Blind Melon - Our Healthcare System

« Our Healthcare System »

Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
Dec 23, 2009, 9:48am

Blind Melon :: General :: Lounge :: Our Healthcare System

Page 1 of 3 » Jump to page Go

Author

Topic: Our Healthcare System (Read 288 times)

ladyjane
Porcupine

I Want To Believe
member is offline

[avatar]

I feel a calm melting over me, as he hands me a cup of equality.

Joined: Jan 2009
Gender: Female

Posts: 402
Location: tablerock
Karma: 34

Our Healthcare System
« Thread Started on Oct 30, 2009, 10:44am »

Last Saturday night, the 24/25, into early Sunday
morning, 12:00-1:00 am, my sister in law, and
her hubby were in a pretty bad ATV accident.
He, Sam, was thrown into a ditch where he lay
gurgling from a broken neck.
She, Holly, was also thrown a few hundred feet,
her foot nearly severed at the ankle, by the bones
themselves breaking. It was just hanging on by
a few ligaments and tendons.
The people who were also with them called for an
ambulance. They waited an hour and a half for it
to arrive, Holly nearly bled out, Sam in serious
condition.
At the hospital, Sam immediately went into surgery,
the docs cutting through the front of his neck, to
place a metal plate at the base of his skull, to do the
job of supporting his head that the 3 broken vertebrae
could not do. His back had 2 ruptured discs, his
shoulder has torn ligaments and tendons. He could not
move, barely speak, in and out of conciousness.
He was strapped to the bed to prevent him from
moving, because of the potential for paralysis.
He was, in fact, kept in ICU.

Holly had a large metal contraption placed around her
leg, from her knee down to her foot, with 2 large
metal pins keeping her foot attached to her shin.
She has some cracked ribs and the entire side of
her body one large bruise. (They thought, at first,
that both her legs were broken) She had multiple
transfusions to replace the blood lost. She was
placed on a morphine drip for the pain.

They had no idea of the other's condition, for they
had not seen each other, but Holly, having a friend
carry her to the ditch where Sam lay gurgling at
the accident site, knew him to be serious. In and out
of her pain meds, she was frantic about Sam.
Her own surgery, to reattach her foot, scheduled
for that Wed. the 28th, planning to send her
home to start the recoup that Friday.

On Tues. the 27th, 2 days after the accident, Holly
was able to see Sam.....while he begged and
pleaded with the hospital to let him stay...
not to make him go home because he didn't
have insurance!!
He begged them to let him set up a payment
plan. Asked them to please just let him lay
back down. (They had put him in a wheelchair,
taken him to Holly's room) Said he wasn't
ready, barely functioning. Holly was out of her
mind, frantic.
They let him lay back down for an hour, then
sent him home with the advice to be careful,
one wrong move and he would be paralyzed,
and a script for Percoset. His parents, who
drove over 5 hours there, helped him to the
car and took him home.
The hospital, by then realizing that Holly DOES
have insurance through her job, are now making
her stay until next Wed. the 4th Nov. She is still
on her morphine drip.
Sam isn't even able to walk, he is on his couch,
at home, hardly eating from the pain in his
throat, afraid if he chokes and coughs, he will
be paralyzed. They DID NOT repair any of the
damage to his back or shoulder.
His Mom has been calling the other hospitals
trying to find one that will take him in. They
took the drainage tube out of his
throat, and now it is swelling with blood.
As of yesterday, he has lost feeling in his hands
and feet.
One hospital, said they would take him, but has
since declined. He is in such pain, that he went
to a reg. doc's office for further x=rays that
show extensive damage to his shoulder.
I cannot believe this is allowed to happen. It is
a complete travesty!! I wish there was something
I could do to help. Holly is beside herself with
worry, stuck in the hospital. She knows if he slips
even once, it could all be over for him.
I did not know they could do that! The surgeon told
Sam that per hospital policy, he had done the
maximum allowable amount of work on him that
he could, without insurance.
I'm so worried about the both of them
and their 2 small children.

Thanks to you all for listening and please send
some good vibes their way.

« Last Edit: Oct 30, 2009, 11:01am by ladyjane »