Well, it looks like we are coming out of our “emergency” situation with husband’s shoulder. No, it is not that he is better, but rather that he can mostly deal with it. Last weekend he decided that he should try to get back to his normal routine. We had dinner out on Friday night. We ended up at Wendys and he ordered and carried the tray. When we have gone for lunch, I have had to go up and order and carry the tray - although for the lunches since then, I have been ordering and carrying the tray again. Saturday night we went to Ikea for dinner and then the movies. We have not gone to the movies since he hurt his shoulder - and normally we go every Saturday night. Sunday we even went to one of the Asian buffets we go to for dinner. I can touch his arm again without him screaming in pain. I have pushed him to open doors to different businesses we go to and he can open some, but some are too heavy for his shoulder. Biggest problem continues to be the seat belt sitting on shoulder when he drives.
We missed another reenactment event this past weekend. It was a new event and it all sounded complicated - since we were coming late everything we brought would have to be carried in. No parking for the event and looking at the map - we would be parking on residential streets on the far side of a wide main road, that we would then have to cross back - with our stuff - with no traffic light to help us. We would therefore have to travel very light. No bringing even our smaller box bench as it would be too heavy for me to carry - he certainly could not without much pain and making his shoulder worse. We would have to use the reproduction folding stools we have. (Husband made them.) Not a problem normally, but I knew it would be a problem for him right now. So I had him try one - the look on his face said it all. We got a piece of board from the garage workshop and he tried that across the stool - he said it was maybe okay. In the end we decided not to go. From the report on the event it was not a major loss. It is just that he feels that is he is giving in and weak as does he is not doing things
This has continued to be a week of dealing with medical things. I am hard to get blood from during a blood test. The nurse last week was good - I barely felt the needle. When I took off the bandaid when we got home, I was surprised at the bruising where she had done the test, but knew it would go away. Over the weekend we went to Costco and husband found a new canned soup that he wanted. We bought the 8 pack of soup and a small bottle of vitamins which were in a cart. I hate the Costco carts as they are too tall for me to push comfortably and when we walked out of the store I picked up the soup and handed him the vitamins with him protesting all the way about my carrying the “heavy”soup. The weather has been cold here and I have been wearing a long sleeved sweatshirt over my tee shirt. Sunday night when I suddenly was hot and took of the sweatshirt I saw that rather than healing, the bruise area had gotten larger. Of course husband looked it up and said that it was due to carrying heavy items - “see, you should not have carried the soup”. So I am waiting for my arm to be back to normal.
Wednesday we went to the doctor for our regular appointment. All went well, Doctor checked husband’s shoulder and said maybe another month to 6 weeks and it should be okay or we will “see” what else needs to be done - probably nothing.
Now, our state put in a new law maybe last year. Rather than writing out prescriptions and handing them to us, all prescriptions for people (as opposed to veterinarian ones for animals) have to be sent directly by the doctor to the pharmacy. This may be great for helping prevent and deal with addiction, but has been a nightmare for us in dealing with our prescriptions. I keep our prescriptions organized. We are given them 3 months worth at a time. I keep those bottles in our downstairs bathroom (no shower or bath tub to make it steam). I have smaller bottles in the kitchen cabinet. When I use up all the medications in a kitchen bottle, I count out 30 days worth from the ones in the bathroom into the ones in the kitchen and I make a mark on the lid of the bathroom bottle. It helps me keep track of how much medication we have left.
With the new system of no written prescriptions not only do we not see what has been sent through to make sure it is correct, the pharmacy automatically fills all of the prescriptions . Often we don’t need all of them filled and we have to stand there while one of the pharmacy employee wastes time reversing the ones we don’t need. (I am not upset with the pharmacy or their personnel - they go above and beyond as will be shown.) So this time I told husband that I was just going to take all the refills now - even if we don’t need them yet - except for his insulin. (The insulin has to be refrigerated or is only good for 42 days. We have a mostly full box and did not want a second box in the house in case of hurricane and no refrigerator.)
When we got to the pharmacy I explained this and it was no problem not to fill the insulin. We then walked around the store. Husband for some reason was not having a good day with his arm. I offered for us to go home and I would come back for the prescriptions - or they could wait until the next day (today). He insisted on staying. He settled on the bench near the pharmacy to wait.
The prescriptions were almost ready and we waited. Then we were called and I went up to get them. I had added up in my head that they should cost between $30 and $40 so when it rang up for $57 - I was shocked. I went over to husband and we while he checked that the medications were the correct ones, I looked at the charge card receipt - my medications had been rung up at the rate from my old insurance. I switched insurance as of this month - I used to buy my meds off the old insurance as doing so was cheaper - and had purposely brought the cards in a couple of weeks ago so the change would be on file. It was not. One of the employees researched it and switched it over to the new insurance and it’s lower rate. But to do this she had to take out half the pills in 2 of them as I take a half a pill not a whole pill and the insurance would only allow 45 pills for the 90 days, not the 90 pills I had been getting. Okay, I understand. I really appreciated the attention and time the employee put into this - and she was standing on crutches having been hurt in some way, so I felt really bad. She rebottled the pills and gave me a refund for the overpayment. My credit card slip for the original purchase had gone astray on their end during all of this and the search for it was close to 10 minutes before it was found. I was at the point that I had asked if they could just give me a reprint and employee was about to check - when it was found. I thanked her profusely and we came home - 2 hours gone. When I got home I realized that we were charge for the needles for husband’s insulin three times as much as it has been cost before.
We also get test strips to use in our Diabetes meters. When at the pharmacy yesterday, they told us that the doctor’s office had not included a diagnosis code and that we should call to have it resent to them. I did so this morning. This afternoon we went in and discussed the price of the strips - apparently he had been under billed in the past and this amount was correct. When they ran through my test strips they came up for almost $50. They are suppose to be free. I know from when husband switched to this insurance that the first time they charged him $5 and then when it was processed through, the $5 was refunded - but $50? Also they only had enough to fill one of our prescriptions. I had them fill husband’s prescription and I will have to call our insurance company to find out what is going on with the billing for my strips before I get them. I again thanked the employee (same one as yesterday). This all went much smoother when husband switched his medical insurance last year.
Since husband was doing better - even if he does not think he is - and I knew that he could go out for lunch on his own, I told him that I am going to my client tomorrow as I have work that has to be done there - I did not make it there last month for other reasons and this month is quickly running out. (Plus I would like to get paid - we can use the money.) He was not happy, but understood. I told him that I would take our van so he could have the car as it is easier for him to deal with the door and seatbelt in the car. I know the van can fit in the municipal garage I park in as I have taken it there before. He insisted he would be happier if I had the car and he will deal with the van. So I called the client and I am going to work tomorrow. Something I normally look forward to, but am too tired to do so this month. (Oh, I need an extension cord for this client -and it is a special one as it has a flat plug as the outlet is behind a safe. I could not of course find this cord when packing this afternoon to go to work tomorrow - it is kept in my brief case. I finally found out that “the teddies in my little village had borrowed it”, okay, I had grabbed it to use for them until I got one for the village and forgot about it!)
Laundry is behind as we don’t want me carrying it upstairs and he can’t. I have not changed the bedding since he became ill as he has his pillows as needs them (which changes at times) and we don’t want to move them out of position. So I have gotten a lot of undone paperwork done, but other things are falling behind.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Know what your medical insurance covers and what it costs. Don’t be afraid to make sure that you get what you are entitled to or ask to have something changed to what you are entitled to. In the past we have had a blood pressure medication changed by the doctor at our request as one goes on a formulary and another goes off - they are the same category of medication.
Also if you are picking new medical insurance - and this is the time of year that happens - make sure that any medications or other prescription items that you take are on the formulary (list of covered medications) that the new company has.
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