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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Day One Report

Thanks for the words of support. I cannot reply in the comments section given my limited access to a decent screen and internet. Yes I will get through this giant sore. It will heal but the reality is I am in for a long haul--months in fact. I must be better as last night I wanted a beer, a sure sign I am not depressed. The obstacles I face now are insurance and money. Insurance will not cover the cost of a special bed or the KCI wound vacuuum. I cannot go home without either. In perverse insurance logic wound care is covered but not the equipment needed. This makes no sense and I have been repeatedly told my insurance sucks. Tell me something I don't already know. Frankly what people here miss is that I am lucky to have any insurance given that I am self employed.

Today will be more calls and more frustration. Each day I realize with greater clarity how effectively people with disabilities have been cut off from access to good insurance and adequate health care. High tech skin care exists, wound care specialists are gifted and yet accessing this care is deeply problematic. My existence is proof great care can be had but that care is not dictated by medical need but money. As long as I am in the hospital my care and healing is not in doubt. Going home is another story. This will be a long saga, one that has not yet begun. I will need to ask for help, lots of it. I suck at asking for help and am even worse at being dependent upon others.

Where does my wound stand? My right hip is better. The wound is starting to fill in so progress has begun. My left hip has a small sore, the result of being off my right side too much in compensation. Most importantly my skin everywhere else remains intact. As for my spirits, they are down but I remain resolute. I read all the time, and never ever ask for help. I never ring the calll bell for the nurse--or I have done so just twice. This more than any other variable leads to good nursing care. That's all for today as I have much to work on to get home.

6 comments:

imfunnytoo said...

I may not have commented here before...but this really struck me since I used to work in insurance...what they will cover, won't cover, here is the bias toward leaving people inpatient when outpatient would be cheaper and make more sense. My roomate had wound care outpatient coverage and I think it was one of the reasons they survived a life threatening abcess.
I'll be following your journey, and wish you the best.

Stephen Drake said...

Hi Bill,

I just found your first post this on your current situation this morning. I was both relieved and concerned to find out what's happening. It explained the unanswered email and why no one was home when I called - I feared something not good was up.

Please let me know if there's anything I can do. Along that line - in a small way - would you like me to link your blog posts on your Facebook page? That way everyone on your friend list there will see them.

Stephen Drake said...

D'Oh! Just realized you said you couldn't comment here. If you can let me know one way or another what I could do or if you want your blog posts on your FB page. Don't know if you have your email address book handy, but you can reach me at sndrake at aol.com

Eric Fischer said...

As a health practitioner for 20 years I want to recommend you have a look at the following link:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3977/is_200403/ai_n9366183/
It is just an overview; Arginine for wound healing has been around for a long time, standard practice in England.
The short of it is you should be getting (intravenous) L-Arginine for your pressure sore.
Hope you are already getting it though and wish you strength to get through this difficult time!

Eric Fischer said...

Ask the wound healing specialist about IGF (insulin growth factor) as well!

grey-blue cat said...

Bill, you probably don't know me (I checked out your blog via Stephen Drake's NDY blog), my name is Charlie. I can relate to the long hospital stay (I spent the better part of two and a half years in various civilian and military hospitals in the mid 80's) and my thoughts will be with you as you travel this part of your journey. It sounds as if you are a tough fela, and it is my hope and desire that this is resolved soon and well. I am not a very religious person but I do believe that each individual's personal faith can be a rock to anchor them in a storm. Best wishes, Charlie B