My life this week........

Well, we finally have it up and running! The Wii that is. Lori actually was awarded one like months ago for having the highest sells. Turns out, they were on back order and so she had to wait to get it. In the meantime, we picked up a Wii Fit (which was hard to do since EVERY place is out and they seem to disappear about ten minutes after the retailers get them). We had been calling daily to about seven different stores and finally on Friday got lucky. So we picked up the console yesterday, created our little Wii Mee's and played tennis last night. Haven't tackled the Wii Fit yet. I'll probably be in traction once I do.

I go this week to have my hips x-rayed. Been having a lot of problems with them lately. The pain wakes me up at night and I can't sleep on either side for very long. Not sure if the herniated disc is pulling my muscles and tendons out of alignment or if I have just over stressed my joints. As usual, with me, it could be half a dozen of one thing and six of the other. I also have my yearly (as Lori puts it, my eight-yearly exam) appointment with the gynecologist. I hate that more than a rootcanal! I'm not really sure why. I'm not modest or anything but, I think it's more of a mental thing. The fear that they will find something always freaks me out. Kind of like with a mammogram. Although, I do those regularly, so go figure.

Also, Lori bought a cage for our handicapped cat Luna. She was deprived of oxygen as a kitten and well, she isn't all there if you know what I mean. As she gets older, she seems to be having memory issues. Unfortunately, the cage wasn't big enough. It was like three levels, on wheels even and very pretty. Black with bright green shelves. Unfortunately, it was more for a ferret than a grown cat, so back it goes. This distresses me because I really wanted to get the whole Luna situation taken care of. She has missed the litter box so many times, I am going to have to tile our hallway.

Picked up the chest of drawers we had ordered from Ashley Furniture on Friday as well. I am now totally rearranging the closet and it has bled over into redoing the drawers in the wall cabinets on the bed. Basically the bedroom looks like a bomb went off in it. From the looks of it, we should have bought TWO chest of drawers.


The hospital where I had my surgery, (by the way, saw my doctor last Monday before I left town and I am down 54 pounds) collected the money up front from me for my share of everything including anesthesia. Only thing is, they never PAID the Anesthesiologist. So I have been after them since the second week in April to send me a refund so I could pay them. The Anesthesiologist's office was very nice and said this happens all the time. Whew! Good thing because most are ready to send a person to collections after about 90 days. But, the check finally arrived last week while I was gone so now their check is in the mail. But can you believe it took at least two phone calls a week every week since about April 7th to get a frickin over payment returned?! Yet if I had owed the hospital that money, I would have been served with papers by the end of May! Unbelievable.

I was reading about there being a new trend out there called CASH CARE. Apparently this is where the hospitals are asking for upfront payments from patients with long term, costly conditions such as cancer or heart disease that may be life-threatening but aren't classified as medical emergencies. In the article, this guy had learned he had a mass in his neck and that it was malignant. His doctor sent him to a local cancer center where they told him it would take like $30,000. worth of treatment and they needed $20,000. upfront. He didn't have it because he had just shelled out over $273,000 in out of pocket costs for his wife's care for ovarian cancer. His insurance didn't cover it because she had cancer when he enrolled her. Basically, he lost all his money trying to save her and she passed away. He doesn't qualify for charity care because he has about $10,000. in a 401k. So he is basically as of the writing of the article, out of luck. Oh, and he had already lost his home and was living in a trailer on a friend's property. Nice future, eh? This is scary stuff. I mean, when is it going to change? Something needs to be done to get some laws passed that prevent these insurance companies from collecting outrageous premiums and then giving minimal care. The fact that people in this country can actually die because they can't pay for care that is available (which is over priced so the doctor's can become rich) is a national disgrace. Not to mention the poor woman who died in the ER from a blood clot last week after waiting for 24 hours to be seen. You need about two hundred doctors in an ER setting so that when people come in they are rushed right in to see A doctor. Kind of like in China and other places where doctors are expected to do their jobs and not focus on the dollar sign. Maybe that is the answer. Just have everyone do what they are suppose to do in the first place. Treat the sick, the dying and the infirmed.