(no subject)
So now I can officially say Thank you to frolijah_fan_54 for my lovely gift!
Did I mention that I'm finally reading the Harry Potter series, now that it's no longer a work-in-progress? I took the first three books with me, and went through them in two days. Then I had to hit up my nephew, Justin, for his copy of #4. Finished that thanks to chemo...
We scheduled my weekly chemo treatment at a hospital about an hour from our vacation cottage. Despite giving everyone involved *lots* of notice (more than a month), everything was very last-minute. I only heard from the insurance company a few days before we left, telling me they'd cover the treatment at the "out of network" rate. Which leaves me on the hook for whatever the hospital wants to call "reasonable and customary" service fees, it seems. I was ready to back out and skip the week, but Richie was speaking to his sister about it and she offered to help us if it exceeds the $600 or so that I have left in my pre-tax medical account for the year. It would be Rich's sister and one of his brothers (the only one who actually has money), who have both been wanting to help us out since this all started up again. And, as you guys have taught me, it's good to let people help.
In a more annoying manner, the doctor who had to examine me to authorize the chemo infusion obviously hadn't looked at the information my hospital/doctor sent until he was ready to walk in the room and see me. They'd oh-so-helpfully listed not only the pre-meds I actually get (three drugs), but anything they'd ever given me before or during chemo -- even the emergency stuff when I had an allergic reaction two years ago. Oh, and they listed every form the drugs come in -- iv, capsule, different dosages. So his first words to me were: "They give you all this every time?" And then I had to try to figure out what I actually get. Not that he was willing/ready to give me that. Their hospital has "our own protocols."
Their "protocols" include moving VERY slowly, so what should have been a two hour visit turned into a five hour endurance test. Of course, being in the North Woods of Wisconsin, everyone was *very* friendly. So I felt like a beast if I got impatient, but I was rather angry (and hungry, I'll admit that affects me, too). They told me to arrive an hour before my scheduled doctor appointment for blood tests. Then I waited 45 minutes before they sent someone to draw the blood, and was told it would be an hour before the results were back. Which meant the doctor probably wouldn't see me or authorize the chemo for another hour, because that's why they take a cbc.
Of course, they *didn't* just draw blood for a cbc, they ordered other (unnecessary!) tests. So that my insurance company and I can pay for them, I suppose. And then I had to get into a gown for the doctor, so we can be charged for an exam instead of just authorizing the damn chemo...
Rich kept me calm. But I had a miserable, skipped-breakfast-for-the-blood-tests headache and there was no time to go looking for food. And then the pre-meds, the anti-nausea drugs and such, which usually take 10 minutes to infuse, took over an hour. They gave me the three drugs one by one, instead of all at once... Such nice, friendly people. So very slow! No matter how pretty the view was -- and it was cool that their chemo chairs all have windows, instead of being in a hallway -- I still didn't want to be spending the day there. I kept reading Goblet of Fire and tried to keep my mouth shut.
Of course, Thursday was one of the nicest days we had all week, weather-wise.
However, I managed to get a dunk in the lake that afternoon, once we got home and Rich fed me.
Rich, by the way, was also immersing himself in a book series, Stephen King's Dark Tower series (which I read back in April thanks to some friends who loaned us the books). So we had a fairly literary week. When it was too cloudy or cold to be in the water, we sat by the lake reading and watching the loons and eagles. Or watching the loonies from the other cottages who were still splashing about.
We had campfires almost every night, except Tuesday when it rained. Thursday was also fireless, because they had a poker tournament in one of the other cottages. Rich didn't win, but he had fun. I was in bed by 9:30 or 10 most nights, but I was fairly proud of myself for being able to get up & down the hill to the lake, and for managing to be social, too.
And we got to see my brother quite a bit, and to spend an evening with my aunt and uncle who live on the other side of the lake. On Saturday morning, my nephews flew in from Minneapolis to have breakfast with us, which made us later getting on the road to the cats but was a lovely surprise. I was feeling guilty about how much that must have cost in aviation fuel, but found out Brian's new job wants him flying their plane just to get his hours in, and they don't make him pay for the gas. Yay!
Really, it was a great vacation. And I'm very glad I was able to get my chemo, too. If nothing else, it should make me appreciate my home hospital more. :)
I have actual *color* on my skin from seeing sunshine. Which should last about 15 more minutes...
Hope you all have a good week!
Did I mention that I'm finally reading the Harry Potter series, now that it's no longer a work-in-progress? I took the first three books with me, and went through them in two days. Then I had to hit up my nephew, Justin, for his copy of #4. Finished that thanks to chemo...
We scheduled my weekly chemo treatment at a hospital about an hour from our vacation cottage. Despite giving everyone involved *lots* of notice (more than a month), everything was very last-minute. I only heard from the insurance company a few days before we left, telling me they'd cover the treatment at the "out of network" rate. Which leaves me on the hook for whatever the hospital wants to call "reasonable and customary" service fees, it seems. I was ready to back out and skip the week, but Richie was speaking to his sister about it and she offered to help us if it exceeds the $600 or so that I have left in my pre-tax medical account for the year. It would be Rich's sister and one of his brothers (the only one who actually has money), who have both been wanting to help us out since this all started up again. And, as you guys have taught me, it's good to let people help.
In a more annoying manner, the doctor who had to examine me to authorize the chemo infusion obviously hadn't looked at the information my hospital/doctor sent until he was ready to walk in the room and see me. They'd oh-so-helpfully listed not only the pre-meds I actually get (three drugs), but anything they'd ever given me before or during chemo -- even the emergency stuff when I had an allergic reaction two years ago. Oh, and they listed every form the drugs come in -- iv, capsule, different dosages. So his first words to me were: "They give you all this every time?" And then I had to try to figure out what I actually get. Not that he was willing/ready to give me that. Their hospital has "our own protocols."
Their "protocols" include moving VERY slowly, so what should have been a two hour visit turned into a five hour endurance test. Of course, being in the North Woods of Wisconsin, everyone was *very* friendly. So I felt like a beast if I got impatient, but I was rather angry (and hungry, I'll admit that affects me, too). They told me to arrive an hour before my scheduled doctor appointment for blood tests. Then I waited 45 minutes before they sent someone to draw the blood, and was told it would be an hour before the results were back. Which meant the doctor probably wouldn't see me or authorize the chemo for another hour, because that's why they take a cbc.
Of course, they *didn't* just draw blood for a cbc, they ordered other (unnecessary!) tests. So that my insurance company and I can pay for them, I suppose. And then I had to get into a gown for the doctor, so we can be charged for an exam instead of just authorizing the damn chemo...
Rich kept me calm. But I had a miserable, skipped-breakfast-for-the-blood-tests headache and there was no time to go looking for food. And then the pre-meds, the anti-nausea drugs and such, which usually take 10 minutes to infuse, took over an hour. They gave me the three drugs one by one, instead of all at once... Such nice, friendly people. So very slow! No matter how pretty the view was -- and it was cool that their chemo chairs all have windows, instead of being in a hallway -- I still didn't want to be spending the day there. I kept reading Goblet of Fire and tried to keep my mouth shut.
Of course, Thursday was one of the nicest days we had all week, weather-wise.
However, I managed to get a dunk in the lake that afternoon, once we got home and Rich fed me.
Rich, by the way, was also immersing himself in a book series, Stephen King's Dark Tower series (which I read back in April thanks to some friends who loaned us the books). So we had a fairly literary week. When it was too cloudy or cold to be in the water, we sat by the lake reading and watching the loons and eagles. Or watching the loonies from the other cottages who were still splashing about.
We had campfires almost every night, except Tuesday when it rained. Thursday was also fireless, because they had a poker tournament in one of the other cottages. Rich didn't win, but he had fun. I was in bed by 9:30 or 10 most nights, but I was fairly proud of myself for being able to get up & down the hill to the lake, and for managing to be social, too.
And we got to see my brother quite a bit, and to spend an evening with my aunt and uncle who live on the other side of the lake. On Saturday morning, my nephews flew in from Minneapolis to have breakfast with us, which made us later getting on the road to the cats but was a lovely surprise. I was feeling guilty about how much that must have cost in aviation fuel, but found out Brian's new job wants him flying their plane just to get his hours in, and they don't make him pay for the gas. Yay!
Really, it was a great vacation. And I'm very glad I was able to get my chemo, too. If nothing else, it should make me appreciate my home hospital more. :)
I have actual *color* on my skin from seeing sunshine. Which should last about 15 more minutes...
Hope you all have a good week!