It has been some time since my bloody nose adventures started at the end of April. I am very thankful that I have not had a reoccurrence of my bloody nose. I am also very thankful for all of the e-mails of support as well as the very gracious donations that have been made to me. You guys truly are the best!
So why a “part 2” if there have been no problems?
Ah, glad you asked. You see, now comes the moment of truth, or in other words, the bills!
At the moment, my insurance company is performing a “prior condition” investigation. I’m not sure why since this is the first time I’ve claimed for any major medical event. I did have one E.R. visit in 1995 for a bloody nose, but it was NOTHING like this and was patched up in short order. The good news is that this has delayed the bills I’m to receive for the $928 ambulance ride, the ~$700 hospital visit in Boulder, and the roughly few thousand dollar dual hospital visit in Aurora. This has allowed me to sell off a large chunk of my anime collection on eBay, go on a tight budget, take some donations (thanks to you guys! ^_^), and try to sell some additional anime for profit on eBay (this is stuff either donated to me or stuff I bought expressly to sell for profit).
Once the investigation is over, I should start seeing the “here’s what we will/won’t pay” letters from my insurance company followed by the bills from the various medical places.
This is only the beginning, however. As you might expect, I had to see the doctor (or rather, doctors since I had to see two of them) many times over the past couple of months. I believe my insurance has covered all of those visits save for the normal $20 co-pay plus a $250 deductible for my first visit to the Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor. The act of walking into his door was $120 of which I paid $20 for the co-pay. But to remove the double-packing in both my nostrils ran me another $580. None of the hospital bills have been processed by my insurance company leaving me with $1500 to blow for special procedures…minus the $250 deductible. So I immediately owe $250. Since insurance only covers a percentage of the bill, I ended up owing $330. This is the first bill to come in.
A few visits later, I was sent down the street to get a catscan. Cost? $950. I haven’t seen how much of that the insurance company is going to cover (if any).
After looking over my catscans, the doctor told me I needed surgery on my nose. My sinus problems come from a deviated septum, some additional tissue in the right side of my nose which needs to be removed (correcting these two problems will allow me to breath like a normal person for the first time since I can remember), and “something” at the back of the right side of my nose, which the doctor claims is the source of all my sinus infections.
I have to tell you, the thought of being able to breath properly through my nose is exciting! I was on a nasal steroid for roughly 10-years to keep my right air passage semi-open, but that same steroid may have been a factor in my bloody nose. Even if it wasn’t, using the steroid was only a stop-gap measure and never fixed the problem. This surgery should do so (I say “should” because as the disclaimer I signed said, there are no guarantees that this will in-fact fix my problem).
So even though I figure it will be expensive, I said to myself, “what the heck?”
The doctor’s assistant came in with all the paperwork. She explained everything that would happen. On a Wednesday, I’d come to the medical center to have the operation. Since I’m single and live VERY far away from friends and family, I would be required to stay overnight in the hospital. Since the operation is done in the afternoon and I won’t be in the hospital for 24-hours, it doesn’t count on the insurance books as a “stay” but rather as an outpatient procedure. Whatever.
My nostril would be packed again (ugh!) and that would get removed a day or so later. A week later I’d be back at work and my nose should be working fine. Needless to say, I’m excited.
That is, I was excited until she came to the cost — some $20,000 grand total when everything is factored in.
Talk about coming down off of a high. My balloon burst and I fell to earth in many small rubber fragments. The assistant was surprised when she learned of the true nature of my insurance coverage. The nice thing is that they’ll do the surgery whenever I get the money or better insurance (that is assuming the new insurance company decides not to pay).
So that’s where things stand now. I’m selling anime on eBay to continue to raise cash. I’ll be selling my comic book collection sometime in the near future. And of course, I’m always happy to take donations. ^_^;;;
I’ll keep you posted.