End of the Year Surprise
I received a call on Dec 30 about scheduling my gallbladder surgery. Initially, it was to be scheduled on Jan 7, which would have cost me a ton of money. I told the lady scheduling the surgery that I might not be able to meet the out-of-pocket costs since my deductible would be $2500 plus co-pays. I told her to go ahead and schedule me since I might be able to pull a rabbit out of my butt and have the money before the surgery.
And then, a miracle happened. Someone cancelled for the 31rst. The last possible day for me to avoid a huge bill. The time of day was less than ideal for having diabetes (1 pm check in) but I was elated! I called all of the people that needed to know about such things and had them arrange to be my support team.
As I expected, I got a call in the morning from the surgeon himself asking me to get down to the hospital post haste. Carl rose to the occasion and helped me do the pre-op scrub down, and then we were off.
I had my gallbladder taken out, it didn't cost me anything out of pocket, and I should start feeling better in a couple of days.
There was a couple of surprise findings, though. For one, my liver is much much bigger than the surgeon expected based on blood tests, images, and other factors. And secondly, those same tests all said I didn't have gallstones, but apparently I had the kind that don't show up on sonograms. My poor gallbladder and common bile duct were just eaten up with these clear, stones. I have been ill for a while, and any time I complained of the symptoms I was having, I was brushed off.
And now, I am just waiting for my guts to wake up from the anesthesia so the fluids I've been sipping to alleviate the dehydration will leave my sore stomach and actually rehydrate me.
And then, a miracle happened. Someone cancelled for the 31rst. The last possible day for me to avoid a huge bill. The time of day was less than ideal for having diabetes (1 pm check in) but I was elated! I called all of the people that needed to know about such things and had them arrange to be my support team.
As I expected, I got a call in the morning from the surgeon himself asking me to get down to the hospital post haste. Carl rose to the occasion and helped me do the pre-op scrub down, and then we were off.
I had my gallbladder taken out, it didn't cost me anything out of pocket, and I should start feeling better in a couple of days.
There was a couple of surprise findings, though. For one, my liver is much much bigger than the surgeon expected based on blood tests, images, and other factors. And secondly, those same tests all said I didn't have gallstones, but apparently I had the kind that don't show up on sonograms. My poor gallbladder and common bile duct were just eaten up with these clear, stones. I have been ill for a while, and any time I complained of the symptoms I was having, I was brushed off.
And now, I am just waiting for my guts to wake up from the anesthesia so the fluids I've been sipping to alleviate the dehydration will leave my sore stomach and actually rehydrate me.