This will be long, get a drink & get ready to hear what's been going on around here.
Yesterday I took a tumble down the stairs after putting the kids to bed. Nothing broken, but I do have a sprained ankle and I feel like I've been in a car accident with bruises on my left side. Unfortunately the sprained ankle is on my already beat up left foot where my 'bump' lives. My bump is a ganglion cyst that I've now named Cornelius. I've had this thing operated on twice in CO and it came back with vengeance last year. I've had it drained once ($50 co-pay) and was told it needed to be operated on again. I was in the midst of setting that up when I found out that our co-pay would be $7,000. So I decided to just live with Cornelius. (Cornelius is the one in purple)
Does it hurt you ask? Why yes, yes it does. It hurts if someone touches it, it hurts if I lay on my left side and it touches the sheets. Cornelius is not only a pain in my foot, but a pain in my arse.
I've not been able to wear any kind of shoes that touch the bump for almost a year and a half now, leaving me with flip flops and ballet flats. Looking for insurance alternatives I did some checking on Obamacare. I found that not only would our monthly premiums be a whole lot cheaper, but our co-pays would also be a lot cheaper. However we have to wait until the end of the year to switch insurance, so Cornelius and I wait.
Next up in my chronic back pain which started in Colorado after I tore my disc picking up my moose of a dog, Tucker. It has continued to bother me, but now we're throwing moderate to severe arthritis into the mix. A few months ago I started getting muscle spasms on my left side, which was new since the pain had always been isolated to the right side. So I went in for an X-Ray, ($75 co-pay). It came back with the arthritis findings. I talked to my Dr. again and asked for an MRI explaining that this seemed like something new. She agreed and set me up for an MRI. Now the reason I needed the MRI is so that I can get this magical shot in my spine. I had one before I left Colorado and it fixed me right up. I was able to live life again, play with the kids, walk the dogs, do things around the house. etc. etc.
Thrilled that I was finally going to be on the road to ending this every day pain I awoke early and headed off to my MRI. Mom and Dad were out here visiting so I was able to leave the kids with them while I went. I was back in less than an hour with tears in my eyes. When I checked in for my MRI the desk clerk informed me that my co-pay would be... (drum roll please) $1,720.00 and how would I like to pay for it. Well, I thought we already had with our over $700 monthly premiums. She offered to set up a monthly billing plan for me, I declined and came home in tears. Keep in mind that this is JUST for the diagnosis. Who knows how many thousands the actual treatment would be.
So I sat on the pity pot for a couple of days realizing that this would be my 'lack of quality of life' until at least the end of the year. Constant pain, not being able to do anything, legs going numb just because it's Tuesday or 3pm, back spasms that lay me out and a steady diet of pain pills. (And they wonder why people get addicted to opioids).
After doing a little research I discovered that Ed's small company had bought into what they term as 'junk insurance'. You know the ones that Obama squashed, then Trump loosed? It seems that a broker came to Ed's small company and sold them one of these junk plans that you pay a small fortune for and it's really great as long as you don't plan on using it. Just FYI, I had no idea that these junk plans can be with big medical companies like Kaiser, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, etc. I had assumed they were limited to off brands. Like if you saw a plan for A-Z Insurance coverage you would question it right? But if it has a name you know on it, it would be okay. Not the case my friend. Let me be your cautionary tale.
My last medical woe is with the optical department. Finally something was free! Or was it? I had my eye exam and found that yes I do need new glasses. Easy enough, I'll just trot down to the Optical department in Kaiser. I had my favorite red frames from my last eye glass upgrade and was really anxious to have new lenses put into them. These frames are so light and comfortable and I assumed that it would save us some $ if we didn't have to purchase new frames. They did all their hocus pocus measurements for my progressive lenses and even with my own frames it came to around $260. Okay, fine whatever. A week later I get a phone call from Kaiser telling me that they broke my frames. Yes, my favorite frames! But not to worry, they are offering me $20 off a new frame at their store. No, that is not missing a zero, $20 off. Ed and I went through the roof. As he put it, if I took my corvette in for service and they knocked the side mirror off they would be expected to replace that side mirror. I called them back the next day and told them to refund me all of my money and send my broken frames back to me, which they did.
So with all of this I really do have to end on a happy note. Ed has been getting hounded with job prospects. At the moment there are 3 possibilities on the table. All of them are at least half the driving distance he is now doing (4 hours round trip) and better insurance. Can I get a hallelujah! Everyone keep your fingers crossed, say a little prayer, dance naked under the full moon, or whatever you do to appease the higher power you believe in for us.
I'll keep you all posted.
