or the lack of it!
This is a rant because I'm so mad and frustrated I want to cry.
My daughter in law has a mass in her lower abdomen. I sent her to a doctor here in Columbia, with a blank, signed check on me, to pay for whatever they had to do, and they wouldn't see her because she doesn't have insurance. What kind of crap is that! Is insurance better than cash? Well, we finally got a doctor here at home to see her, and they did x-rays and ultrasound, but can't tell what it is. They set up an appointment at LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, 3 hours from here. I took her over there today, because her mother said she couldn't take off work. The poor child is terrified that she has cancer, and needed her Mom, not her mother in law. But, I'm all she had so... We get there and drive around for 30minutes trying to figure out how to park. All the lots were gated and required an access code. We did NOT have an access code, and have no idea where you would get one, so we finally found a pay by the hour lot about a 1/4 mile from the clinic. It was over 90 degrees today, but we walked over there, sat for an hour, only to have them tell her, no, they won't see her because she doesn't have a photo ID.
She doesn't have one, because her mother left her birth certificate AND her social security card in her purse, in an unlocked car, and guess what! Her purse was stolen! This was over a year ago and she hasn't gotten a copy yet! The hospital where she was born says her BC was never signed, so they won't give out a copy without proof of parenthood. She was adopted, and doesn't even know her real mother. Her adoptive Father lost the adoption papers! I swear to you, I want to choke the living shit out of her family, if you can call them that.
This afternoon, after the day from Hell, her mother calls to say she did get a copy of the adoption papers and will TRY to get her birth cert.
But get this, we walk ALL the way back to the truck, pay to leave the parking lot, and WHAM! I'm rear-ended! AGAIN! It's not a really hard hit and I pull up to exit the lot and stop to check my truck, and the poor woman hits a pole. Her brakes had failed, so when I pulled up her car took off again, and to keep from hitting me again, she hits a fence post! I was so hot, tired, and aggravated by the health care crap, that I just told her not to worry about it. We managed to get her car out of the way of traffic in the lot, and I left. My brakes have failed before, so I know it happens, and it's scary. Now I get to buy a new rollpan(specialized bumper that tucks under the tailgate, for you non-car people!:) and get it painted, again.
I feel like crying!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
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16 comments:
When it rains it POURS!
The system sucks.
SO sorry Tammy. I hope it gets better for you!
I so hope you get a decent health care bill passed in your country. Its so odd that a first world country like the USA has a 3rd world health care system, where decent healthcare is not available to every citizen.
Hope you have a better day tommorrow.
Ginga,
You said it just perfect. We should make bumper stickers that say "USA- A 1st world country with a 3rd world health care system." It's because people here are so AFRAID of CHANGE. It makes me so angry that the people in this country care more and spend more time reading about movie starts and stupid gossip than they do about things that MATTER. Like healthcare! If people cared enough to find out what universal healthcare really IS, most people would totally be for it! Conservatives keep trying to use socialism as a fear tactic. It pisses me off so much! Just because we would have universal healthcare doesn't make us a socialist country! Jeez! it isn't the damn 50's, forget about communism already! Do you truly honestly think it's a threat?! Besides, what's wrong with taking parts of other governments that WORK and using them to benefit our own system. Not everything about democracy works, either, and it's obvious by the position we're in right now!
And then, people say stupid things like "well, look at how those other countries have to WAIT for things with universal healthcare." Um, what DON'T you wait for here? You can't get ANYTHING done without it being approved by the insurance companies! And they have to APPROVE you, like THEY can tell what a patient needs! If Tammy's example isn't enough, there are people who have to wait, or not even GET treatment they need because of insurance. My husband works in the medical field and has to put up with this crap ALL the time. People are so scared of having the government control healthcare, but the money-hungry insurance companies are much worse! I'd like to also remind those government-fearing people that our schools, police and fire departments, libraries, and several other programs that you take advantage of daily are controlled by the government! Also, a democracy is controlled by the people. What does this mean? Stop fearing your government, you are in control! They should fear YOU!
People in this country have to live their lives around the fact that they need health insurance. How INSANE is that?! People have jobs they hate because if they don't work they won't have healthcare. We only do it because it's just "how it is" but it doesn't HAVE to be! Again, no one seems to want to be inconvenienced to do what it takes to make changes in our country. I thought we were a democracy so things like this wouldn't happen? Ignorance, ignorance, ignorance!
Stop fearing change and be willing to try something new! Our system now sucks, and we KNOW it doesn't work. Maybe the new one won't be perfect either, but you have to start somewhere and THEN make more changes! No system should ever just stay the same anyway! Everything should be changing all the time to meet the needs of the country's people!
So sorry about my tangent. Tammy, your story broke my heart and makes me so sick and furious. I will be praying for your daughter-in-law and she is very lucky to have you and your family. Please let us know how everything turns out.
I'll keep your family in my thoughts. I'm sure she's scared & really doesn't need extraneous crap to worry about. You're a wonderful MIL, she's very lucky! ;-)
Sending good Karma your way.
Oh Tammy.
I kept reading - thinking it Must get better and the ending of this would be a turn-around. You know, if this was a screenplay, it would be turned back as just too much.
I will say a prayer for you and your family that everything's going to be good- How fortunate your DiL is to have you in her life. It's just so sad...
Keep us informed -
I so sorry about your day!! yes our healthcare sucks and people hate change. My mom has medicare and is on diability and still pays 200. a month on her perscripts and has about a 40% lung capacity and medicare won't pay to have someone come in a help her out, running errands, cleaning her house, scrubbing her tub. The stuff she can't do cause she can't breath. She only gets about 900. a month on her ssi disablity so she cannot afford to pay someone herself. I total hear your frustrations!! Sounds like her mom needs to get her act together!!
Sooo sorry. You're a wonderful MIL to do all of that for DIL. She's a lucky, lucky girl to have you. I hope verything turns out OK. I can't believe you're having so much trouble getting health care. It's ridiculous.
Pam
Thank you all so much for your concern and caring! I need all the prayers and support I can get.
Oh Tammy. All I can say is I am sorry. Wow, what a day. That was a serious poop storm.
hugs
Oh Tammy, I just want to give you and your DIL a hug and make it better. It's not like you're asking for freebies~it's truly obscene that you're willing to pay and they still won't see her. Saying a prayer that this is all resolved soon and in the end, that she's ok.
This Country
NEEDS
TO
WAKE
UP!!!
I probably would have lost it after that kind of day; went downtown ~ barged into the Mayors office and gone from there!
Thinking about it makes my stomach burn!
For heavens sake ~ give yrself permission to cry! Or you'll end up with a stomach like me.
*Hugs*
ahhhh tammy what a mess....
i pray this gets figured out and all is well
So sorry for what you went through Tammy. And yes healthcare here sucks BIG time. I suffer from many health issues, and often end up going to urgent care or Emergency...and just sit there and cry often. I'll be in a LOT of pain, and no one will care to see me for at least 2-4 hours. This really sucks.
I feel for your daughter-in-law about how her family is treating her. But she is really lucky she has an awesome MIL who cares so much for her!!
Wow Tammy, cry all you want. Sometimes we REALLY need to vent. You had quite a day. (I can TOTALLY relate to having a non-mother...as the years go by I realize how good it is I was not raised by her) however this is about you, and you did have a day from hell! The healthcare system has Got to change! No one should be turned away...and your story hilites how scary it can get.
I hope your DIL is okay. Hang in there!
Cry all you want girl! (I hope it helps to know that you are a true hero by being an amazing role model for your DIL!!!)
Any updates sweetie?? Been thinking about you and your daughter in law. Hugs!!
Oh Tammy that is horrible! I can relate though - when I was a student in the US, I couldn't afford healthcare insurance either so there were places I was absolutely terrified to visit when I was ill. However, I am thankful that there -was- one doctor who saw me anyway when I hurt my back very badly, insurance or not. She just let me pay cash for it.
Many hugs and prayers for you and your daughter-in-law - she is so lucky to have such a wonderful MIL (and yes, cry if you want to! I've been doing a lot of that lately...)
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