Adventures in the Health Care "System"
So on Thursday evening I had the "pleasure" of traversing the local health care system.
Upon arriving home around 9:30 p.m. I noticed that my right leg - and ONLY my right leg - was oddly swollen. It freaked me out as you might imagine. My leg all the way up from my foot was nearly twice its normal size. So I called the local 'Call A Nurse' phone line. After sitting on hold for more than 15 minutes the system hung up on me telling me they were busy and to leave my name and number and they'd get back to me "within the hour". So I did what anyone would do. I called my mommy.
She told me to try the nurse line again and I did and this time got through. After playing 20,000 questions it was decided I needed to go to the ER and that I shouldn't drive myself. So Mom came over and off we went.
I did get right back into the treatment area, got the whole temp and blood pressure thing and then off to a "room" a supposedly "fast track" room. It was freezing in there and trying to flag down a nurse to adjust the bed or get me a blanket took nearly an hour. Saw two nurses between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. before seeing the nurse practitioner and then the doctor who FINALLY ordered the test Nurse #1 had said they'd do at about 11:15 p.m. The "doppler test" showed no evidence of blod clots thank goodness. But it was getting pretty scary when they kept asking me if I was having any shortness of breath - I wasn't having a heart attack but they were about to give me one!! Maybe they should have just hooked me up to the EKG so they would feel better.
After all this and no answers - except a vague idea that this might be related to a surgery I had on my knee in 1982 - I was sent home with a water pill and orders to stay off my feet for a few days. And to follow up with my GP in 7 days. The pills are for 6 days.
So I stayed off my feet Friday and Saturday and most of Sunday. The swelling has gone down. But there's another wrinkle. I had another doctor's appointment set for today on a few other matters that are out of whack. That doc did not think the leg swelling was related to the other issues but she ordered blood work. So off I went to have done at the local lab. ONLY to come home tonight to find an insurance card for Quest Labs - apparently we are to use them but there's a catch THERE IS NO QUEST LAB IN THIS TOWN. So this blood work will probably cost me big time. And since this is an HSA it'll all be out of my pocket. I still owe almost $900 from the last go-round over the shoulder. And there's only $200 in the HSA account because I have to spend it as fast as it gets in there.
I can't wait to see what happens on Thursday when I see the GP
Upon arriving home around 9:30 p.m. I noticed that my right leg - and ONLY my right leg - was oddly swollen. It freaked me out as you might imagine. My leg all the way up from my foot was nearly twice its normal size. So I called the local 'Call A Nurse' phone line. After sitting on hold for more than 15 minutes the system hung up on me telling me they were busy and to leave my name and number and they'd get back to me "within the hour". So I did what anyone would do. I called my mommy.
She told me to try the nurse line again and I did and this time got through. After playing 20,000 questions it was decided I needed to go to the ER and that I shouldn't drive myself. So Mom came over and off we went.
I did get right back into the treatment area, got the whole temp and blood pressure thing and then off to a "room" a supposedly "fast track" room. It was freezing in there and trying to flag down a nurse to adjust the bed or get me a blanket took nearly an hour. Saw two nurses between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. before seeing the nurse practitioner and then the doctor who FINALLY ordered the test Nurse #1 had said they'd do at about 11:15 p.m. The "doppler test" showed no evidence of blod clots thank goodness. But it was getting pretty scary when they kept asking me if I was having any shortness of breath - I wasn't having a heart attack but they were about to give me one!! Maybe they should have just hooked me up to the EKG so they would feel better.
After all this and no answers - except a vague idea that this might be related to a surgery I had on my knee in 1982 - I was sent home with a water pill and orders to stay off my feet for a few days. And to follow up with my GP in 7 days. The pills are for 6 days.
So I stayed off my feet Friday and Saturday and most of Sunday. The swelling has gone down. But there's another wrinkle. I had another doctor's appointment set for today on a few other matters that are out of whack. That doc did not think the leg swelling was related to the other issues but she ordered blood work. So off I went to have done at the local lab. ONLY to come home tonight to find an insurance card for Quest Labs - apparently we are to use them but there's a catch THERE IS NO QUEST LAB IN THIS TOWN. So this blood work will probably cost me big time. And since this is an HSA it'll all be out of my pocket. I still owe almost $900 from the last go-round over the shoulder. And there's only $200 in the HSA account because I have to spend it as fast as it gets in there.
I can't wait to see what happens on Thursday when I see the GP
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