2009-06-18

The hits just keep on coming

It's a pity party, and you're all invited.

When I picked up my son's medication as we got him out of the hospital, the total bill was close to $500 for a month's worth. I figured they were just having issues with insurance and I'd just need to resubmit the claim later. In any case, it wasn't something I could worry about or negotiate at that time — the treatment required keeping the level of medication in his blood stable, and we needed the pills then. Well, I finally got around to calling my insurance carrier to see what was up.

Here's what's up: that medication isn't covered. The price, unfortunately, is what it is.

D'oh.

A couple weeks ago, a tornado passed really close to our house. We didn't have any damage from the twister, thankfully (in fact, it did surprisingly little damage for touching down in the middle of a shopping mall, causing no injuries). However, there was golfball-sized hail. We have an insurance adjuster coming to look at our roof to inspect for hail damage on Monday. If repair work needs to be done, it's covered, just with a $1000 deductible. Which could be a lot worse, but it's an expense when I don't need any more expenses.

And, my glasses broke this morning. I got these frames that were supposed to be made of this indestructible flexible alloy, and the frames have in fact held up well. The problem is, the screw on the hinge is held in place by this flimsy piece of wire that's barely soldered on to the indestructible frame. This same hinge actually broke twice on me. The first time, it happened so quickly as to still be under warranty that I could have the frames replaced. Not so, this time.

Fortunately, my older pair is still in great shape, and my previous prescription isn't that much different, so getting a new pair is something that doesn't need to happen immediately.

And, I just got a call from my wife, who is right now taking my son (the one with the $500/month medication) to the doctor's office with sharp, stabbing pains in his stomach.

4 comments:

Th3Guns1ing3r said...

Cyber,

I had the TV on in the hotel room last week while trying to work, and Mystery Diagnosis was on Discovery. They had a woman on there whose early symptoms made me think of you and your son, mainly with unexplained severe abdominal pain. Over the years, the symptoms grew to include other things. The disease, Porphyria, is genetic, but can also be caused by some toxins. Anyway, it had to be tested for exclusively as it wasn't picked up by general blood screenings. If you haven't seen the episode, you can probably find it online. Here is the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyria

Wishing your son and your family the best.

Unknown said...

Ditto what Slinger said... hoping for the best man.

Yakko Warner said...

Update on my son: Severe constipation. Doc prescribed a laxative (same one he had in the hospital). He'll be fine. *whew*

Spencer said...

Strong medications can often cause that sort of thing. Glad he's doing better.

STOP HAVING WEIRD STUFF HAPPEN TO YOU.