Friday-Wednesday (Days 10-15)

Time for an update...

Resting

So--its been a few days since an update. In general, everything has been going well--and I have not written about it since there was not a lot to say except "Everything's going well". I am living the life of a hermit--staying home--seeing almost no one--and resting.

I missed out on some things I wish I could have done--but that was the worst of it.

I have one outing a day, where I drive up to the hospital and go to the Ambulatory Care Center (or something like that) where I get my Neupogen shot. 

So not a lot to tell.

Blood

On Monday I went for my weekly doctor visit. They took my blood, and though my counts were low (I recall my White Blood Count being  1.4 and my hemoglobin being 8.8) they decided it was not time for a transfusion. I visit the doctor's office every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday--though Wed and Fri are just for lab work.

It's expected for my blood levels to be low, and to be decreasing, all before they build back up.

On Wednesday, I went back for my labs again. This time my counts were lower.

• White Blood Cells:  .6   (normal range is 4.8 - 10.8) 
• Hemoglobin:        7.8   (normal is 13.8 - 18.0)
• Platelets:        10.0   (normal is 159 -388)

And so that means its time for a transfusion...

Type and Cross

Before you can get a transfusion, they need to check your blood type and do a crosscheck among donors to find a match. They take your blood, then sepnd a couple of hours analyzing it and finding a match.

To have teh blood drawn I had to go down the hall to a lab where they do all sorts of hospital outpatient work. 

My nurse took my blood from the inside of my elbow (is there a term for that? elbow-pit?) and put some gauze on it. I left, and wandered back to the car where I notice my arm felt wet. The gauze was sodden. I walked back to the lab, and by the time i came in blood was streaming down my arm. They took me right in, changed the dressing,wrapping the bloody hole all up with a pressure bandage. 

With such low counts clotting is a problem too of course.

The strange thing was it was not my first puncture of the day:

• 3:30 - Neupogen shot at 3:30 near my left tricep - no bleeding.
  
• 4:00 - Drew blood in left elbow-pit? for lab work - cotton ball and band-ade stopped bleeding.
• 4:45 - Drew blood in right arm for type and cross - gauze was not enough...

Go figure.

Moms Cooking 

Over the last week or so several moms in my wife's moms club have been bringing us meals. We are really so fortunate to have so many so willing to help us out. Everything has been delicious and a big help!  

Thanks all!

Nurses

A lot of people have commented on my encounter with a couple of nurses who seemed a bit detached from the people-side of their work.

Just for the record, I think they were an exception, and, I think part of my reaction was because of my own grumpiness and lack of patience. I was in a bad mood, impatient, and I am sure that tainted it all too.

In general, I have been in the care of a lot of wonderful nurses, and am really impressed and surprised by how much of themselves they give to everyone in their care.

Money

So--I am very fortunate to have insurance, otherwise we would be bankrupt. It's interesting to see how this whole process works, and the numebrs involed are a bit mind-blowing. 

For example, here's an approximation of one line item...

My doctor visits me in the hospital for 10 minutes and checks over my charts. She then bills $180 for that. Now my insurance has a negotiated price of $90. They pay 90% ($81) and I pay 10% ($9) until I reach my maximum out of pocket of $1000.

First--it's amazing that the negotiated price is so different than the Bill Gates price. 

Second, there are a ton of little charges like this, from specialists who read special parts of my charts to my regular doctor.  It's a lot of things to keep track of, and without the insurance company--the bills would be astronomical and a hassle to manage.  

But those are just the bills that are not from the hospital itself.

The big bill is from the hospital. It is currently listed as "In Process" on my insurance account, which I guess means it's either still "open" as I can continue to add to it through outpatient services, or that they are reviewing it to make sure it is accurate/lowering things to the negotiated prices.  The bill from the hospital, currently, is around $275,000.

Yowza.

I'm not saying it's not deserved, or not accurate, or not apprpriate.

But holy cow...

And my treatment is not even done....