Attitude plays a huge role in these things. Glad to hear there is something positive happening.
Great news Brent. Go get em Mel. For one so young and typically so active I'm sure it feels fantastic to be back up and at it again. 
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Dargo's little girl needs our prayers
- Thread starter working woman
- Start date
Great news Brent. Go get em Mel. For one so young and typically so active I'm sure it feels fantastic to be back up and at it again. 
Dargo
Like a bad penny...
Wow, talk about a determined young woman; she's having her brother help her read (she can do reasonably well if she covers up her left eye) so she can enroll back at IU next year. She said even if she has to have another brain surgery, nothing is going to stop her from going back to school next year! She said she'd learn braille if she had to this summer, but she IS going back to school next year.
With her credits and doing summer school in the next 2 summers, she can still graduate with her regular class. She's trying to find housing closer to where her classes will be right now. If you can will yourself healthy, I'll be damned if she isn't going to give it her best shot! The MRI and physician's reports don't look that great but she said "What do they know? They screwed up my brain surgery already and have misdiagnosed me several times. Why trust them now?".
Then she got up and promptly walked into a wall.
All I heard was "Stupid wall" as she walked on towards the treadmill. I love it; she's on a mission now. Thank each one of you so much! She knows she isn't near being cured, but she is now determined that she will be cured one way or another. There's still quite a battle ahead, but she seems to be training for the fight right now.
With her credits and doing summer school in the next 2 summers, she can still graduate with her regular class. She's trying to find housing closer to where her classes will be right now. If you can will yourself healthy, I'll be damned if she isn't going to give it her best shot! The MRI and physician's reports don't look that great but she said "What do they know? They screwed up my brain surgery already and have misdiagnosed me several times. Why trust them now?".
Then she got up and promptly walked into a wall.
All I heard was "Stupid wall" as she walked on towards the treadmill. I love it; she's on a mission now. Thank each one of you so much! She knows she isn't near being cured, but she is now determined that she will be cured one way or another. There's still quite a battle ahead, but she seems to be training for the fight right now.
JackieBlue
Banned
That's wonderful news! It gave me goosebumps reading it. I wish her continued progress.
Her attitude will be a great help.
Danang Sailor
nullius in verba
People can will themselves into a healthy state; all it takes is the decision that it will work!! 
Mel sounds as if she believes, which is 90%+ of what is needed. The odds seem to have turned in her favor. 
Be sure she knows how proud of her her entire "FF family" is!!
Mel sounds as if she believes, which is 90%+ of what is needed. The odds seem to have turned in her favor. Be sure she knows how proud of her her entire "FF family" is!!
I'm glad you asked because I'm always afraid to do so.
I'm not afraid to ask.
Brent, how is Melanie doing?
Dargo
Like a bad penny...
Thanks all. Well, I suppose a conditional 'better' and a very concerning 'we don't know'. Yesterday I got a phone call from "Children's Hospital Boston", neurology department. It seems that after 6 weeks of trying to get slides and/or a tissue sample from the surgery, Methodist Hospital of Indy won't respond. 
I've been warned that it will only tie up things, but at this time I feel I really have no other option than retain a very large law firm and have them take over. I couldn't get the samples or medical records sent to Boston, so I asked them if they would try. They got the records, but the records are only what the physicians in Indy did and what they thought. Without the slides or tissue sample taken in the biopsy, it's impossible for the physicians in Boston to make any determination of what is the underlying factor (not the symptoms) and how to proceed.
As many know, I've been suspicious of Methodist and the biopsy from the start since the sample was harvested on 12/22/10 and nobody looked at it until 1/8/11. What happened in the interim? Where was the tissue sample? Many questions; no answers. That, and now I'm starting to deal with the hundreds of medical bills that are "problem" bills. You know the kind; where I reached the maximum family out of pocket, I was in the network, but the physician is threatening to turn me in to a collection agency if I don't pay. One physician, a Dr. Roos, (I may have mentioned her before) is the worst. She is charging several thousand dollars for a "Final Report" that is completely wrong and was done by a student.
Roos spent far less than 1/2 an hour with Melanie and put nothing into the report. I told her office last week that if they turn this bogus bill over to a collection agency, not only would I never pay, but I would most certainly contact the AMA, the administrators of Methodist, the president of Methodist and any other department or chairperson pertinent to the situation and expose her less than ethical practice and extortion methods.
I've already surpassed my family maximum out of pocket this year! I'm certainly feeling the pain of medical bills. However, I do feel physicians should be paid a fair and reasonable amount for their services. I have no intention of stiffing anyone. However, corrupt and immoral physicians like this Dr. Roos need to be culled from the system. I do not respond well to threats or extortion.
Anyway, Melanie has cabin fever so bad (since last August), she went with my wife and Madison for a 3 day soccer tournament in TN this weekend. I feel lost not seeing her to check on her. I'm glad to see her want to get out some. Still, she is VERY concerned that Methodist has lost her tissue sample and another surgery may be required. If this is the situation, this will be such a large legal issue and so many protocol and other violations at Methodist Hospital in Indy, I'm sure it will be in the news. I honestly hope not but not nearly as much as Mel hopes this is not the case.
I've been warned that it will only tie up things, but at this time I feel I really have no other option than retain a very large law firm and have them take over. I couldn't get the samples or medical records sent to Boston, so I asked them if they would try. They got the records, but the records are only what the physicians in Indy did and what they thought. Without the slides or tissue sample taken in the biopsy, it's impossible for the physicians in Boston to make any determination of what is the underlying factor (not the symptoms) and how to proceed.
As many know, I've been suspicious of Methodist and the biopsy from the start since the sample was harvested on 12/22/10 and nobody looked at it until 1/8/11. What happened in the interim? Where was the tissue sample? Many questions; no answers. That, and now I'm starting to deal with the hundreds of medical bills that are "problem" bills. You know the kind; where I reached the maximum family out of pocket, I was in the network, but the physician is threatening to turn me in to a collection agency if I don't pay. One physician, a Dr. Roos, (I may have mentioned her before) is the worst. She is charging several thousand dollars for a "Final Report" that is completely wrong and was done by a student.
Roos spent far less than 1/2 an hour with Melanie and put nothing into the report. I told her office last week that if they turn this bogus bill over to a collection agency, not only would I never pay, but I would most certainly contact the AMA, the administrators of Methodist, the president of Methodist and any other department or chairperson pertinent to the situation and expose her less than ethical practice and extortion methods.
I've already surpassed my family maximum out of pocket this year! I'm certainly feeling the pain of medical bills. However, I do feel physicians should be paid a fair and reasonable amount for their services. I have no intention of stiffing anyone. However, corrupt and immoral physicians like this Dr. Roos need to be culled from the system. I do not respond well to threats or extortion.
Anyway, Melanie has cabin fever so bad (since last August), she went with my wife and Madison for a 3 day soccer tournament in TN this weekend. I feel lost not seeing her to check on her. I'm glad to see her want to get out some. Still, she is VERY concerned that Methodist has lost her tissue sample and another surgery may be required. If this is the situation, this will be such a large legal issue and so many protocol and other violations at Methodist Hospital in Indy, I'm sure it will be in the news. I honestly hope not but not nearly as much as Mel hopes this is not the case.
JackieBlue
Banned
I'm glad Mel is feeling good enough to travel. That's a great sign. I'm so sorry for your other issues with the damn hospitals. Maybe it's time to get a lawyer to handle these situations for you.
Dargo
Like a bad penny...
Well.....it's not nearly as good as she will try to tell you (but I love her positive attitude). Still, she has convinced me that she can see well enough out of her right eye that I let her enroll for school next year and apply for housing. I mean, seriously, could I tell her "no" after all she's been through?
One telltale sign that her sight isn't that great is that, as much as she loves her new car she earned, she won't even consider even moving it out of the barn. She's not about to destroy something she worked 12 years to earn. She is also quite pissed at the time it's taking for the physicians to get moving. She's a very smart girl and likely knows more about what is ahead of her getting healthy than I do.
Dargo
Like a bad penny...
Well, fingers crossed, I think I have some good news. Melanie told me that she can see fine out of both eyes right now!! 
She even asked if she could drive! Needless to say, we are very excited.
However (here comes the cold water), she has worse pain in her head and we have gotten nowhere with getting any pathology or a specimen of tissue from her brain surgery at Methodist Hospital in Indy. It's been almost a month now that Boston has been asking for this info and a week since my main contact said to give him a week before beginning litigation. No response from him means that he has not received anything from them. With this much pressure put on them from a much higher rated and superior hospital and them unable to produce the info or even a slice of the tissue is a very, very bad omen.
I haven't told Melanie this, but I've been warned that her vision coming back is possibly not permanent and, without a sample or workup of the tissue from her brain tumor, we still have no idea what we are dealing with. In one way, I'm so happy I can't stand it but on the other hand, I'm so scared this 'progress' could be reversed literally overnight certainly scares me.
Right now I'm just thinking positive and going through the 3 inch tall stack of bogus billings I have from various physicians and places she has never visited. I've been advised to turn the tables on the clearly crooked physicians and sue them before they can turn a bogus and incorrect bill over to a collection agency; who doesn't care if it's really due or not.
So, for right now, I am trying to opt to be happy and celebrate her being able to see (in spite of her being in severe pain)!
She even asked if she could drive! Needless to say, we are very excited.However (here comes the cold water), she has worse pain in her head and we have gotten nowhere with getting any pathology or a specimen of tissue from her brain surgery at Methodist Hospital in Indy. It's been almost a month now that Boston has been asking for this info and a week since my main contact said to give him a week before beginning litigation. No response from him means that he has not received anything from them. With this much pressure put on them from a much higher rated and superior hospital and them unable to produce the info or even a slice of the tissue is a very, very bad omen.
I haven't told Melanie this, but I've been warned that her vision coming back is possibly not permanent and, without a sample or workup of the tissue from her brain tumor, we still have no idea what we are dealing with. In one way, I'm so happy I can't stand it but on the other hand, I'm so scared this 'progress' could be reversed literally overnight certainly scares me.
Right now I'm just thinking positive and going through the 3 inch tall stack of bogus billings I have from various physicians and places she has never visited. I've been advised to turn the tables on the clearly crooked physicians and sue them before they can turn a bogus and incorrect bill over to a collection agency; who doesn't care if it's really due or not.
So, for right now, I am trying to opt to be happy and celebrate her being able to see (in spite of her being in severe pain)!
Thanks for the update Brent.
Good luck with the billings, but more importantly.. it's good to hear Melanie has sight.
Good luck with the billings, but more importantly.. it's good to hear Melanie has sight.
Sure glad to hear she has her sight back and is wanting to drive, scary as that seems.
I sure don't understand the hold up with samples from the Methodist hospital. For being in the business of wanting to fix people and help with their prognosis these folks appear to do just the opposite for no reason I can fathom. Good luck with a breakthrough there and prayers for Mel continue.
I sure don't understand the hold up with samples from the Methodist hospital. For being in the business of wanting to fix people and help with their prognosis these folks appear to do just the opposite for no reason I can fathom. Good luck with a breakthrough there and prayers for Mel continue.
Galvatron
Spock and Galvatron < one and the same
Dargo
Like a bad penny...
Oh, sorry all. After almost three months of fighting with Methodist Hospital to get tissue samples sent to much higher regarded neurologists and neurosurgeons, all to try to get some diagnosis, Methodist finally located the tissue samples from Melanie's brain surgery back in December (at least I hope they are from Melanie!) and sent them to the Boston physicians last Friday. Now I'm just waiting to hear from the physicians in Boston.
I could write an entire book on all of the administrative incompetence, physician arrogance, physician incompetence and overall inexcusable experience we've received from Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis. It would take pages to describe the incorrect billing, flat wrong billing, double, triple billing for the same procedure by the same physician, 4 or 5 'consults' at about $3000 each (that we didn't ask for and bore no results) etc., etc. At this point my sole focus is to get Melanie healthy and get a diagnosis. After 4 months, that sounds rather absurd; to still be trying to get information and some sort of diagnosis, or even an "I don't know" diagnosis.
I have several very educated and prominent academicians and physicians who tell me that it really should be my moral duty to pursue the problems at Methodist after Melanie is taken care of. I've been told that over 99% of the people would have just given up after all these months and dead ends with Methodist Hospital of Indy. Those here know me know I'm not the type to let something like that drop; especially when it very well could be life threatening to my daughter!! I don't want to say too much here just in case this does become a super huge issue for Methodist and they want copies of this entire thread (at least 2 or 3 guest visitors who have read this thread have been attorneys and they said all is well here). As I said, I just want my baby girl well. Sure, she's nineteen now, but she will always be my baby girl and daddy's girl. If it saves just one other patient from having to go through the hell we've been through, I feel it's my obligation to then turn the attorneys and AMA and any other medical accreditation group on them.
Hopefully I'll know more later this week. I'm not about to push the fantastic physicians in Boston. They have gone waaaaaay above and beyond the call of duty to try to help my daughter and are embarrassed by the 'bad eggs' who give the stereotype of the physician with the awful bedside manner along with being a case in study of how NOT to run a billing department. Again, a sincere thank you for asking! Hopefully I'll start getting information on a more timely basis. Oh, I am not plugging another site, but if anyone ever drops by there, please drop IslandTractor a PM and tell him how much I appreciate the dozens and dozens of hours he has put into helping Melanie while refusing to accept a dime from me. His first name is Ed. We need more physicians like him! He has been unbelievable in making himself available and pushing this entire matter through. Without any doubt, I'd still be stuck and lining up attorneys right now without him. I cannot speak highly enough about him.
I could write an entire book on all of the administrative incompetence, physician arrogance, physician incompetence and overall inexcusable experience we've received from Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis. It would take pages to describe the incorrect billing, flat wrong billing, double, triple billing for the same procedure by the same physician, 4 or 5 'consults' at about $3000 each (that we didn't ask for and bore no results) etc., etc. At this point my sole focus is to get Melanie healthy and get a diagnosis. After 4 months, that sounds rather absurd; to still be trying to get information and some sort of diagnosis, or even an "I don't know" diagnosis.
I have several very educated and prominent academicians and physicians who tell me that it really should be my moral duty to pursue the problems at Methodist after Melanie is taken care of. I've been told that over 99% of the people would have just given up after all these months and dead ends with Methodist Hospital of Indy. Those here know me know I'm not the type to let something like that drop; especially when it very well could be life threatening to my daughter!! I don't want to say too much here just in case this does become a super huge issue for Methodist and they want copies of this entire thread (at least 2 or 3 guest visitors who have read this thread have been attorneys and they said all is well here). As I said, I just want my baby girl well. Sure, she's nineteen now, but she will always be my baby girl and daddy's girl. If it saves just one other patient from having to go through the hell we've been through, I feel it's my obligation to then turn the attorneys and AMA and any other medical accreditation group on them.
Hopefully I'll know more later this week. I'm not about to push the fantastic physicians in Boston. They have gone waaaaaay above and beyond the call of duty to try to help my daughter and are embarrassed by the 'bad eggs' who give the stereotype of the physician with the awful bedside manner along with being a case in study of how NOT to run a billing department. Again, a sincere thank you for asking! Hopefully I'll start getting information on a more timely basis. Oh, I am not plugging another site, but if anyone ever drops by there, please drop IslandTractor a PM and tell him how much I appreciate the dozens and dozens of hours he has put into helping Melanie while refusing to accept a dime from me. His first name is Ed. We need more physicians like him! He has been unbelievable in making himself available and pushing this entire matter through. Without any doubt, I'd still be stuck and lining up attorneys right now without him. I cannot speak highly enough about him.
rback33
Hangin in Tornado Alley
Thanks so much for the update Brent. It's nice to hear that things are continuing to move in the right direction. You touched on one thing I had wondered about in regards to your postings and lawyers. I am glad someone has reviewed it and no harm has been done here from a legal sense. Best of luck to you and Mel. I look forward to more positive reports.