Tag: Medicine

47 days post BPM, 6 days pre reconstruction

I hate that my entire life continues to revolve around surgery.  For the last several months, everything I do is either to make sure it is taken care of  before a surgery or the evaluation of whether I can do it because of the surgery.  With this pending procedure  much later than I would have liked, and the first day of school right around the corner, I can only pray that I will be up and around to attend meet the teacher and get the girls to the school bus.

I have no idea what to expect from the nipple reconstruction and revision in the way of pain.  Initially ,I would have said it was to be minor when it was just the nips but now that we are actually cutting to remove the “side air bags”, I assume the level of pain may be significantly somewhat higher.  The thought of pain on so many levels is dreaded.  At this point I rarely even take Motrin or Tylenol.  The thought of narcotics again makes me shudder just a bit.  I am feeling so close to normal, the thoughts of going backward, starting over again, no wonder I continue to struggle to sleep.

I received a comment on my blog last night telling me to “rest a little before the next surgery”.  Funny, sometimes it takes someone on the outside to point that out..thank you!  My husband and I actually were able to sit for a few minutes this morning quietly before the girls woke up.  We will take tomorrow as a family day…activity to be named later.

I have included a picture that does not relate at all to the post today but the face just demands to be posted.  Madison lost a second tooth in just a handful of days.  Not sure how the poor kid can eat at this point.  It is one heck of a mug!

Time for my MRI…Really?

SO the normal sounds of the mail truck, and exciting part of a summer day here.  The girl’s head out to the mail box to collect the treasure inside.  Todays treasure though caught me a bit off guard. A letter from the hospital:

It is time to schedule your breast imaging appointment with Cooper Health Systems.  Blah blah check with your insurance blah blah call your doc for referral blah blah.

BUT wait….I just had those cancer threats removed.

So, billions of dollars have been spent to computerize patient records.  I know that last June when I had the biopsy, and the last MRI, the hospital was undergoing its transition.  Everything is computerized. So how could it be possible that I should receive a letter telling me to have a scan on a body part that no longer exists in its previous state?

What is the point of the billions of dollars if office A can not even communicate with office B and building 3?  It is not really that big a deal..I will just toss the letter in the trash but I guess I just do not understand what the billions paid for which frustrates me as I begin paying my medical bills.

Speaking of the medical bills, the next annoyance is the phone call I received the other day.  On Tuesday 7/31 I wrote a check to cover the first set of doctor bills.  It was cashed, I check the bank on-line. The  bill covered  several doctors and was just under $700.  SInce I have another surgery scheduled, I did not want to delay paying and have any issues.  So how annoyed was I to receive a call on Tuesday 8/7 telling me I had a balance of $20.64 and when did I expect to be paying that.  My not so polite voice came out very quickly and explained that I pay any and all bills that are actually mailed to my house such as the one for $692 and change the week before and was sure that I was not trying to scam them for the 20 bucks!  I realize that I again was talking to someone who probably had all of an hour training and was just supposed to call those with a balance but REALLY?

Maybe my lack of sleeping is making me a little edgy.  Maybe it is the upcoming surgery or the soreness left from the last.  I hate the lack of common sense that seems to run wild these days!

Process and Procedure minus common sense

So after waiting a day and a half for my surgeons scheduler to call to no avail, I called to get this process moving. I have no patience and I need to be able to let my husband know what is going on so he can get help at work.   I also need to arrange something for the kids.

We have a date..August 24.  Nipple reconstruction and revision.  Of course it was not the smoothest of calls.  We start by getting the first available opening, later than I wanted but that is totally out of my control.  Then she proceeds to tell me that I need to schedule a pre-op appointment.  “I was just there on Tuesday” I politely tell her.  “Did you sign your consent and did they perform the physical?” I did not sign the consent but since  he said we were ready to move forward I assume the physical was completed.  “Oh no..it is a form and it is procedure”.  NOW…those who know me, know that I am a policy and procedure kind of gal.  I also do my best not to shoot the messenger. BUT I have little patience for those who can not add simple common sense to the procedure and don’t stop to think for a minute.  She sticks to her guns that I need to make another appointment.  By the way, another important fact to include here would be the fact that I received the first set of doctor bills for the surgery in the mail just a few hours earlier.  Thankfully we have wonderful insurance but as we all know there will still be a large out-of-pocket payout and unnecessary doctor visits are just not needed right now! So not quit as politely I explained  that I had just seen him at 3:45 on Tuesday and that I would not be making another appointment and that I thought one of us should give the actual surgeon a call.  She agrees a bit reluctantly, and says she will try to get him on the phone and call me back. No lie, five minutes later I receive a call saying that I did not need to come for an appointment.  Really…no kidding?  She faxed me the consent form which I signed and sent right back.  I do have to re-do blood work since it is over 30 days but I can understand that.  Maybe that will be our big adventure for tomorrow.

I know I should not get so aggravated but after already having 2 appointments with him since leaving the hospital July 8th, the last of which being 2 days ago how could you say I have to come back. It has been a long road and it is time to come to an end! At least we are moving forward.  The pointy parts are close!