mak2
Active member
I am very vocal about the need for America to have universal healthcare. This is what is happening to my family right now. Might I change my mind?
I left work about the normal time Monday afternoon. (one week ago) I decided not to go ot the Y but to go home and ride my bike for an hour or two. Our little town gives away free mulch to citizens so I spent about 15 min picking up a load in my pickup on hte way home. I went on home after that and my sons, 14 and 15 were out at the end of the driveway yelling and jumping around saying Mom was freaking out but would not let them call an ambulance. My wife is a redhead and if anyone else knows any they really do freak out sometimes. Well as I was backing up the driveway the boys were telling me her back hurt and something popped and she was laying on the floor sceaming. So I put the truck in park and ran in the house. She was in the basement by the couch screaming and rolling back and forth. My first thought was slipped disc v. anureseum (sp?) and she said her back quit hurting it was her leg. Hum nerve ? Anyway I called the ambulance within 2 min of walking in the house. The ambulance crew arrived and I cannot rmember wether they asked for my insurance card or where she was at first but at about the same time. I have great insurance. From the time ot the call to arrival at the hospital was about 30 min. at the local hospital the ambulance guys dropped her off in a room in the ER and left. A secretary type guy came in and got the insurance card and left. Did not see anyone else for 30 minutes. She was screaming and thrashing about still so I went out and got someone, by the way they were not very busy, just sitting around the break table. She had worked there for 15 years or so when someone recognized her, or realized my insurance was golden, we got much better service. talking to the doctor he thought it might be a slipped disk I asked him aobut the loss of circulation to right leg. He too looked very puzzled and said he would send her for imaging. I said I would go home put up the dogs and be right back. I live less than a mile from the hospital when he called me on the cell phone. He said lifeline was on its way and to come back immediately.
She had a huge clot in her aorta. It had somehow clotted off the aorta where it biforcates and cut off circutlation to at first (around 1530) to her right leg, and by the time the doctor started looking at her the Left leg has lost circutlation too. So they flew her to they big surgey center down town, rushed her to surgery about 830 or so. I have pretty much been here every since. She is in the intensive care area still. They took the ET (breathing tube) out yesterday. She has minimum movement in her right leg but does have distal pulses. She really might never be able to walk normally again. But she is alive, damn lucky. I hate to even think about the thousands and thousands of dollars we have spent this week. But as soon as the ER doc in the local ER realized what was going on it has been an incredibly smooth operation.
But every single provider we have dealt with so far ask about he insurance first. Hope I never know how it would have went without insurance.
This was last Monday.
My wife is okay. She is slated to go to rehab Friday or monday. This is the first chance I have had to have a few beers and relax but I have to go to work so I can thave too many.
But later the rest of the story.
I left work about the normal time Monday afternoon. (one week ago) I decided not to go ot the Y but to go home and ride my bike for an hour or two. Our little town gives away free mulch to citizens so I spent about 15 min picking up a load in my pickup on hte way home. I went on home after that and my sons, 14 and 15 were out at the end of the driveway yelling and jumping around saying Mom was freaking out but would not let them call an ambulance. My wife is a redhead and if anyone else knows any they really do freak out sometimes. Well as I was backing up the driveway the boys were telling me her back hurt and something popped and she was laying on the floor sceaming. So I put the truck in park and ran in the house. She was in the basement by the couch screaming and rolling back and forth. My first thought was slipped disc v. anureseum (sp?) and she said her back quit hurting it was her leg. Hum nerve ? Anyway I called the ambulance within 2 min of walking in the house. The ambulance crew arrived and I cannot rmember wether they asked for my insurance card or where she was at first but at about the same time. I have great insurance. From the time ot the call to arrival at the hospital was about 30 min. at the local hospital the ambulance guys dropped her off in a room in the ER and left. A secretary type guy came in and got the insurance card and left. Did not see anyone else for 30 minutes. She was screaming and thrashing about still so I went out and got someone, by the way they were not very busy, just sitting around the break table. She had worked there for 15 years or so when someone recognized her, or realized my insurance was golden, we got much better service. talking to the doctor he thought it might be a slipped disk I asked him aobut the loss of circulation to right leg. He too looked very puzzled and said he would send her for imaging. I said I would go home put up the dogs and be right back. I live less than a mile from the hospital when he called me on the cell phone. He said lifeline was on its way and to come back immediately.
She had a huge clot in her aorta. It had somehow clotted off the aorta where it biforcates and cut off circutlation to at first (around 1530) to her right leg, and by the time the doctor started looking at her the Left leg has lost circutlation too. So they flew her to they big surgey center down town, rushed her to surgery about 830 or so. I have pretty much been here every since. She is in the intensive care area still. They took the ET (breathing tube) out yesterday. She has minimum movement in her right leg but does have distal pulses. She really might never be able to walk normally again. But she is alive, damn lucky. I hate to even think about the thousands and thousands of dollars we have spent this week. But as soon as the ER doc in the local ER realized what was going on it has been an incredibly smooth operation.
But every single provider we have dealt with so far ask about he insurance first. Hope I never know how it would have went without insurance.
This was last Monday.
My wife is okay. She is slated to go to rehab Friday or monday. This is the first chance I have had to have a few beers and relax but I have to go to work so I can thave too many.
But later the rest of the story.
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Thanks everyone for the thoughts and prayers. 