But you offered me a discount!!!

Two emergency room visits this summer...

Fifty dollar co-pay per emergency room visit...

Waiting for the insurance company to make payment to the hospital...

Making sure the EOB is correct...

Getting the actual bills from the hospital...

Writing the check for the $100 balance, this week and mailing it on Tuesday...

Getting a call for the "outside" billing office yesterday afternoon: "If you pay your balance now, we can offer you a 50% discount..." This message is left on our answering machine. So I call back the number on the caller id. I say that I would like to take advantage of the offer. And then I tell the phone drone that I have already made a payment.

"Oh!?!?" She doesn't know how to handle the situation. She will check with her supervisor and the billing office and make the promise to call me back.

SHE DOESN'T!!!

I called back and got another phone drone. She, too, tries to offer me the discount. Then she bring up my account. "Oh, it now shows a $0 balance. I can't offer you a discount on a $0 balance."

Will I be calling the hospital Monday morning??? I've already complained about the lack of care from the Emergency Room doctors. Those docters were "fired" as the result of my and others complaints. And at that time was told the CEO would "get back with you". He hadn't.

So this time I start with the money guy -
Chief Financial Officer Michael Hester (478) 448-4050 mailto:mhester@dodgecountyhospital.com


Then -
CEO Kevin L. Bierschenk (478) 448-4066 kbierschenk@dodgecountyhospital.com

And then -
Administrative Assistant Esther Daugherty (478) 448-4067 mailto:estherdaugherty@dodgecountyhospital.com


Fifty bucks is fifty bucks!!!

I knows me some Puppies!

Click on the pup above to take the quiz!!??

Coronary Catheterization

Total of 7 blockages, ranging from 20 to 50%. They (more exact I) will be treating with medicines, more healthy diet and exercise...

The Waiting Game

So much for the theory "if they wait a week before calling about the results of the Coronary CT scan" - I won't need a Heart Catheterization.

Sometime on Tuesday. The hospital will call me on Monday with my scheduled time.

Two Appointment/Same Day - Cornary CTA

More detail here - later....

Finally made it to an appointment that was originally scheduled for August 18th. But the ERCP kinda bumped that in the head.

We were early for the follow up appointment with the Endocrinologist and were walking out before the scheduled time. We had time to kill, so we headed to the mall for a bit of shopping.

A Coronary CTA is a CT scan with three passes and then another one after a contrast dye has been injected. And about 3 seconds after the dye hit my veins, it felt like I grabbed an electric fence with my right hand. OUCH!!!

And I did have an allergic reaction to the contrast. I woke up in the wee hours of Thursday morning with my eyes nearly swollen shut and itching. It was like a million mosquito bites!

Benedryl, lots of water and 24 hours later the reaction subsided... Then, the wait for the report.

Two Appointment/Same Day - Endocrinologist

The follow-up to the ERCP was schedule for Wednesday. But before that, more blood work to see how my liver is functioning and my general health. We arrived an hour early for the 11:30 appointment and the Physician Assistant saw us in the waiting room. Shortly thereafter, we were called back to the exam room. Stopping by the scales, showed just a two pound increase (mostly related to jeans versus shorts). The liver function enzymes were back to normal. HOWEVER comment "you are slightly anemic. Your hemoglobin level is 11 and should be 14. Your hemoglobin was above normal while you were in the hospital."

• No wonder I have been running out of gas toward the end of the day.
• No wonder I am anemic, I've been on a very restrictive diet (which prohibited red meat).
• And to make sure there is not any blood lost anywhere else, I have another test scheduled for 8:00 on October 31st - a Colonoscopy - "because you are at that aged". Yay, for being over 50!

I'm 85.16% the man I use to be...

Just before Vacation Bible School, I weighed 217 pounds, my blood pressure was much too high and my gallbladder was literally killing me. I stepped on the scales in the lab this morning.

Today, I'm below 185 pounds (fully clothed and with my Reebox Classic tennis shoes on) for the first time in many, many years. My blood pressure is getting close to being normal all the time. The pain in the upper right quadrant of my torso is slowly fading. I am sleepy at 10:00 p.m. instead of closer to midnight and sleeping until the alarm clock makes that noise at 5:45 a.m. I still have a "spare tire" around my middle, but it is more like a bicycle inner tube than the truck wheel that I was carrying with me.

I'm a blessed man. I know this. God has been good to me and Sarah. My Faith is renewed and I am obligated to share it.

So here's the deal...

It''s been a while since I posted a new blog. But I've got a good reason. I've been SICK!

We went back to Macon on Wednesday the 13th to get the results of my Stress Test. "We were not able to see proper blood flow at the bottom of the heart. We need to do a heart catheterization to check it out".

OH JOY! It is scheduled for Monday the 18th at 1:30.

Wednesday night, I experience pain more intense than that of my gallbladder attack the Monday morning before my Cholecsystectomy. At midnight, Sarah says, "Take one of the Nitro pills, that's why you have them". One NitroQuick under the tongue. Pain remains. Five minutes later, the second NitroQuick, pain remains. In the meantime, we are dressing to head to the hospital per the instructions on the Rx for the NitroQuick. Hours later, x-ray and blood-work and Toradol shot for the pain - I am given a prescription for Naproxen. NAPROXEN??? that's Aleve...

We place a call to the family doctor, after two hours sleep in the recliner on the heat pad. When we get there at 9:30, they have the name and address of an Endocrinologist in Macon.

By the way, when you are stopped by the Georgia State Patrol with your flasher flashing, going 82 mph in a 65 zone and look as sick as I did - the first thing he will ask you is "Do you want me to call an ambulance?" With the advice to 'slow down a bit and be careful', we were back on our way.

We get to the Endocrinologist shortly after 11 o'clock. The Physician Assistant orders liver function test and ultrasound to confirm the diagnoses that I feared some four weeks earlier. I have a stone blocking my bile duct.

Shortly before noon, I am in a hospital gown and waiting in the Surgery Center of the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Two IV's established, blood drawn and at 1 o'clock, I am taken to Ultrasound.

I said to the Ultrasound Tech, "I know you can't tell me what you saw, but there is a reason for me being in all this pain. Right?"

"Yes, let's just say, something is stuck that needs unsticking."

PAIN!!! Pain like I have never experience before. And I cannot have anything for it. Says the nurse in the Surgery Center, "If we give you anything for pain, it will further constrict the bile duct and make it more difficult for the doctor when you go to surgery." Oh, let's make it easy for the doctor, shall we????
We wait, and wait and wait. Between 4:00 and 4:30 the pain peaked. I didn't know it at the time but I was passing the ROCK through my bile duct on my own. Sarah was sitting on the side of my bed holding me, telling me to not hold in my yells. I let loose a scream or three, but then I thought of something. My Lord suffered, He suffered beyond anything we will ever endure. Then I thought of something else. Before we left home, Sarah called one of our church family. They were praying for us. I started. Mrs. Lois, Mrs. Christine, Dennis, Lisa, Melissa, Amanda, little Sami...... I started on the right rows of pews and I named each and every one of the CHURCH FAMILY that were praying for us. I let my mind concentrate on those that were back in Telfair County, with us on their minds.

At 6:30, I am finally taken to the Operating Room. The room is lined with as many electronic instruments, screens and computers as needed for the launch of the Space Shuttle. And I remember nothing else...

I wake up in Recovery. Sarah is brought to me shortly thereafter. It is confirmed; rips, tears and abrasions were present in my bile duct where the ROCK made its exit. The doctors repair and angioplasty the duct. After a while, I was taken to the Medical Observation Suite (one step up from ICU). Sarah insures that I will be well taken care of and is given phone numbers to reach the nurses. She heads back home for some much needed rest.

I watch the Olympics on the TV hanging on the wall and am given something for pain... I don't sleep!

Morning brings breakfast: Clear broth, lemon Jello and a Sprite. I eat the Jello and drink some of the Sprite. The broth - bleeeck!

Lunch: Tomato soup, more lemon Jello, orange like juice stuff and some (it would have been better - colder) Vanilla "shake" in a carton. Remember those 8 oz. milk cartons at school??? The Tomato soup felt so good to my sore throat where all the camera, light and probes when down during the Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Sarah arrives back at the hospital shorty before lunch and helps me get set up to eat.

Then I slept, the last pain medicine was pumped into my IV about 10 o'clock. I sleep while Sarah reads from her Bible. We waited and I slept some more. Finally about 6:30 the Physician Assistant arrives with my chart in hand while I am finishing the last of my supper - again, Tomato soup! My liver enzymes are still high, white blood count is still elevated but I am able to walk and eat without upchucking! WE GET TO GO HOME.

Much slower this trip!!! As we approach, the Northwest corner of the family farm - two whitetail does are standing in the middle of the road in front of the neighbor's pond. We stop in the road as close as we dare, and watch. Then two spotted fawns jump from the bank of the opposite side to join their mothers.

We are Home. Sweet, Home!

It's not easy being YELLOW

A call from the cardiologist on Friday, "Doctor K. would like for you to come in on Wednesday to discuss an abnormality she saw in your Stress Test".

Is that part of this stress test, keeping me in suspense for another 5 days before I know what is going on?

In the meantime, I have something else going on. I am jaundice. I won't go into details, but if you google Bilirubin in Adults- then you will see some of the symptoms I am experincing. I'm tired and weak and YELLOW.

I do have an 3:15 appointment with our family doctor.

All Stressed Out

I am behind in posting to my blog. My appointment on the 29th of last month resulted in another appointment - this one for a stress test. It is scheduled for Thursday at 1:00 in Macon.

Please pray for me!

C3H5(NO3)3 Sublingual

I had been hurting in the void that was once my gallbladder. FOR A WEEK. I called my doctor on Thursday. That was when my pain level equalled or topped the pain of that Monday morning that I went to the ER. They were double booked that afternoon, so they scheduled me for yesterday morning.

My BP was too high. So I was given 80 mg. of Micardis instead of 40 mg. I was instructed to called my cardiologist - I have an appointment on the 29th. And I was given a prescrition for these:

The good news: Weight - 194.4 pounds!!!

My latest addiction

The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum

Since my surgery, I have just about given up on desserts - except when Harvey's has Blue Bell Ice Cream half-gallons on sale for 3/$10!!!

I saw this You Tube video the day after my gallbladder was removed:



Matt is sponsered by Stride Gum.


Then, I was given a piece of Stride Sweet Berry by a co-worker the day I returned to work. Now, I am not far from a pack of Stride gum.

Ain't seen that in a while!

I stepped on the scales in my office this morning. They are very accurate and I use them to check the weight of bags, especially when there are revisions that might cause an increase or decrease in the overall empty weight.





To my surprise, the digital readout was different this morning.
The leading digit was not a 2!!!

Before I picked up the camera, 199.0 was on the display!

This is your brain....

I have only one addiction...

I get my daily fixes from coffee, colas and tea...

Caffeine!!!

While in the hospital, I was NPO (nothing by mouth) from Monday morning until Thursday. By Tuesday afternoon, I was going into detox and withdrawal. My head was splitting from lack of its normal dosing. My first chance for a Coca Cola was with breakfast (my first and only meal at the hospital) on Thursday morning before my discharge. Yes, Coke for breakfast!

IT DIDN'T TASTE RIGHT!!!

My taste buds are still not alert after the anesthesia. Food doesn't taste the same, even now the can of Coke beside me doesn't taste right.

Flowers and One Huge Card

Fresh cut from Tumi Friends

Plants and Beautiful Basket from Family at Faith

The Poster presented to me this morning from the Children and Folks at V.B,S.

I so missed being at Vaction Bible School and taking photos of the classes, crafts, coloring, creating and cooking.

Metro Monday/Thursday

Not the way I wanted to spend a week's vacation. But I've done something that has been needing to happen for some time now.


Sunday Night after the first night of Vacation Bible School, I had another gall bladder attack. They will normally last about 2 to 3 hours and then it is done with. Until I eat another heavy/rich meal. We had breakfast for our VBS supper.



Biscuits
Ham
Bacon
Sausage
Saw Mill Gravy
Cheese Grits
Eggs


It hit me hard about 10:00 Sunday night. At 3:00 I was a the hospital E.R. - just after 5:00 I was back home with shot for the pain and orders to see my family doctor.


By 10:30 I was on my way to be admitted to the hospital. Ultrasound, x-rays and bloodwork.


On Tuesday, the surgeon scheduled the removal of my gall bladder.


Wednesday at 3 p.m., I was wheeled to the O.R.

Monday night, Metro came to see me!

Barn De-Construction

The Bee McCranie Barn... It stood on the hill, about a quarter mile up the road from our driveway. It stood there for, we think, for over 100 years. Stood, past tense, because it has been disassembled.

Thanksgiving weekend, Buddy (our brother-in-law) asked Mr. Breedlove, "Whatcha got planned for the old barn?"

Mr. B: "Nothing"

Buddy: "Could I have it to tear down?"

Mr. B: "As long as you don't leave a mess. Just put all you don't want in a pile so it can be burned."

The roof was the first thing to come off, Buddy hired a few men to remove the rusting tin.

The Friday after Christmas, we took over with hammers, pry bars, crowbars and a sledge hammer. Each board was carefully removed from where it had been for over 10 decades. Each nail was pulled, some so rusty that it took extra effort to extract it from the heart pine lumber.

And what lumber...

Full dimension boards, not of the 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" lumber that calls itself a two-by-four!!!

The floors of the barn and the loft were 2" x 8" x 20'

The siding boards were 1 1/4" x 20' x various widths (some as wide as 15")

The floor joist were 2" x 10" x 20'

The beams supporting the floor joist were 6" x 10" X 20'

Six trailer loads were removed, sorted and stack at Pond. With plans to build a "cook house" at the pond, when the lot was totally clean.

The unusable, rotten and broken wood was piled in preparation for a blazing end. We started this process last Saturday afternoon. With one flick of a lighter, a bundle of old hay was thrown into a burn pit. That same fire was still smothering this morning when I started my commute to work. Sarah and her brother worked all day yesterday, tossing the odd post and board onto the bonfire.

As we loaded the last of the salvagable lumber onto my truck, I spotted a LARGE furry brown mass and a much smaller grey one.

He was still sitting beside the scrap piece of lumber when I return from town with our dinner (yummmm, PIZZA).

In an IM to me this morning, Sarah wrote:

"I am going to check on it when I get going...you may be a father when you get home"

A Pain in the Necks

Sarah and I had doctor visits with Dr. H a couple of weeks ago. After "reading" our x-rays, "You folks are a matched pair." He ordered a Home Traction Device -

The idea is to open the space that is being compress between verbrates where there should be disk. The pressure of the spurs cause us headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain and numbness of the arms, hands and fingers!!! owie!!!

• Directs traction forces toward the occiput (back of the head) thereby preventing compression of the TMJ through the chin.


• Applies up to 50 pounds of traction.


• Ensures safety--user has total control of force at all times


• Enables easy home traction without assistance.


• Includes patented self-adjusting neck wedges that rotate through a 30 degree arc and are removable for easy cleaning or replacement.


• Provides a comfortable and cost-effective option to continuing clinical traction treatments.


• Includes user's guide and deluxe carrying case.


• Patented self-adjusting neck wedges rotate through a 30 degree arc and are removable for easy cleaning or replacement. The rotation of the neck wedges combined with the ability to adjust the width ensure that even patients with extra large or extra small necks can achieve a perfect fit!


• Patented pump design incorporates an easy-to-use "click-in-place" mechanism for pumping, sustaining and releasing the traction.


• Gauge reads in in pounds/kg of traction to provide feedback to the user and to promote consistency in treatment.

Believe or not, it is actually quite comfortable and it HELPS!!!

Dr. H also ordered MRI's for both of us. The day after Christmas, we arrived at the hospital for our rides in the tube. An hour later, we were each given a Compact Disk, I mean Compact Disc, to take to our next appointment.

Practicing???

One month ago tonight we were at the hospital in Dublin. We were ready for an all-nighter, but Samantha Ann made her debut at 11:13!!! We have adopted Sammi's family as ours. Or, has Sammi's family adopted us???

We have an appointment next month. Sarah and I have a desire to open our home. There is a critical shortage of foster parents in Georgia. The process is approval is not simple or quick, but it is necessary to be sure that we are ready. Pray for us!!! We have love in our hearts to share. If we can be a blessing to just one child, it will be worth it!

Anyone need some turnips???

Our one mile round trip walk was beautiful this morning. The temperature was just right, when you layer up, and the sun was bright on this cloudless morn.

We took each other photo, unware until we heard the click of the shutter, as we read from the New Testament that is stored in a weather-proof container at the Tree House.

We stopped by the turnip patch on our return trip to the Beaver Pond this morning. We wanted to see if the turnip roots have started to turn woody. THEY HAVEN'T!!!

How many bushels do YOU want?