BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: LadyJean
Date: 16 Oct 14 - 12:35 AM

Ok, I was desperate for a car two years ago. Some jerk put his Volvo up for sale on Craigs List and didn't mean it. He played games with me. I deeply regret not placing ads around town with his name and phone number advertising a Porsche for sale and an improbably low price.

If your wife wanted to try that......

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 14 - 11:31 AM

Clever, LadyJean! However, it is one of those tricks that can come back to bite you in the ass.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: GUEST,sciencegeek
Date: 16 Oct 14 - 03:47 PM

the thirst for revenge is best left unquenched... however, it is not good to let the culprit learn that "actions" have no consequences...

community service in a rehab center might impress upon him the horrid situation he created and must never repeat...

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: gnu
Date: 17 Oct 14 - 11:23 AM

And certainly a writeup in the paper about the "accident" results along with calls by city council directing it's constables to strictly enforce fines for cyclists endangering others. That's my 1.5 cents.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: GUEST,sciencegeek
Date: 17 Oct 14 - 03:11 PM

just down the road from my work office is a "ghost" and small memorial for a cyclist that was killed by an automobile. And almost every road has small crosses at sites of deadly accidents. It keeps up a level of awareness.

Is there a window location that could "host" a small display regarding how a bike/pedestrian collison can be almost as dangerous. Actually, if your wife was a more frail person it could have gone much worse.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 17 Oct 14 - 07:10 PM

Got the hospital bill yesterday. Just shy of USD 72K. Thank the Lord that our insurance has either disallowed stuff (75%) or paid all but 1% of that. I can handle that amount, but I wonder what people without insurance do. Wait, I know! Out here in Idyho the State picks up the tab if you don't have no insurance! But we ain't got none of that there dag-slab Socialized Medysin!! Jist you ask our Govner! Ol' Butch, he'll tell ya!*

Took Pat to a continuing education class, to lunch, and to the store today. She's napping right now.



*A lot of us are hoping Ol' Butch goes down in flames in November, but it ain't likely in this, the most scarlet of the States.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Oct 14 - 07:40 PM

" I wonder what people without insurance do." If it had been me in Pat's place, either I would have gotten no care, or we would have lost our home and land and would be out living on the street.

I am grateful you and Pat will be in a much better position than that.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: gnu
Date: 17 Oct 14 - 08:24 PM

So glad to here this don't break the bank.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 17 Oct 14 - 09:27 PM

I am glad to read of Pat's continued progress and glad that the hospital bill did not break the bank.

Too many people think that the Affordable Healthcare Act means that everyone in the US can get insurance. As GUEST points out, that is not true. Guest, I hope you and your family members avoid serious health problems and that the AHA is improved so that you are able to get insurance.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 17 Oct 14 - 09:35 PM

When I retired I grabbed the insurance the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System was offering. So far it's been very, very good to us. However, we have to do something else for 2016 -- what I'm not yet sure, but I want at least what we have now.

I wish everyone could have something like it. It would then force hospitals to reduce the garbage (I nearly said "crap") they seem to pad the bills with.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: LadyJean
Date: 18 Oct 14 - 12:45 AM

As I mentioned, I have a friend who's trying to crowd fund his cataract surgery. He has a job, but no insurance.

I have, over the years, thought of some beautifully rotten things to do to people. As a rule I don't do them. Okay, I gave that neo Nazi's email address to a bunch of Nigerian spammers and I don't regret it. I figured they kind of deserved each other.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 18 Oct 14 - 09:58 AM

Which is what I said: decent medical care should be readily available to those who need it. We've been blessed so far, but everyone is a crack in the sidewalk away from where we have been, or worse. And we could lose it all at any time. Then I'd have to go back to robbing stagecoaches, and there are very few running these days.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: gnu
Date: 18 Oct 14 - 10:59 AM

You should have salted away some of the plunder instead of wasting it on cheap whiskey and wild women in some den of licentious iniquity. But we had fun, didn't we?

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: maeve
Date: 19 Oct 14 - 09:58 AM

Re: 17 Oct 14 - 07:40 PM
It is I...
Maeve

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 14 - 12:10 PM

Some of the new policies are pretty remarkable, depending on the age of the purchaser. My 22-year-old son has a medical savings account with his high-deductible policy that will act like a ROTH IRA as far as being saved for medical situations. My sister is the benefits officer at the university where she works and has said she loves it - high praise from someone who negotiates insurance contracts every year.

What makes sense for him wouldn't work for someone past retirement, I'm pretty certain. But having this when he gets to retirement age will be a good thing, assuming the GOP doesn't try to undo all of the good parts of the Affordable Care Act.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 19 Oct 14 - 09:19 PM

Headache and gone to bed with something "more than ibuprofen." She probably overdid yesterday -- she even went out to dinner with a friend!
Japanese 'fusion' restaurant. A bicyclist came tearing down the sidewalk (she saw him from inside the restaurant) and the fear came back.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Janie
Date: 19 Oct 14 - 10:00 PM

That will take awhile to abate, or at least subside some, Rap. As you well know.

Y'all aren't huggy folks, I think, but they are what I have to offer. So.....{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: gnu
Date: 20 Oct 14 - 11:48 AM

Glad to hear felt good enough to go out but it's too bad she overdid it... as said, time will help.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 20 Oct 14 - 08:30 PM

She signed the discharge order for PT today, even if her last day is really Thursday.

And the bills keep coming in! We're at (pre-insurance) $89,000 USD and counting! Emergency Room (Life Threatening) was one of the entries on the forms....

We shan't have any trouble making our medical deductions for income tax this year!

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 20 Oct 14 - 09:37 PM

Medical deductions? That's really looking for a silver lining.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: gnu
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 05:40 AM

$89k! THAT needs to be in a write-up in the newspaper too.

Glad to hear she feels good enough to forego the PT.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 08:01 AM

I'll second gnu

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 09:55 AM

So far we've been able to pay the post-insurance bills. As I said, we have pretty good insurance.

One of my workers, back when I was doing that sort of thing, had a useless husband (prison, drug use, now finally divorced) and a daughter who had had to have a liver transplant. Fortunately, if I need such I can go to the VA hospital in Salt Lake City and pay very little if anything.

Now she's going to get counseling for the mental hangover.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: GUEST,sciencegeek
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 10:19 AM

Now she's going to get counseling for the mental hangover.

good to hear... flashbacks are going to go on for awhile and incredible what will trigger one...

she has plenty of company in that respect and the medical community is getting better at acknowledging and dealing with it. Support groups in the area might offer some aid as well. Trick is finding one close by.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 04:59 PM

Less than a mile...pretty close.

I don't think there is a "I Got Badly Injured By A Bicyclist" support groups around here. There may be head injury support groups at the hospital, though.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Jeri
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 05:02 PM

PTSD, Rap.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 05:26 PM

Looks like there is one stop shopping available for groups and personal injury lawyers.

More of a pure play is the Brian Injury Alliance - Idaho.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Bill D
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 05:32 PM

Poor Brian... I hope HE gets help. ☺

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 21 Oct 14 - 09:41 PM

Pat went into counseling today for anger, PTSD, and other things. "Pick me up at 3:30," said she at 2:30. At 4 she came out of the office. "I thought you'd come in and meet Pico, a certified therapy dog," she said. "Take me home,change clothes, and get to your beer tasting in Blackfoot" (20 miles north).

I do what women tell me because it's easier that way....

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: olddude
Date: 22 Oct 14 - 02:44 AM

If I can help in anyway you just give me a shoutmy bbrother. Lots of prayers for pat. We both know a lot about pstd for sure.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: olddude
Date: 22 Oct 14 - 02:46 AM

Ptsd I am dyslexic every thing I type is bassackwords

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: olddude
Date: 22 Oct 14 - 02:49 AM

I wonder how the bike guy would ride if we shoved the bike he hit her with up his ass. Do you have an address

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 22 Oct 14 - 09:25 AM

Yup, I have a name, address and phone number. I gave them to the sheriff's deputies. They saw the last name and muttered, "I wonder which one this is. I'll check back at the office." All six or seven who responded seemed quite interested.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 23 Oct 14 - 07:41 PM

This is a particularly good time to keep doing what one woman, your wife, tells you, Rap!

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 Oct 14 - 09:50 PM

I always do, mostly.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 Oct 14 - 09:55 PM

She's talking about driving by herself to a walk tomorrow. The physical therapist gave her a clean bill of health for in-house therapy today; she is looking for outhouse therapy when the case worker nurse comes next week.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 24 Oct 14 - 08:55 PM

Outhouse therapy? Don't you have indoor plumbing? Oh. Never mind.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 24 Oct 14 - 09:14 PM

Usually we do have indoor plumbing. When Pat was lawyering she called attorneys which were not from...well, she was at a university in the General Counsel's office...as "outhouse lawyers" and it kind of stuck. She was in house and they weren't so....

She drove herself to a walk today! Mind you, nobody else showed up so she drove herself to the post office, got the mail, and drove home. It was pretty early in day and traffic was very light, but still!!!!

She still can't concentrate enough to read more than short articles.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: gnu
Date: 25 Oct 14 - 06:25 AM

Progress! Great to hear it, Rap.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Nigel Paterson
Date: 25 Oct 14 - 07:11 AM

That is progress indeed. Your relief must be palpable.
                                                                                  Nigel.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Oct 14 - 09:30 AM

I'll second that

Is Pat quilting yet?

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 25 Oct 14 - 10:07 PM

She has concentration problems, so no, she hasn't yet started sewing again. I've got a whole pile of mending for her too! (Well, no. My mommy made sure her sons could cook enough to heat canned soup and sew on buttons.)

BUT!! She drove in traffic today!! First time in normal traffic since she went in the hospital!!!!

All sorts of nurses come next week: case managers and therapy managers and I don't know who all. She also sees the neurosurgeon on the 30th, so we'll know after that if she can fly (in an airplane) then.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 14 - 11:06 PM

That is good news! My friend who was injured decided to go through the driving test with the state to prove she could pass the test. We had to practice parallel parking a few times - but then, there are lots of people without brain injuries who have trouble with parking.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Rapparee
Date: 30 Oct 14 - 12:14 PM

I might as well tell this: we found out yesterday that her jaw is slightly dislocated, which has caused the jaw pain she's had. A specialist dentist is working to reset it and it feels much better today.

But as the neurosurgeon said this morning, "We deal with the big stuff first." And then he said, "I don't see any problems ahead. If you want to travel or fly, go ahead and do it. The attention deficits and reading deficits will resolve themselves over the next six months or a year."

I told her later that medicine can deal with Attention Deficit Disorder and she said it was a good thing she was driving or she'd have whomped me one.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: maeve
Date: 30 Oct 14 - 12:29 PM

Good news is just getting better. Thanks for the laugh, too.

Maeve

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Bill D
Date: 30 Oct 14 - 01:28 PM

A good 'whomp' now & then helps keep things straight... so I am told.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: fat B****rd
Date: 30 Oct 14 - 03:12 PM

I've been away for a while but glad to read good positive news. ATB from Charlie.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Janie
Date: 30 Oct 14 - 08:35 PM

The two of you are not a well-matched pair. Nope. Unhuh. No way. *big smile*

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: gnu
Date: 31 Oct 14 - 04:25 AM

Too bad it's taken so long to learn about the jaw but the overall prognoses are encouraging. Thanks for the update.

Subject: RE: BS: My Wife's Having Brain Surgery 5 Sept
From: Nigel Paterson
Date: 31 Oct 14 - 06:08 AM

Good news, plus a good laugh too (the ADD reference).
All the very best from London UK,
                                                    Nigel.