We expected this to be a difficult day, and we were still surprised. Carmen, the therapist, had warned us that it would be hard, but we laughed it off. We prepared thoroughly, starting the day with homemade carrot juice in the Oakey elixir made with our new juicer. Note : a Vita Mix is NOT a juicer, as I discovered yesterday when I nearly burnt out the motor trying to turn carrots to juice! THIS is a juicer, and the horses love the carrot roughage left behind. A silver lining…
Harry was up and dressed and in the wheelchair at 9:45 for our 10 AM pickup by the wheelchair van, in order to get to St. Luke’s Medical Building for the 11:15 appointment. The van was late. Lamar, the driver, was very nice and got us there safely. We called on the way to warn the doctor’s office we were running a little behind schedule.
Lamar puts Harry into the van 
Here we go!
We made our way carefully to the office, terrified that someone would bump into the leg, but nothing untoward happened. The waiting room was packed, but they ushered us right through and into an exam room. There we waited, and waited, and waited for an hour and 15 minutes for Harry’s Primary Care Physician to examine him for the sake of some idiotic Medicare requirement that his doctor see him within ten days of discharge from the hospital. It is unbelievable that they would put him through this. I was getting pretty intense about things. Not to mention the fact that the influenza vaccine is only 45% effective this year. I don’t know what I will do if either of us gets sick on top of all this!
Made it to the exam room 
Leg ready for exam
Our optimism was demolished by the doctor suggesting that she was surprised the orthopedic surgeon had not put a pin in the leg, given Harry’s osteoporosis. What!? More to fret about. I called her back as she was leaving the room, to ask her to please examine the puncture wound. If we were going to this much effort, I wanted to get some assurance that it would be OK to finish the antibiotics tomorrow, when we run out of pills. That, at least, she did put us at ease about. Then, we were off to the lab for bloodwork.
At the hospital lab, there was no wait. A volunteer had guided us there, helping with the walker that I was carrying along with two bags. Then we were informed that we had to go to Quest, because our insurance would not cover this lab unless Harry was a patient in the hospital at the time of the bloodwork. I started to cry, just a little, because it was so petty and stupid and we were tired and hungry. I called the wheelchair transport service to come and get us and asked if they could stop at Quest. Yes, they could, but they would not wait. We would have to call for another van from Quest. How long would that take? Well, the van would pick us up in an hour (what!?) and then at Quest, the van would be available after 5 PM. You have got to be kidding me! I asked the lab guy how much the bloodwork would cost if we just paid for it (I was afraid it could be $1,000). He would be happy to give us that information, but he had to e mail the Billing Department, and it might be tomorrow before he would get an answer. It was surreal! I called another wheelchair van company. They told me they don’t go as far as Wright City, but sensing my desperation, they decided to make an exception, and a driver would arrive in half an hour. Best of all, they would WIAT with us at Quest. I cannot say enough good things about Harris Transport!
Then, luck changing, the lab guy had an answer on self pay cost! – only $149, which we could afford, and we proceeded. That meant no stop at Quest, just a trip straight home.
After a small hitch, when the driver couldn’t find us because we misunderstood which building we were in, we were loaded into an excellent van, and driven home by Pastor Keith, one of the nicest people we have met in this ordeal.
Loading up 
Our new friend, Pastor Keith
I do not have energy or words to describe how tired we were. Harry was exhausted because he’s injured and weak. I was exhausted by frustration. The healthcare system in this country is horrible because of insurance companies, and because of the profit motive behind it all. I am shocked by this relatively minor crisis. Everywhere, we see people with much worse problems, and probably fewer resources. We are so fortunate, even at the end of a very bad day.
Home to good food and another week of rest. Next Thursday, we hope to be reunited with Pastor Keith for our trip to get a progress x ray. We will certainly be using Harris Transport from now on.
As every day, Jane and Marianne are carrying most of the weight. Again, I had to ask Jane to stop and pick something up. Marianne brought the horses in this afternoon in addition to cleaning stalls and paddocks. We are constantly reminded how lucky we are!
Yep, awful, chaotic, imperiously controlled and money-driven – referring to health care of course. Thank God for friends and advocates. Glad you’re safe at home. Do you think Mike-will-get-it-done could help with this despite entrenched insurance lobby? I am still behind Bloomberg despite Warren’s accusation that he called some of us girls horse-faced lesbians.
Whew, what a workout! Go Pastor Keith Go. Go Harry Go. Go Anne Go. And God bless Jane and Marianne. Hugs all around.
❤️
I don’t think Medicare is profit driven. If it is they are not succeeding.
Sounds like a totally exhausting day. I’m glad you got home safely.
I wasn’t clear (I claim exhaustion, haha!) – Medicare is not profit driven, but our healthcare system is, and that leads to many problems, in my opinion. No system is perfect, certainly. But it was a stupid RULE under Medicare that required us to travel all that way just to be “seen” by the PCP. It could, perhaps, be argued that the multitudes of rules are in part inspired by our litigious society. Medical matters being particularly targeted by litigation. Again, no black and white – it’s not ALL bad! But it was a pretty bad day 😉
As usual, I got up, made the morning coffee, and now my new routine requires me to immediately go to Further Adventures of Anne and Harry – the new Eugene O’Neal type comedy, and when I read out loud to Heidi the paragraph about the bloodwork we burst out laughing. I still wonder why I do find humor in some people’s non humorous situations, however Anne’s particular writing style can be partially to blame. This new morning ritual has taken all the fun out of reading the daily Post Dispatch murder, mayhem, and amateur corruption that have boosted my spirits in the past.
I see the makings of a new play. The cast has already auditioned. They nailed the parts. (pun not intentional)
😂🤣
Anne – I want to buy the movie rights this. I can envision a Monty Python-esque treatment, Including an updated version of “bring out your dead.” Harry’s line of course is “but I ain’t dead yet.” It has all the elements of a hit: dogs, horses, food, strange friends, a broken medical system, a wounded hero and a fiery wife, sculptures, pain and suffering and an African-American ambulance driver just for diversity. Name your price.
Excellent again!! I’m laughing and immensely enjoying the humor of Anne’s and Harry’s friends some of whom I haven’t met, but sure would like to! Happy Healing to Harry, and Kudos to Anne, “the fiery wife”!!
What a tough day, I am so very sorry, I can’t imagine the frustration. The healthcare system in this country is such a horrible bureaucracy with the insurance companies, if medical services could be provided like regular service industry businesses, with transparent, competitive pricing and consumers could make educated decisions on their own care it would be a start but we are so far away from that – the lab doesn’t even know the costs of the blood tests they provide!
I loved our conversation in four voices on Sunday. Harry I hope your femur is knitting. Please chant as you are going to sleep: knit, knit, knit, dammit! It was very good that we could have our “0ne leg too few” recitation by Denny and Harry. It’s funny when you two alternate parts in the unileg Mr. Spivot audition. It’s been funny for fifty years, it’s gotten more like a reality drama in this decade. And we all are lucky for our senses of humor about this particular situation of oneness. If your play should include the part of one legged Tarzan and your leg and your sculpture have not yet returned to tip top shape, I am sure you will get the leading part.
It is only just that Denny be the understudy.
Keep in touch.