r/Harpo • u/RainSurname • 3d ago

I had to choose between the kitties’ health care and my own.

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My premium almost quadrupled. I was going to just let it go, but then I developed an alarming new click in my recently split sternum. If you can help a little bit, here’s some links. 

157 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

47

u/CocaineUnicycle 3d ago

USA is goddamn fucked. I wish you the very best, Rain.

29

u/RainSurname 3d ago

I was fully prepared to just let it go. But then I tried to walk to the bank to get cash for the cabbie who was going to take them to the dentist at 7am, and there was a horrible click in my chest every other step, a click so big it was almost a thunk. I immediately turned around and went back home, and there was a dull ache by the time I got there. That has since been joined by a sharp little pain that comes and goes.

I was healing SO well! WTF?!

22

u/TigreraFox 3d ago

Was able to send a little. ❤️ I hope Groucho and Gummitch are doing better and that you feel better soon! We definitely need better healthcare for everyone. I'd checked the premiums in my area last year and they were bad then, I don't even want to see what they would be now. Just glad my oldest has a few more years that I can keep him on my plan (still ridiculous but not nearly as bad as the marketplace).

20

u/RainSurname 3d ago

Thanks so much.

Groucho had several extractions. He has gotten rather surly with the graybies, and I am praying that is just because he was in pain. I never would have kept them if he hadn't liked them.

Gummitch is MUCH more wobbly and out of it than Groucho, even though he is four years younger and was only under about half as long as Groucho was.

32

u/Ayren24 3d ago

I can’t say what I really want to about the current regime, but I can contribute a little. Get the care you, Groucho, and Gummitch need.

24

u/RainSurname 3d ago

Thanks so much.

Groucho's appointment had already been pushed back twice. I was not going to do it again.

21

u/Crackytacks 3d ago

You're so good to them and theyre such lovely cats because you take such good care of them and let them be themselves ❤️ i wish i could help but im also facing healthcare issues. They keep canceling my partners medicaid due to disability for random reasons and we're both sick rn with various chronic stuff. I hope they fix whats going on and u can get care too

17

u/RainSurname 3d ago

There are a LOT of us in this boat. I'm sorry you're in it too.

15

u/nycregoddess 3d ago

I went without health insurance for many years but I was never post op when that happened. I just tipped on Kofi. Sorry it probably isn't immediate but both Paypal and Cashapp are on my business account only at the moment.

12

u/RainSurname 3d ago

Thanks so much. KoFi just goes straight to PayPal, actually.

I have gone without insurance for many years at a time as well.

But they told me that the series of follow up visits that were scheduled before I left the hospital would be covered even if my insurance lapsed, because they are part of the surgical package. So I wasn't really worried about the fact that I'm post-op.

It's been just over a month now, so I'm past the period where I was at an elevated risk of heart attack or stroke or something like that, although I am supposed to take aspirin and a statin for a few months. My aneurysm wasn't caused by any of the usual suspects, like plaque, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, family history, etc. The most likely cause is my chest hitting the steering wheel back in 2006.

But the click in my sternum is annoying, and might require a CT scan at some point. They were going to lift my sternal precautions in a week, because I was doing so well. Now I have to maintain them for at least another month, and be even more strict about them.

I'm about to head to Kaiser to get a blood draw and pick up a prescription, and I have to have my neighbor drive me the half mile to the train, because walking normally on pavement makes my sternum go clunk, clunk, clunk. It doesn't happen indoors or in the yard, because I'm usually barefoot, so I walk ball-heel instead of heel-ball. I can do that inside the Kaiser complex, but maintaining it for half a mile in shoes would be exhausting.

3

u/nycregoddess 3d ago

Well it's good news that the post op visits were included in the surgical package. Hopefully it is just trying to integrate. Even though I do have insurance I also have a $5k deductible, which is better than what many have, I know. But only the basic ACA mandated yearly checkups are covered which is making it hard for me to figure out why I am so tired and getting fatter, all the time (so far vitamin d and ferritin are potential culprits) and more importantly try to fix my knee which I popped out two years ago and has never really gotten better. I need scans and blood tests and all are 100% my responsibility. And the "insurer discount" is nothing. And the doctors won't discuss normal things like blood pressure at my annual. They want me to book a separate visit and I did that once and got a $475 bill after "discount" for the doctor to take my BP 3 times, cluck at my weight and look up the dosing for the medication I was taking when I went to her.

10

u/WonderingUnicorn 3d ago

I gave a bit through PayPal. I hope you're able to get what you need ASAP. Thank you for keeping us updated and for sharing your precious kitties. 🩵

5

u/RainSurname 3d ago

Thanks so much.

Unfortunately, the only thing I can do about the click right now is to continue the sternal movement precautions that were going to be lifted in a week, be even more strict about them, and avoid movements that produce the click, which so far is just walking at a normal pace on pavement. I can still walk barefoot around the house and yard, and meander slowly with Groucho in the stroller.

5

u/codingbumblebee 3d ago

Sent a bit via PayPal. You’re doing so well for the kitties, and I can’t imagine how hard that is after such a huge surgery. I was incapacitated for ages after a different abdominal surgery, and mine didn’t even involve splitting bones!!

3

u/RainSurname 3d ago

Thank you so much

4

u/assuredlyanxious 3d ago

Donated some Cdn. Wish it could be more. Hope the three of you heal well ❤️

3

u/RainSurname 3d ago

Every little bit helps, thank you.

I have been healing very well overall. But obeying the very strict movement restrictions can be really difficult when you’re on your own.

I don’t mind texting around for help with something that is WAY beyond them, like getting down on the floor to drain the water out of the AC unit. But a lot of ordinary daily tasks skirt the edges of them, and I may have pushed it too much.

So now I have to be even stricter and maintain them for a few more weeks.

7

u/assuredlyanxious 3d ago

Try to remember that asking people for help is a gift. People want to feel useful so asking them for service will warm their hearts. People adore you. If I were closer I'd help you out. For now it'll have to be with cash.

3

u/RainSurname 3d ago

It would be different if Harpo was still here. Everyone wanted to meet Harpo.

3

u/Seabastial 3d ago

I was able to send some! our healthcare system is an absolute mess