Wednesday, nearly Thursday
We had a really large day on Wednesday. It was hot and we didn't get home till nearly 4 PM.
Danny had radiation in the morning, of course. They also gave him an appointment at the Conway hospital to talk to the chemo dr. there next Thursday. Also, the dr. gave him yet another prescription. This time for something to soothe his raw throat. We got it right across the street from the doctor's office since CARTI is paying for it and that's where they do business. That took about 30 minutes to get filled. He has to take it before and after every meal, and again before bed.
Danny decided to find out if he could get new glasses with Medicaid. He can, so he called and we went to the optometrist where he got his other ones. We thought it had been a couple of years. Well, it had been 2000 since he'd gotten glasses. They did a new eye exam and got him set up for glasses which will take 4 to 6 weeks to get here because it's Medicaid. (DHS has their own people who make the glasses and just pay for the exam.)
The optometrist saw some kind of spot in Danny's right eye, so she wanted to dilate his eyes and have a better look. She doesn't know what the spot is but Danny is to tell the radiation dr. about it tomorrow. Anyway, we were there about 2 hours so it was around 12:30 when we got done there.
I called the WM pharmacy with Danny's scrips for his heart med for refills. We got there and it turned out that only one was able to be paid for by Medicaid. They said they'd have to call the internist and see if he would order a slightly different one that Medicaid will cover and change the scrip. We were at WM about an hour trying to get all that resolved, so we decided to take the one that Medicaid for sure covered and let them hang onto the other one until they heard from Dr. Raney - hopefully by tomorrow. We'll call, though, to see if we can get it.
By the time we got done with the above stuff, we were famished so we stopped at Wendy's and got lunch off their .99 menu. That was around 2 PM.
We also learned (at the radiation dr.) that he has to pick a primary care physician before Medicaid will actually pay for radiation. We called DHS, then went by there to fill out yet another form for that. He had to pick 3 doctors from a list. 2 of them are in the same office and 1 was the internist who took care of him in the hospital. This took about 30 minutes just getting it filled out and turned in.
We started for home and went to the PO to pick up mail. Lo and behold, there was a form from DHS for picking a PCP. Well, we've done that now already but I'll hang onto the correspondence anyway.
Now, the plain fact is that we hate having to go through all of this. It's hard to be treated like a thief or a beggar when we seek assistance, as if we're trying to dupe someone. My husband has a deadly disease and our feeling is that tax dollars we've paid in the past should be able to help us now. Slowly, it's coming about, but "slowly" is the keyword here. Our preference is to be self-sufficient and self-supporting. We really don't feel any sort of entitlement to assistance, but we are at a point where we don't have a choice any longer. There is no way Danny could continue treatments, get medicines, or that we could even keep the lights on without some help. Thankfully, friends and family have helped a great deal. My sister says "Charity begins at home" and she lives by that.
Our area is getting ready for hurricane evacuees again because of Rita. Those who've been in TX will be transported to various locations in AR. I feel so bad for them all. Shuttled from place to place, and some still don't know where all their family members are. I am glad, though, that there are church camps, churches, and various ministries in line to help out.
Isn't it funny, though, that Christian beliefs are held at bay until something like this comes along? Then, it's ok for Christians to work, to donate, to lodge, to feed those in need? Is the ACLU opening shelters? Are atheist organizations sponsoring feeding lines, clothing drives, or providing transportation? Are Americans United for the Separation of Church and State supplying housing or medical help? Are dyed-in-the-wool Liberals opening new camps just to serve the evacuees? I'd love to really know where all those groups are setting up shop to help. And I'm pretty certain that as soon as the worst of this is all over, they'll come out of the woodwork and start railing against public prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Ten Commandments once again. Until then, they're smart enough to hold the criticism until the churches have finished their work.
Oh, wait. The Pledge is still under assault.
Off the soapbox now.
I guess I'm just really tired and feeling a bit discouraged. I know our needs will always be met. God will see to that. But it seems like every few days we get some new bit of bad news concerning Danny's health. Sometimes we get news about other family members and their devastating health problems. Most recently, a nephew of Danny's has also been found to have a mass in his chest. This man has a wife and 2 children - both about the same age as our two younger children. I know what they're feeling now. I know the fears. I'm storming heaven on their behalf.
Danny had radiation in the morning, of course. They also gave him an appointment at the Conway hospital to talk to the chemo dr. there next Thursday. Also, the dr. gave him yet another prescription. This time for something to soothe his raw throat. We got it right across the street from the doctor's office since CARTI is paying for it and that's where they do business. That took about 30 minutes to get filled. He has to take it before and after every meal, and again before bed.
Danny decided to find out if he could get new glasses with Medicaid. He can, so he called and we went to the optometrist where he got his other ones. We thought it had been a couple of years. Well, it had been 2000 since he'd gotten glasses. They did a new eye exam and got him set up for glasses which will take 4 to 6 weeks to get here because it's Medicaid. (DHS has their own people who make the glasses and just pay for the exam.)
The optometrist saw some kind of spot in Danny's right eye, so she wanted to dilate his eyes and have a better look. She doesn't know what the spot is but Danny is to tell the radiation dr. about it tomorrow. Anyway, we were there about 2 hours so it was around 12:30 when we got done there.
I called the WM pharmacy with Danny's scrips for his heart med for refills. We got there and it turned out that only one was able to be paid for by Medicaid. They said they'd have to call the internist and see if he would order a slightly different one that Medicaid will cover and change the scrip. We were at WM about an hour trying to get all that resolved, so we decided to take the one that Medicaid for sure covered and let them hang onto the other one until they heard from Dr. Raney - hopefully by tomorrow. We'll call, though, to see if we can get it.
By the time we got done with the above stuff, we were famished so we stopped at Wendy's and got lunch off their .99 menu. That was around 2 PM.
We also learned (at the radiation dr.) that he has to pick a primary care physician before Medicaid will actually pay for radiation. We called DHS, then went by there to fill out yet another form for that. He had to pick 3 doctors from a list. 2 of them are in the same office and 1 was the internist who took care of him in the hospital. This took about 30 minutes just getting it filled out and turned in.
We started for home and went to the PO to pick up mail. Lo and behold, there was a form from DHS for picking a PCP. Well, we've done that now already but I'll hang onto the correspondence anyway.
Now, the plain fact is that we hate having to go through all of this. It's hard to be treated like a thief or a beggar when we seek assistance, as if we're trying to dupe someone. My husband has a deadly disease and our feeling is that tax dollars we've paid in the past should be able to help us now. Slowly, it's coming about, but "slowly" is the keyword here. Our preference is to be self-sufficient and self-supporting. We really don't feel any sort of entitlement to assistance, but we are at a point where we don't have a choice any longer. There is no way Danny could continue treatments, get medicines, or that we could even keep the lights on without some help. Thankfully, friends and family have helped a great deal. My sister says "Charity begins at home" and she lives by that.
Our area is getting ready for hurricane evacuees again because of Rita. Those who've been in TX will be transported to various locations in AR. I feel so bad for them all. Shuttled from place to place, and some still don't know where all their family members are. I am glad, though, that there are church camps, churches, and various ministries in line to help out.
Isn't it funny, though, that Christian beliefs are held at bay until something like this comes along? Then, it's ok for Christians to work, to donate, to lodge, to feed those in need? Is the ACLU opening shelters? Are atheist organizations sponsoring feeding lines, clothing drives, or providing transportation? Are Americans United for the Separation of Church and State supplying housing or medical help? Are dyed-in-the-wool Liberals opening new camps just to serve the evacuees? I'd love to really know where all those groups are setting up shop to help. And I'm pretty certain that as soon as the worst of this is all over, they'll come out of the woodwork and start railing against public prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Ten Commandments once again. Until then, they're smart enough to hold the criticism until the churches have finished their work.
Oh, wait. The Pledge is still under assault.
Off the soapbox now.
I guess I'm just really tired and feeling a bit discouraged. I know our needs will always be met. God will see to that. But it seems like every few days we get some new bit of bad news concerning Danny's health. Sometimes we get news about other family members and their devastating health problems. Most recently, a nephew of Danny's has also been found to have a mass in his chest. This man has a wife and 2 children - both about the same age as our two younger children. I know what they're feeling now. I know the fears. I'm storming heaven on their behalf.
Labels: Danny journal
posted by Ann crum @ 12:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home