A tale of 2 hospitals

I have hospital bills at home waiting to be paid (still hoping the insurance will cover some of them) from three different hospitals (Hershey, Geisinger, and Evangelical). Last year the PSU insurance paid for all of Ian's medical bills (after we paid the $75 deductible) aside from not paying much toward his prescriptions. They paid everything for his surgeries at CHOP and Hershey. So I thought we were safe in choosing that option for 6 months this year. Hopefully it will turn out okay, but I admit I am now so nervous about accruing more large bills to pay due to these two hospital stays although I have made sure to stay at hospitals that are "in the network," which is why I'm now almost 2 hours away from my hubby and kids. I miss Paul and Nadia, but I will admit I miss Ian the most simply because he spends far more time in my arms. Every time they draw blood I am worried that I might be looking at a $1,000 bill coming in the mail for the bloodwork. Please pray that the insurance will cover whatever charges I am accruing this week and next week. I was trying to save $3K by going with PSU's insurance. I realize that was a mistake, but I just hope it wasn't a BIG mistake. It's another reason I'm praying our son isn't born until at least July 1, because that's when we go back on Blue Shield. Paul and Nadia haven't seen any doctors since we've been on PSU's insurance, and Ian is covered with Medical Assistance. If I wasn't pregnant (or even if I was just having an uncomplicated pregnancy), it would have been the right choice. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. I feel like I should be declining more tests, but usually I just let doctors and nurses do whatever they think is best. For example, they said I need to do the glucose test again. I do think I'm going to refuse that as I know my insurance won't pay for it a second time, and I'm certain I don't have GD right now. It's hard to know what else I should decline as I don't know how expensive each test is, and I don't know what my insurance will cover.

I slept MUCH better last night. They don't check vitals nearly as often at this hospital, which is so nice. I didn't like being awakened to have my temperature and blood pressure taken when neither have been an issue. I also greatly prefer the compression stockings over the machine. These stockings don't keep me awake at night, and I don't have to unplug each leg to be able to pee. At the other hospital I had to unplug each leg and also my iv to be able to go to the bathroom. In this room I only have to unplug the baby's monitor (which is around my belly). The iv cord is long enough (and plugged in close enough to the bathroom) that I don't have to unplug it to use the bathroom. This makes going to the bathroom a much simpler task. Also, the iv bags are MUCH bigger at this hospital. They last 8 hours! My machine kept beeping because I needed a new bag at the previous hospital.

Around 10am this morning I became completely untethered! They capped my iv and unhooked the fetal monitor. I was moved up one floor to a small unit that's just for women like me (pregnant but trying to delay delivery). All the rooms in the unit are private; I have an absolutely gorgeous view out of three large windows of the river. Paul's Aunt Debbie (who lives near Harrisburg) surprised me with a visit yesterday, and she brought some beautiful flowers that I am enjoying (daisies, lilies, one rose, etc.). I'll be hooked up to the fetal monitor twice a day instead of 24 hours a day. As far as the countdown goes, they are not counting yesterday since I had some bleeding and contractions yesterday. Hopefully today will be day number one. I need seven days in a row to be discharged, and that's just for the placenta previa. I haven't seen the doctor yet today, but I had an ultrasound around 1pm, and she said that he went from "anemia" yesterday to "mild anemia" today.

I searched through my blog and found that with Nadia I had complete previa at first, but by 24w it was partial previa, and by 30w it was completely resolved. I didn't have any ultrasound during weeks 25-29 that time so I am not sure exactly when it resolved.

The meals here are tiny compared to what they served at the hospital I was at earlier this week. Thank goodness I got lunch at Long John Silver's on the way down here because they fed me later than usual (they wouldn't let me eat until I went awhile without contractions), and it was a very tiny meal. On Fridays they have a special lunch in the lounge for the women in my unit so I had a hearty lunch. Many of the women are here for months. Two that were at the lunch today are being discharged today because they gave birth on Tuesday (their babies are in the NICU). I was the only one at the lunch who didn't have a name picked out (most of the lunch conversation revolved around baby names). I was the oldest one. The next oldest is 38 years old. She's pregnant with her sixth child. She's 28 weeks along and is here due to preeclampsia. If I have to leave the room (such as to go to the luncheon), I have to be taken by wheelchair.