started my shopping after work. No, it was not procrastination that slowed my progress with the annual ritual. I was working like a fool at the day job, staying up late writing, relaunching my website, sick with a virus, and fighting with my new insurance company about my prescriptions. I'd been without my meds for about a week. Didn't think it was a big deal. Why would I?

HUGE MISTAKE. Had I called my doc, she would've given me meds to keep me covered while ripping the insurer a new one.
I left work at 4pm. Entered the toy store at 4:05pm. It is a favorite of mine. It's in my old home city; a dangerous, decaying den with little hope of recovery. I shop there because of customer loyalty and I can usually get hard to find items. They don't do a whole lot of high end sales.

Walking down an aisle, I felt oddly euphoric. I don't drink or take drugs...I'm weird enough, thank you. There was a shelf with stuff I wanted to look at but I couldn't figure out what those things were. For a brief moment, I didn't have a thought in my head. Nothing around me made one bit of sense. It was all familiar but still unknown. I wasn't scared. I was just moving.

HUGE MISTAKE: If you ever feel like this, sit down immediately! Scream for help because you're gonna need it.

The very next thought in my head was my own name. Somebody was calling me. I was looking at my feet hanging out the back of an ambulance and two paramedics, who were young enough to be my kids, were shouting at me.

"Relax! Don't move. We've got you."

"Why?"

My voice sounded far away. I wondered if anybody heard it. I wondered if anything was real. Certainly, nothing felt real. My clothes were heavy. My arms were like logs across my chest. My feet were pointed east to west.

"You had a seizure."

His voice boomed. Somebody was behind me. I couldn't see him but I pictured the character Taget from my book. I kept expecting a huge paw to land on my shoulder. It was strangely comforting.

These three paramedics had great questions. What meds do I take? When did I eat last? Do I have somebody to call? Who's my doc? Does this sort of thing happen often? Tremendously important questions they needed answered. Unfortunately, I didn't have any answers. Other than my own name and the image of Taget adjusting my oxygen with his massive paws, there wasn't another thought in my head.

We rolled into the ER at 4:15pm. The pieces of my life started to fall back into place. I had a family member, two in fact, to call. In addition to a ride home, I needed a change of clothes. Let's just say, there was a wardrobe malfunction and leave it at that. The nurses, doctor, and techs were super nice. I couldn't remember my brother's phone number sequence. I had all the numbers but not in the right order. The nurse left me with a cell to play with the series of digits until the MRI people got to me. On the nine millionth try, my brother answered his phone. I cried for a solid five minutes while he patiently asked yes and no questions to guess where I was.

In addition to the seizure, I damn near bit through my tongue. The whole thing was black and blue and swollen. Then there was the fall issue. I fell face first into the shelving holding very large Teddy Bears. The impact destroyed the display and sent me tumbling across the concrete floor. None of the bears were able to break my fall. I slammed my head several times before I skidded to a stop at Barbie's Townhouse.

I was discharged from the ER with fairly heavy medication on board. My brother drove me back to the store to find my phone. It was in my car. Don't remember why I left it there. We went into the store to thank the staff for helping me. I was never hugged by so many strangers before. They were worried sick but the hospital couldn't tell them how I was. They were relieved I was walking and talking again.

On the ride home, my brother stated we would grab some clothes and the dog. He and his wife wanted me to spend the weekend with them. I wanted to argue but the look on his face changed my mind. He was ashen and his lips were so pale it looked like he had the fright of his life. So, I agreed. He tells me now that I looked worse.

It's been a tough few weeks since my expensive ambulance ride. My memory is patchy at times. But, my tongue healed well. I'm a little nervous about what will happen next. Some days more than a little. The doc thinks it was a perfect storm of random events which lead to the seizure; withdrawal from my meds, exhaustion, a virus, dehydration, and malnutrition. She hopes it was a fluke...so do I.

I've gotten back to the day job and writing. But, I've carved out bigger chunks of time for sleeping. Meal breaks have also taken a priority status not previously recognized. Cell phone bill climbed a bit too. My brother is checking in more often. He had quite the scare...so did I.

phair
www.phair1.com


Okay, phair...please continue to carve that time out and consider that a permanent fixture. Take it easy and hopefully another will not occur. Sorry about the cost, but happy you are on to better days.

Now back to the update, enjoy.

Peace, Health and Happiness.

Elisa

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