Bowel Obstruction Update - by Lisey herself!

 Lisey, I was away this weekend so I missed the news of your BO. I'm so sorry you went through this, but relieved that it was discovered and you are okay!

Hugs to you!

 Wow, Lisa!  I'm so glad you got this taken care of... I know the financial part is scary, but it will all work out!  I'd take it easy on the work thing... I know its tough, but you need to recover and get some strength back.

Glad this has had a happy ending!  And thanks to your sister for updating us!

Lisey,

I'm so glad they caught the bowel obstruction and that the ER doctor listened to you! 

The Urgent Care people should of done more and it sucks that they didn't even look! You'd think symptoms of a bowel obstruction would fall under URGENT CARE. I'm glad the doctor is writing them a letter!

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Lisey, glad to see you update & hear that you are okay! & that the powers that be aligned you with someone who knows DS.  Dr Wu is in the same practice as my surgeon. 
 
I agree that you should take the 2 weeks off.  What is another week in the large scale of things?
I think you will definitely need it. 

~ Becky

Thankfully, my boss immediately & whole-heartedly agreed with me.  I told him that I thought 1 wk would be appropriate for someone with a desk job, but given the fast paced environment, quick pivoting, turning, lifting, bending, that 2 wks would be better.  In the process of saying this, he actually interrupted me to tell me exactly that!  Again, God is good!

Happy you are here and feeling well enough to update.  You had us scared there for a minute.

Heal fast!

Michele

Thanks Michelle! 

Whew! So glad that you are doing fine.

Please contact the hospital's financial office, there are assistance programs available to help subsidize bills for uninsured patients.

Thanks :)  I told the nurse on discharge & she gave me the # to the hospital's financial counselor.  I called them today & they're sending me out a care packet program, which I will hopefully qualify for. 

I think a bigger concern at this point, b/c I think I probably will qualify for the hospital's program, is all the specialists fees.  From what I understand, their fees are separate from the hospital b/c  they contract services with the hospital, but aren't their actual employees.  That means I have to worry about the dr & radiologist at urgent care (that were useless), the ER dr at the hospital, the DS surgeon, the radiologist at the hospital & the anesthesiologist.

When I made a f/u appt with the DS surgeon, I talked with his staff about my concern & told her I didn't have insurance & she said that chances were that Dr. Wu (DS dr) would give me a sizable discount on his fees for surgery & she guessed that most of the other specialists would as well.  I sure hope so!!!  I had insurance for 6 yrs straight, but it expired on 5/31/10.  I started my new job 6/14 & my new job's ins policy is you need to work an average of 40 hours/wk for 3 months to qualify for health insurance.  I'm not even close given it was a new business opening, so the first month was part time & it's only been the last 4 wks that's actually been full time.

Any suggestions on the specialists fees?  I assume just explain the situation & ask for a discount, right?

Thanks!

Yup, the specialists and the lab work are usually billed separately. After you've filled out the care packet forms, copy it and any bills/documentation they have you provide. When you get in another bill, send the copies to them and ask them how they can help you.

You may be surprised to find that some doctors may waive their fee entirely. *fingers crossed*

In any case, debt collection laws are different for medical bills. As long as you are paying something each month (say $5-$10.00), they can't take a judgment out on you. (my info on this is old, double check the laws in your state)

Don't worry too much about this, things will work out. What's important is that you are ok and getting better.