Perspective

Whoopie pies, gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, and popcorn balls at the library

Two weeks ago, I was very discouraged by the slow progress of recovering from ankle surgery.  I hadn't anticipated how painful it would be to walk and drive, how slowly I would walk, and how painful it would be to let my foot dangle a full nine weeks after the surgery. Thankfully last week I started to notice big improvements. The only time I feel pain and tightness now is when I stand or walk on it too long. I had been feeling pain ALL day long even when I was in bed, so this is a big improvement. Also, it doesn't hurt to drive any more, although I haven't driven more than 20 minutes away from our home so I can't say if I could tolerate a longer drive yet or not. I can also let it dangle for longer periods of time before it hurts, so that's again a welcome relief. My gait is almost normal, but it's going to take time before I can walk at the speed I used to walk prior to the accident. I strained my right elbow when using my right arm to bear the weight of my body instead of my right leg for 10 weeks, but thankfully just last week the pain also decreased in my elbow. I'm hoping that when the weather turns warmer in the spring, I'll be able to resume taking nice long walks with Milo and that by May when we plan to go on our next family vacation that I can walk at a normal pace and not be terrified to go on a hike. I assume once I start walking farther the muscles in my right calf will get stronger. It's still painful to cross my right leg over my left leg, so I don't do it. The bottom line at the moment is that although my ankle and calf aren't back to normal yet, I am very encouraged by the recent progress. Part of the problem is that I need physical therapy and haven't received any because we'd have to pay for all of it on our own. It was a pre-existing condition when we signed up for the Samaritan medical sharing program so I wouldn't be allowed to submit any charges for reimbursement even if they exceeded $400 and our previous insurance wouldn't have paid one penny toward it.

If you've read this blog for very long, you've figured out I'm a penny pincher. I shop around and try to get the best prices for things whether it's something small (a pound of apples) or something large (a new roof). The only times in my life that I've paid for something that cost more than $10K have been when I've bought a house or a vehicle.  The only times I've paid a large medical bill that wasn't covered by insurance were when we did IVF and Ian's braces. We knew in advance approximately what IVF would cost and saved up the thousands of dollars we would need to pay before each round of IVF. I called many orthodontists and met with three in person before choosing the most affordable one, and again we saved up the money ahead of time. We have gotten nowhere in our attempts to reduce the size of the medical bills we are being asked to pay. The hospital will give us 10% discount on the biggest bill if we pay it in full in the next two weeks. They aren't giving us any discounts on any of the other bills. The insurance investigation has gotten nowhere because the company has ignored all the communication from the investigator. He told me that he'll be passing the file on to his manager since he hasn't gotten anywhere. This ankle surgery very well may be the first thing other than a car or house that I've paid more than $10K for. 

The surgery wasn't an emergency. If the insurance company or the hospital had informed us during the preauthorization process on October 6 that we would be paying for 99.5% of the cost of the surgery, we would have paid for retroactive COBRA insurance, but they didn't tell us until the middle of November and our enrollment window ended on November 1st. If we knew that we were going to have to pay for the surgery, we would have gotten a second opinion to make sure it was absolutely necessary to have the surgery and also would have shopped around at more than one hospital to find where it would be the most affordable even if that meant driving a lot farther away. Yesterday the investigator suggested that I hire a lawyer. I know that God will provide if we have to pay $20K, but it's very frustrating to be surprised with a gigantic bill out of the blue because of the deceit of an insurance salesman. As a point of comparison, we definitely spent more than usual on this last vacation because it was much longer, but we spent a grand total of $4K for the five of us to be on vacation (not camping) for 25 days, and that one short hike might end up costing us $20K?

Today I found out that one of my closest friends from 1981-1990 lost her husband unexpectedly yesterday due to a seizure. She is one year older than me and the mother of three girls; the eldest is a freshman in college. When we were in high school, her father was killed in a car accident, so she has walked the road that her girls are now walking in terms of losing a father at a young age. My heart is breaking for my friend and her three girls. I am praying for them, and I'm going to send a card, but I wish there was more that I could do. They live in a suburb of Atlanta. Her husband had been the children's pastor at a large church. Facing a large medical bill is trivial compared to suddenly losing a husband and father. I remember thinking when Maurice passed away that it was a blessing that he was single as he wasn't leaving behind a wife or children. As hard as it was to lose my brother, I think it pales in comparison to what my friend and her daughters are going through right now. Prayers for my friend and her daughters would be greatly appreciated.