Health and Welfare

My oncologist decided to send me to a pulmonologist for my shortness of breath. It was tossup between drawing fluid off my lungs with a needle (been there done that) or having a nurse visit my home every day for the better part of a week and give me an injection of a high powered diuretic. The diuretic won.

So my insurance company decided that a supplier 120 miles away was better than one just across the river. They send a guy with supplies for the nurse. Two IV kits and one and a half day’s supply of the medicine. I’m a hard stick, so the nurse goes through the two IV kits without success. A check with the doctor and he says inject it with a syringe instead, but start an IV ASAP. A call to the supplier and they have to send the guy back again with more IV kits…and no additional medicine. The IV was finally installed but there was only a half day’s supply of medicine left. They finally send another day and a half worth of medicine and offhandedly mention to the nurse that the medicine they sent previously had expired. She asked them if they had informed the patient, they said no, but they would. It’s about 48 hours and I still haven’t heard from them. Still a couple of days left on the treatments and another box of supplies arrived this afternoon, I hope it has enough medicine to finish up the treatments…but I’m not going to bet on it.

In other news, we are in the process of trying to settle my brother-in-law’s estate. He was on Medicare and SSI his entire life and only got about $700 a month. He was frugal and was able to stretch the money, but he ate a lot of beans and pasta. He paid his bills and always dealt in cash. No credit history whatsoever. If he couldn’t buy it with cash, he did without. His only assets were the 20 year old mobile home he lived in and 1/3 ownership of half an acre of property. Not a lot. 

As a part of Medicare, one of the things he had to do was agree that they could have his trailer and other assets when he passed away. We just heard from the government about what they think he owes them...$127,000.00.  

  

They’ll have better luck getting blood out of a turnip.