Since I posted the last blog page, we have had a turn for the worse. Waz is in hospital, as I write.
It is 10.30 at night, and I have just returned from sitting at his bedside for a couple of hours and literally holding his hand. More was involved, but I wont go into too many details here.
Last weekend he complained about a sore butt. He thought is was a result of sitting on seats that weren't comfy, but by Monday, he was tending to sit on one cheek or the other, and by Tuesday night he was in pain. Wednesday we got in to see an Internal Medicine Dr, and after seeing her briefly, we were referred to a Colorectal and General Surgeon!!! It appeared that Waz had a Perirectal Abscess.
The visit to the surgeon was made for noon on Thursday. We were literally outside the door when the phone call came from the office to tell us that the Dr was late, and we would have to come back at 2pm. Fortunately I had filled out all the new patient information 'book' (yes, about 5 pages) and was able to drop them off so they were ready for us at 2pm.
We turned up for 2pm, after going back to the boat where Waz lay on the sofa and moaned in pain for two hrs.
They hadn't heard from the DR at 2pm, so I asked them to find out where he was. They didn't seem to take the necessity to see the Dr seriously at all. Waz came into the waiting room and lay on their sofa and did his moaning in pain there. This got the receptionist a little more motivated (he had been lying out in the car, before this) and she called Dr to find out when he was expecting to be back in the office.
Dr appeared at 3pm...took a quick look at Waz, did an exam, and determined that rather than treating him at the office with a local anaesthetic, he would admit him for hydration and pain management, which was a REALLY good idea at this time.
It was now 4pm!
We were given some paperwork...well, not much, actually, and told to report to someone called Joanne. We did, but she wasn't there. They did, however put us in the ward next to ER for supervision. As Waz hadn't had anything to drink or eat for over 24 hrs, he was very dehydrated by this stage. He had been told NOT to eat or drink before going to the specialist in case of surgery.
The nurse at the nursing station took a long time to find out what meds to give Waz, and I finally managed to get him some cold water to drink before they eventually put in a hydration drip line. The meds were another two hours coming...aieee!
I left him in their care around 6.30...without him having been assigned a room upstairs in a ward, and went home to get some food....I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and the worms were having a party inside me! There was no more I could do, and I needed to get a good night's sleep. The previous night (wed. night) was pure hell. Waz was in so much pain he couldn't sleep more than a few minutes at a time...this is the man who can sleep anywhere!! at any time!!
I had to coach him in childbirth breathing technique to make it through the waves of pain...some of it worked, but instinct takes over at these times.
He was scheduled for surgery this morning (Friday), but I hadn't been told when.
After a long and good sleep, I woke at 9.45, this morning and called the hospital to find out when his surgery would take place. 11am, I was told.
I showered, dressed and got Waz's requests of toothbrush and razor (electric) together and went out the door. I had been advised by phone, that I needed to go to the administration office to PAY! WHAT? before he was even discharged?? I was told I had to pay $1,900 for his overnight visit. I said they hadn't even done surgery, so why are they saying this is the final bill??
Meanwhile...or should I say, lets go back a bit.
We had read our travel insurance policy the night before, and it said to call BEFORE he was admitted to hospital. Well, it was all happening at the same time...his admittance and me on the phone to NZ and our travel insurance company. They needed to talk to the nurse and the administrator etc etc. They cannot authorize payment without all the facts...which we didn't have yet. They misunderstood what I had said in the first place....that he was being admitted by the surgeon! So the merry -go-round with the insurance company and the administration, began.
I am in the middle of all this!
While Waz was being admitted, the lady from admin was already getting me to sign my/our life(s) away, and insisted that I pay $250 then and there. I did with a credit card....they will take puka shells too, if you have them! ha! just joking.What I mean to say is that they will take ANY form of payment. They just don't want you to run away without paying.
AND...today...they called me to stop by the office AGAIN, and this time when I went there they asked me for $10k!!! eh?....because I am an international client, they need a guarantee of that amount. I said I cannot pay that, but offered $5k, after hearing how they may refund part of the $10k, if necessary....There was no way I was paying MORE than necessary in the event that they MAY give me a refund...yeh riiight!
So, I parted with $5k.
When the admin lady had taken my money, she also had me sign a bunch of papers regarding privacy etc, and ONE of those pages said I was entitled to a 65% discount on my payment because I was not with any US insurance company!!! I reiterated that this morning, but was told to take it up with the CEO. Be sure that I will!
Because we actually HAVE an insurance company (and there are NO guarantees that they will pay, yet) they seem to think that we shouldn't get the discount. I will only get the guarantee when the insurance company have ascertained that Waz's condition was not a known condition...in other words, he had this before! He definitely did not! We had just had our full physical exams when we were in NZ and there was nothing noted then, or mentioned about it. It has come out of the blue.
So, keep your fingers crossed that this isn't coming out of pocket...after all...what do we pay a gazillion dollars in insurance for if it isn't for emergencies like this!? We will wait and see! I will keep you posted. Pre-existing conditions are not covered.
After much correspondence, both e-mail and phone calls with the insurance company AND the admin office at the hospital, I am praying that I have all the info I need, and they do too.
I left home around 10.30am, this morning to go to the hospital to see him before surgery. I was accosted, as I said, by the admin office. I delayed further requests by them in order to get to Waz before his op. He hadn't been told when the op was, so it was all news to him.
He had some prep done while I was there but I had to leave him again to return to admin and pay up the 5 grand. He didn't need any hand holding then, anyway.
I came back to the boat and made myself some brunch, around noon. I left the boat again around 2.30pm, thinking he should be on his way out of the post op area. He wasn't. Eventually the DR poked his nose around the corner and told me the op was a success, though it (the abscess)was larger than he had anticipated, got lots of gunk out and it was cleaned out and looked good! yay!
Waz took another hour to sober up enough to go back to the ward. We arrived in the ward just after 5pm. He was dopey still and in pain. The pain pump didn't seem to give him enough morphine, and he was thirsty.
Popsicles, water, jello, a small can of ginger ale and some hot beef brother were delivered. He devoured all but the broth! Had to take it a bit easy with the fluids, but he was so parched.
It would all catch up with him later on....he couldn't pee!
As I was preparing to leave the hospital at 10pm tonight, they were catheterizing him, and he must have passed a litre or more of fluid ( 700mls he said later) he had painfully stored. Poor dear! if it isn't one thing, its another.
He got immediate relief from THAT pain, and promptly went to sleep. I exited stage left!
So, there you have it...what a difference a week makes!
BUT ...if you don't know how to get into your partners computer or use his cell phone ....FIND OUT! You might need to at some stage. I cannot get into his computer coz he has the finger recognition thing going on...he will need to include my finger, in future! AND his cell phone...different to mine, and more complex...of course. sheesh!
It also brought home the fact that I let Waz do so much that I don't care to know about, in particular, BUT I SHOULD! That will change! I will find out, and do these things in future...JUST IN CASE!
Well, I have finished my cuppa and fresh raspberries. It is time for bed. I will sleep well, and I sure hope Waz does. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but he told me not to rush over there. I wont!
Tatafornow
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