Hospitals. I hate hospitals. I started hating them when I spent way too much time there as the caregiver to both of my late spouses. Now I’m spending way too much time there as a patient.
I was just released from the hospital yesterday, after approximately 3 weeks as an inpatient. It started, as usual, with my unresolved leg wound. A few days before I was admitted, one of my cats accidentally head-butted the bad leg while doing zoomies around the room. I didn’t think much of it at the time — it hurt, a LOT, of course… but didn’t seem to be that bad.
However the pain continued, and worsened to the point that I went to the ER, afraid that something was seriously wrong. Although they didn’t admit me then (because I fought the idea), they left the final decision up to the wound clinic. THEY had insisted that I be admitted, saying that while it was likely just a “deep bruising”, the fact that the bruise was just above and somewhat under the open wound, and that I have a DVT history, meant they needed to monitor me in case of a clot forming.
At least they let me run home to corral the cats and get them to the boarding lady’s house (they can’t stay in her facility because they haven’t been to the vet in over a year) before I had to rush back to the admitting office. In the process of doing all that, apparently my cell slipped from my pants’ pocket and ended up stuck between the driver’s seat and the trunk release on the floor of my car — something I didn’t realize until after I was admitted and hooked to an IV, and went looking for the phone in my bags (my purse and a small knapsack w/clean clothes for when I was discharged). That left me completely unable to communicate with anyone, as they would not let me get the phone from my car in the parking lot, nor would anyone be willing to take my keys to retrieve the phone (rules, they said).
So for the next several weeks, I was stuck in the hospital with no way to even let anyone know, as all the numbers I needed were in the phone, and I had no tablet or laptop to use to look them up in my email.
During that time, my leg wound wasn’t the only issue. Although a clot never did develop, the leg did swell up considerably. This meant that the hospital folks were far more aggressive in trying to get it under control than even the wound clinic had been — and aggressive is a polite way of saying brutal. The pain was so bad that they eventually had to put me on a pain pump, and even then I would beg them to numb my leg before they started (but they said that doing so would be “contraindicated”, which seems a bit ridiculous, but I literally had no choice). The pain from these ministrations was horrific, and lasted even after they were done. This apparently was putting undue stress on my blood pressure and heart. I started having irregular heart rhythms, and my blood pressure would start going up the minute I saw the wound nurse come near my room.
Along with everything else, I ended up having a full workup — cardiac, vascular, etc. Needless to say, during this time, they were also pressuring me to go ahead with the surgery on my leg, but finally relented after I told the doctor the only way I’d agree is if he — personally — promised to do all my shopping and carry me up and down the stairs of my building so I could make my follow-up and wound clinic appointments without breaking my neck while on crutches. Otherwise, he should shut the “f---” up about it. (I don’t normally speak to doctors — or anyone else — that way, but I was in too much pain, and far too frustrated, to be polite any longer.) After that, they did leave me alone about the surgery… but that was just this past week.
So, now I’m back at home. I’m still in pain from the leg, which is still draining. The bruising is gone, and I’m able to limp along (really limping — can’t walk normally because it hurts too much), mostly slowly. I’m 56, but I walk like I’m 86.
I was able to retrieve the cats from the boarding lady’s house yesterday, and got them settled in. Then I had to deal with my landlord, who is understandably impatient for the rent, since it’s now 13 days overdue. The only reason I’ve been able to keep the place this long is that he knew I was in the hospital (his was the one phone number I could find from an old rent receipt in my purse). Still, he expected that he’d be paid the minute I got home… but I have no more money. It took all that had come in last month to cover the cost of boarding the cats this long.
I am literally in a financial EMERGENCY here. I’m not even sure the landlord will wait until Monday at this point, and I don’t have enough to pay him. I also desperately need wound care supplies because I can’t go back to the wound clinic until Monday, and I need the Rx from them to get the Medicaid covered supplies. I just used the last 5x9 surgical pads and the last tube of antibiotic cream. One person said they ordered more of the cream for me, but it won’t come until tomorrow at the earliest, and with the landlord on the warpath, I’m not even sure I’ll get the package until he gets his money.
Some donations came in last evening and this morning, but only $45 made it into my account today. The rest won’t reach me until Monday morning.
While Paypal has usually been the preferred method for sending donations, in this case, because the landlord is pressuring me (literally knocked on my door again 10 minutes ago), there are alternatives that would get cash to me faster so I can at least get him off my back. So here’s a breakdown of what is needed and the methods for sending it:
1 — Needs:
Rent is $550 plus a $25 late fee, so $575 total. This is the most immediate need!!
Medical supplies will be approximately $100 to get me through the weekend (this covers the surgical pads, rolled gauze, and the most expensive item — the triple antibiotic cream). I do still have plenty of Tylenol, but am running low on the low-dose aspirin and Advil, although I don’t need either immediately.
Major Bills (overdue) include my car insurance ($75 w/late fee), cell phone ($65 w/late fee), and internet access ($65 for now — late fee will show up next month), for a total of approximately $200.
I do need a small amount of cash for gas and other non-food items (toilet paper, soap, etc.), but the $45 that did come through will be enough for that if the other needs are covered.
2 — Methods to donate:
Walmart Money Center — I only recently found this out myself, but apparently you can send money to me directly if you have a Walmart near you. I believe all you need is my name and zip code (not sure, but you can call and check and I can provide any info you need via Kosmail). This is one of the immediate methods, as once the money is sent, I can go to the local Walmart and get it either in cash or added to my debit card (cash is only for the rent).
MoneyPak — Similar to going to Walmart, this is an instant way to get money to me — however I believe it’s more expensive as there’s a fee for each MoneyPak card you purchase. The MoneyPak cards (small cardboard cards — mostly green in front, and white in the back — that will be with the display of other prepaid debit cards in most drug and grocery stores) can be loaded with up to $500 for a fee of $5 or $6 per card. You then scratch off the pin number on the back and send that info to me so I can claim the funds to my debit card online.
The main drawback to this, besides the fee, is that you can’t use a credit/debit card to pay for the funds you’re loading onto the MoneyPak. You have to have the cash.
Paypal — if either of the above alternatives don’t work for you, then my Paypal email address is: MOELOE1126 at AOL dot COM
Most of you know I hate to ask for help this way. I wish I were in a better situation, but until I can get this leg healed up, I’m stuck. The truth is, the funds listed above (approximately $900 in total) are only to get me through the immediate rent/bill/medical supply crisis. After that, I’m still going to need help to get through the remainder of this month. That includes needing to get a haircut (can’t do that myself), as all this time in the hospital left me with such knots in my hair that I can’t even begin to get them untangled, and feel the best option is to just go super-short for a while. I still didn’t get those bras and other items either, as I had no chance to do so before being admitted, and the funds for them went to the cats boarding fees instead.
I know that there are many Kossacks in need, and many other causes that folks want to help as well. I can only ask that whether or not you can help financially, please DO pass along the links and information so that if someone else is willing to help, they will know where the need is.
Thank you all!! <3
Friday, Apr 13, 2018 · 8:12:11 PM +00:00
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MaureenMower
Just to keep everyone up to date, a little over $400 has come in so far, all via Paypal.
While this is a tremendous help, and I’m very grateful, none of those funds will reach me until Monday — so please keep your fingers crossed that my landlord will wait that long, because right now I’m not sure he will.