What my hip is worth???!!!

OK so I was going through all my insurance paper work tonight (yes don't be jealous of my Friday night fun...oh whatever I will be in Cali in a few days making up for it) and I started getting curious about how much it costs to have something happen to you that is physically beyond your control. I did not injure my hip/ have an accident just a case of bad luck w/ an "abnormal" body part.....well how much does that bad luck cost....let's just say I feel very lucky to have insurance.....very very lucky!!! So here's the breakdown......

Initial ER Visit: 3,932

SURGERY #1
New patient Dr. Apt: $537
x-rays: $537
cortisone injection: $763
Arthrogram Mri:$2,129
Dr visit: $288
Dr visit: $288
Nerve Testing for my foot (damage from surgery): $3,100
Pain Clinic Dr Apt: $205
Pain Clinic Dr Apt: $437
Hip injection w/ Anesthesia: $2,291
Anesthesia for surgery: $1,595
Hospital fees for supplies.meds, and tests/labs: $5,192
Respiratory Supplies/tests: $951
Hospital Stay Plus Surgery: $30,953
Dr visit: $236
Another Mri Arthrogram: $2,129
X-ray's $76
Dr. visit @ Baptist: $350
x-ray @Baptist: $314
x-ray:$76



SURGERY #2
Initial visit w/ Dr. :$373
Cortisone Hip injection: $1,888
Office Visit# 1: $96
Lab Work:$ 105
Cortisone injection: $1,717
Cortisone injection: $1,888
Dr. Visit: $145
Arthrogram and MRI: $2,129
Dr. Visit:$165
Anesthesia: $1,430
Lab Work Day of Surgery: 162
Hospital Stay: $8,456.42
Surgery $5,500


Physical Therapy (so far) $10,093
Tens Unit/Estim Kit: $832

GRAND TOTAL (so far): $91,358...woah seriously for that much money I think my hip should have super powers...seriously!

**This amount is not including Visiting Nurses, Pt, and OT as well as my stay in the Nursing Home (have not received those statements yet), or all my out of pocket co-payments,all my meds,or how much work I have missed due to all of this. Crazy! Not really sure what to make of all this info....

5 Weeks Out...come along for the ride

It has been a weird week this week..it's been a roller coaster ride that I would like to get off of.....now!. My emotions have been all over the place. Frustration that I am still in a lot of pain as well as the feeling of sadness that I just spent the last 60 days in pain and on bed rest( It feels like I just lost 60 days of my life)...I know that in the grand scheme of things 60 days isn't a huge amount of time, but being in pain constantly as well as not living your normal daily life can do a number on your psyche. I decided at the end of the week that I have grieved my circumstances, and my 60 days lost ,and now I need to suck it up and move on.....bring on the positive vibes!

The reason I am even mentioning this is that I feel when people go through surgery the physical pain is always the topic of discussion not the emotional pain, and trust me it is a blend of both that has made this week a rough one. I want to stay positive ,but constant pain can wear you down . Also losing a lot of my independence do to being on crutches (just showering and making lunch becomes a whole production that can tire me out. I am sick of feeling like I am 80 years old..(not that there is anything wrong w/ being 80 but at 34 you don't strive for that 80 year old feeling...that time I am saving for my future ...down the road...way down the road). Also I am feeling angry at my hip..pissed off that it is messing w/ my life! I don't want to be having a pity party for myself, because that doesn't get you anywhere ,but i think it is OK to grieve your situation ,be angry at it ,but then you got to move on, so i feel that is what this past week has been for me. Also being on pain medication ..while very helpful for my actual pain (and has got me through the past 5 weeks) can also mess with your emotions it just make you feel not like yourself which adds to the roller coaster ride I talked about at the start of this post. Bottom line: surgery #2 recovery has just been more painful for me physically and emotionally..I hope the final results will be worth the pain!

Well now the positive parts:

pos #1: I have definitely gotten faster on my crutches...now I am not just saying this to show off that I am super stealth on crutches (which I am ;) )....I feel being faster on crutches means my hip is healing and that is why I can move around better....which in turn may be that my time on crutches may be getting closer to coming to an end!

pos#2: I am showering w/ out help...having strangers shower you is not as exciting as one might think....please trust me on this;)

pos#3: On our one nice day outside I did get to sit on the bench in front of my house to catch some much needed vitamin D and I did some walking w/ my crutches on my sidewalk..which felt damn good! My new "vampire chic" look may be coming to an end! Don't get me wrong I mean I am still keeping my hair black I just may start to actually not look like death anymore.

pos#4 Finished my last sessions of visiting PT and OT and I am now released into the world of outpatient PT..which means I am inching closer to getting back to getting off crutches, working, and driving again/ aka my normal life.

I want to give major shout-outs (do you do shout-outs on blogs..well whatever.. it's my blog I can do what I want ;) ) to the people this week who have been listening to my venting via phone or email, and the peeps who have come over to hang out which in turn took my mind off my hip as well as put a smile on my face..you know who you are and I GREATLY appreciate it...Thank you sooooooo much!!!!!!

As one of my favorite quotes goes "The secret to life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times." Thank you to all the people who have been helping me get up and stay up this time around...it hasn't been easy, but I feel I am very lucky woman to have so much love and support from amazing people ,and for that I am doing my best/my part to be my strongest self...so cheers to the upcoming week and hopefully a lot more progress!

4 Weeks Out

Wow..seriously has it already been a month! In some ways this has been the longest month of my life, between surgery, hospital stay, nursing home, crutches and extensive bed rest but on the same note I also feel like I can't believe it has already been four weeks (maybe it's the pain meds).

So it is a little disappointing that I am still in soooooooo much pain 4 weeks out, but on the same note I am putting more weight on my hip/leg and I am moving faster on crutches w/ the partial weight bearing, and reduced my pain med intake ..so that my friends I guess is progress..so I should be happy about that! I think I will be smiling more once I am getting out and about, driving, working, and lacking pain. I go back to the Dr's at my 6 week mark, and I am also going on vacation on my 6 week one day mark(planned prior to hip falling apart round 2) ....so keep your fingers crossed for me that I will be ok to do this, and maybe with even extra luck I will be doing it off crutches..a girl can only hope:)!

Still Chillaxin at home this week and having visiting OT and PT coming to my house ,and then the following week I will be starting outpatient PT and HOPEFULLY going back to work part time (never thought the words " I can't wait to go back to work" would come out of my mouth but there you have it..I really want to get back to work..I actually miss working.... A LOT)

Sleep is still difficult...hence posting at 1am..again. Just can't get comfortable..I cannot for the life of me remember how long it took me my last hip surgery to be able to lie on my right side when sleeping..hopefully soon I will be able to ,because I don't think I will be getting the sleep I need to heal until that can happen..talk about a crappy catch -22.

The actual incisions are healing nicely, they are much bigger than the first surgery incisions ,but in the grand scheme of things they are still relatively small and the least of my worries because they are healing..yay! Not much else to report..so my progress report at this moment is healing slowly but surely...but they do say good things come to those who wait...here's hoping they are right! Cheers!

3 Weeks Out

Is it possible to get runned down while you are on bed rest??? Answer= yes in my case, which is quite frustrating. It is so hard to sleep when you are in so much freaking pain. It seems like the pain has gotten worse the past few days. It is not just confined to my hip ..it is my whole right leg. Hip and groin hurts from surgery,but it feels like I have the flu in my leg(especially thigh and calf area..really achy), and pins and needles in my foot (hopefully it is temporary nerve damage from the traction table during surgery). I actually have increased my pain meds due to all of this. I have been doing more w/ physical therapy this week which could attribute ..does the saying "no pain ,no gain" apply here??? I hate complaining, but it is just one of those days ,and it is my blog so I guess i can vent if I want too ..heehee;)

I think the hardest part I am struggling w/ is that I have already been through this actual recovery once before, and here I am again not even two years later having to go through this whole process again..double ugh!!

I am still on "bed rest" (going on 6 weeks 3 before surgery/ 3 after surgery)meaning I haven't left my house (can't drive yet), haven't been outside (seriously when will this rain stop!) and I am not physically able to work yet, so I am pretty much been confined to my home ..thank god for friends/family who have come over to chillax w/ me and/or watch a movie and keep me in touch w/ the outside world! I just hate wasting time ,and I feel like sitting around "recovering" is just that..I know that sounds very negative, but I like being active and having no choice but to be inactive is truly frustrating! I wish I had some advice for myself on how to get past this frustration, but I don't, so I am doing my best to try not to let it get to me.

ok..on a positive note...I have read 23 books so far while I have been on bed rest, so I finally have caught up w/ a lot of reading I have wanted to do..plus books make my mind focus on the story at hand and not on my hipster! I have a vacation planned for 3 weeks from now that I still will be able to go on (I do hope I am off of the damn crutches by then ,but what will be will be, at least I get to still go..see..stayin positive ;)) and I am doing better w/ the partial weight bearing, I did couple laps around the house today and the stairs 4 times. I think I will stop writing for this evening and end this post on a positive note..goodnight:)

2 Weeks Out

I am a little over two weeks out from surgery...the first week was spent mostly in the hospital and the nursing home. I was on such heavy duty pain meds and had ice packs on my hip constantly that I don't recall much pain in my actual hip. It was mostly pain from surgery..swelling..sick from meds...no sleep/exhaustion due to not being able to get comfortable in the hospital bed as well as being woken up by nurses, loud noises etc.. =hospital stuff.

After I was finally released from the medical community (rescued would be a better term) my bestest friend (Thanks N) took me in since she had a one floor condo..easy access to bed, kitchen, and bathroom. Through my insurance I have received care from visiting nurses , visiting physical therapist , and visiting occupational therapist to come to the condo as well as to help me out w/ my recovery. I did not get this help my last surgery, because no one told me I could actually get theses services. Having the visiting nurse, PT, and OT come to the house is very helpful, they check my stats and meds, they change the dressing from my surgery ,and help me to get around better on crutches. I feel this help is making my transition back to the "real world" a lot smoother..less chance of injuring myself (which is always a possibility when you are using crutches).

I had my two week check up w/ Dr. Fabulous and he was happy w/ the results of the surgery. He told me that I had an impingement of my cartilage (again) so the flap of cartilage that was caught in my bone which was causing me the bad sharp pain and the deep ache he removed and debrided. Also I had other tears he debrided and my hip lining was inflamed so he cleaned that out as well (I will have the official medical jargon for my surgery once the official surgery report gets mailed to me) I also got pretty take home pics of the inside of my hip and surgery..which I actually thought was pretty cool.. So I have been doing a lot of show and tell w/ my friends w/ the pics;)

I got my stitches out too..yay(stitches out =real showers again..no more sponge baths for this girl...ever!) I was told that the pain from the 2nd surgery is worse than the first..wish I knew that piece of info ahead of time, but now from experience I can say that piece of information is very true. I still am on my my pain meds because the pain is still pretty brutal. Dr Fabulous said the pain can last up to 3 months or even longer..ugh! The good news is that he said I should be feeling significantly better once the pain dies down and my hip starts to heal..yay! He said my hip will never be 100% since it has missing cartilage and is now considered "abnormal" but I could be 75% better. He also told me that my Psoas tendon may or may not be better from the surgery (first surgery irritated my psoas tendon so much that it has been tight and swollen for almost two years..they talked about doing surgery to release it but I was like "hells no").. so now it's a wait and see situation..if it does not get better his next suggestion for my tendon would be to inject botox into it....hmmmm..not a place I ever thought I would need botox but and interesting idea nonetheless..but that is down the road...we shall see. I go back to see him again in a few weeks so I should have more info then..I am still in the "recovery phase" for now.

I am now doing partial weight bearing on my hip as tolerated (so still on crutches..on the positive side my arms are getting super strong) As of tonight I am officially back at my house, because I have been upgraded to do stairs... VERY CAREFULLY.

Pain currently: While I am resting in bed I can have pain free moments but I am also still taking pain meds, as well as aspirin, and will be starting a prescription antinflammatory med tomorrow (still lots of swelling). I think I am handling the pain better this time due to the fact that I have been here before so I was somewhat prepared mentally to know what it would feel like. It is interesting how your hip effects your lower back ,your knee, and your calf ..all these areas have been giving me a little trouble on my right side (which is normal I have been told). Plus I get these weird electric shocks throughout my calf and where my incisions are..I was told those are my nerves that have been "injured" during surgery..hopefully that will start to go away soon as well. The incision area is now less sore to the touch than it was a week ago. ICE IS NICE..literally the best thing for the pain is a very cold ice pack..it works wonders! Sleep has been hard since I sleep on my right side and I currently can't. If I even roll over on my right side while I am sleeping I wake up in a huge amount of pain then it is hard to go back to sleep. The time I feel the most pain is when I am sitting (sharp pains in groin/ hip area and achy) or walking(just pain- hard to describe..different pain from pre surgery). I pushed myself more today by doing the stairs a few times, walking outside on my driveway, and sitting outside for a bit, even though it was uncomfortable I felt I could do it..something I would not have been able to do last week..so improvement..and that is all I am looking for.

Well I am tired from my first actual long day so I am off to bed.. and hopefully get some much needed sleep! Nite;)

My 24 hours experienece in a nursing home/aka Welcome to" Happy Acres"..please enjoy your stay!

One of the first things I did when I arrived I called up my 88 year old grandmother to let her know that I made it to a nursing home before she did. Talk about a surreal experience ..this one was for the books.

After 3 days in the hospital I was transferred to a nursing home..I was told it was a rehab facility, but when I was brought there my roommates were two 90 year old woman..one was talking to her doll and the other was screaming at the nurse accusing her of trying to kill her. This place sure looked like a nursing home..rehab facility my ass! I begged the ambulance drivers to bring me back to the hospital or just let me ride around w/ them at this point anywhere but here. I saw the sympathy in their eyes, but they couldn't do anything about it..they did tell me if I could find an alternative setting they would have no problem bringing me back.

Backtracking for a second..I spent 3 days in the hospital due to my hip, lungs, and not being able to tolerate any food, but due to insurance companies (a whole other issue that I should blog about) the hospital wanted me out of there asap, but since I was still pretty sick and could not return to my home due to the stairs- a rehab facility was the option that was picked. Unfortunately I had no choice in the place I would be going to according to the nurse/case manger of the hospital floor...if I wasn't so drugged up on meds I may have been able to stop this situation, but since I was and didn't have anyone w/ me at the time in the hospital..I was packed up and shipped out to "Happy Acres" (not the real name ..protecting the identity of the real place) . After the fact I found out that there were many other places that would have excepted me and my insurance. Somewhere that would have been geared more to someone my age, but that is now in the past. I can't change what happened so lesson learned but I will be making a complaint to the hospital so hopefully it won't happen again to someone else.

So "Happy Acres" was honestly out of any nightmare you would have about a nursing home...it was quite dirty, one nurse to a floor, screaming old people who were scared. I really thought maybe I was having a drugged out nightmare from the morphine, but since I could feel the pain in my hip I knew it was for real. To add to the nightmare..my pain meds as well as my other meds for nausea and allergies were not transferred so now I was suffering physically as well as mentally (I finally received them at midnight). Then the kicker was the fact that I also have celiac which means I cannot have any food w/ Gluten in it which this facility was not prepared for. Then for the icing on the cake was the bed I was in was making my leg and hip numb..at first I thought "Houston we are having a problem here, something was seriously wrong w/ my hip", but then I realized the bed they put me in had my hip in hip flexion, so it was making my whole hip situation worse causing more swelling and pressure. I told the nurse this and she said it was an old bed and that they could maybe get me another one in 24 hours..in 24 hours I think I would have to have surgery again if my hip stayed liked that..literally my whole leg was numb. Thank goodness for the friends who were there w/ me that night ..two brought me gluten free food and one of them fixed my bed by unscrewing the bottom so it stopped crushing my hip. I need to give a shout out to my peeps who were with me that day..Mom, M, N, N, and D....not sure if I would have survived that experience w/ out you..seriously! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After everyone I knew left me there..I put on my ipod and tried to pretend I was somewhere else..it was hard with the lady next to me reciting her life story throughout the whole night by herself..in a different situation I would have probably started laughing or sat down w/ her and asked her questions ,but pretty much 3 days w/ out sleep and extremely bad pain I was in no mood to find anything funny so I just try to tune it all out..thank you Norah Jones and Lucinda Williams.

That morning my friend N informed me that I could stay at her place for the first two weeks of my recovery since she didn't have stairs and that they were breaking me free from the nursing home...YES! The Charge nurse came into visit me shortly afterwards and told me that she didn't feel that me leaving was the right thing to do and unless she deemed it medically ok..I couldn't go. Well that wasn't going to happen..so I explained her the situation as carefully as I could..I may have added a few tears in as well...she agreed to let me go and send visiting nurses and Pt to where I was going. So for the rest of the day I had to endure one very awkward sponge bath, and then by 4pmish I was rescued...YAY!

I really hope the only time I will ever return to a nursing home is if I volunteer in one (which I think would be a good idea at some point ,because it sure looks like they could use the extra help) It just wasn't the place for this current situation...it was definitely the strangest 24hours in my life thus far.

Surgery Day... .again! March 16, 2009

Well like any other day I started out by waking up ,but this day was a little different than the norm..NO FOOD OR WATER till surgery..ugh! Well surgery is called for 6pm and I have to be at the hospital by 4pm..I can do this. Seriously by 10am I was already dying of thirst..I think it goes back to the old saying..you want what you can't have..man was I thirsty. Lucky for me I had a good book , and family and friends to distract me from thirst and nerves.


4pm: Arrive at hospital..pretty much all I am thinking about is how thirsty I am..and ironically enough my wheelchair gets parked in front of a water cooler and coffee station..seriously so not funny..I was ready to take somebody out for a cup of water if I wasn't in a wheelchair and dying of thirst ;)


4:30ish..get taken in to pre-op..get an IV put in..not as good as a cup of water but dehydration is calming down..seriously can't I get an ice cube at least.


5pm- meet w/ the Anesthesiologist I let him know my concerns w/ my lungs from my last surgery..they take extra precautions by giving me a nebulizer treatment just to make sure my lungs are nice and clear..already feeling more confident w/ this hospital and the Dr's.


6pm- No Dr



7pm-No Dr


8pm- Dr Fabulous arrives (ok I am not thinking he is so fabulous at the moment probably due to the fact I am dying of thirst and starvation..ok just had to vent that one more time)

Dr. Fabulous apologizes for being late, and lets me ask my questions that I wrote down ( another sign of a great Dr. is one who lets you ask all your questions, listens, and gives you answers..Dr. fabulous did all that) It is very important to write down any questions or concerns you may have for your surgeon before surgery ,because between the nerves and the starvation component you most likely will not remember what the questions you had are. Anesthesiologist comes back in and says he is giving me something to make me feel more relaxed..1 min later...very relaxed.....alright lets rock!


I think the most nerve racking part of surgery is the time they take you from pre-op to the O.R..man that ride in is very surreal..the drugs probably make it more surreal, but I say that is the scariest part for me personally.


11pm-Wake up in recovery and literally the first thing I think is "where am I" 2nd thing is "Can I please have a glass of water". Nurse comes over tells me where I am and denys my water request for now (damn..seriously does anyone understand how thirsty I am). I tried to find out what happened during my surgery the nurse told me that the Dr Fabulous told my mom so I will find out later.


Somewhere around 12:30/1am I get brought to my room...nurse comes in does new patient intake, stats, gives me my pain meds (your choice this evening is either morphine or Dilloted..you decide), explains the run down of the hospital and then finally gets me a glass of water....I have never enjoyed a glass of water so much!

It was a long night in the hospital..anesthesia difficulty again..not as bad as last time but still not pleasant and somewhat scary....every time I started to fall sleep my oxygen level decreased and a loud buzzer/alarm went off (lucky I had nice roommates)..respiratory team had to come in gave me a little machine to keep blowing in to keep my lungs strong and inflated so there was NO sleep at all for me that night..I did however drink about 13 glasses of water.

Thank you Dad, Mom, N , and all my friends and family who called and sent me well wishes. You all helped me out with your support and keeping my nerves calm prior to surgery! XO

**Ironically enough the one thing that didn't bother me that night was my hip ;)

pics of me in Hospital day 3..glasses courtesy of my friend christopher.