A Mailbox Full.....

After last week's trip to Philly, I arrived home to a surprise mailbox full of medical bills.  Not that bills are surprising in and of themselves: They are a normal part of our lives now for the past seven years.  What was surprising was that there were so many, so diverse in type, covering such a long period of time, all arriving at once.

Four of them were for amounts under $50. They were for Hubby and I, and were for office co-payments and his CPAP supplies and the like.  Got it.

One was for just over $500 for pain management costs.  We deliberately switched Hubby from the pain management program he was in to the one run by OUR hospital to get a better deal.  Looking back at old bills, this IS the better deal, but, DANG.

One was for over $1200, for Babygirl's recent visit to the Hypertension clinic.  Since they did testing available at out hospital (echocardiogram, carotid studies, etc), they are twice as expensive. In addition to the testing costs, the bills for the doctors who READ the tests, as well as the bills for the doctors who actually saw her that day, were also over $1000.

Her visit to her headache doctor, a different hospital, was about $500.

In addition, there are over $1500 in disputed charges still pending at both hospitals for tests that are considered experimental at CHOP, and for her headache medication at Nemours. Those bills may yet arrive.

The kicker bill was for just over $1000, and was for MY hospital stay in March of 2017 (MRI-asana....., Meeting A Donors Mom.......).  Why?  Why NOW???

There is nothing more discouraging than having more than $5000 worth of medical bills hit the week before Christmas, in a year where you have already purchased a new pool liner and hot water tank, paid out a TON in vet bills and been hit with a water bill of $2000 because of an unreported water leak.

I got on the phone.  For FOUR hours.  Most of the bills I can do nothing to change, except:  The medication at Nemours was properly billed and we won't be charged for it, $500 not to worry about.  The "experimental" stuff at CHOP really WAS experimental - it's data gathering, remember? (Security Blankets....), so we CAN'T be charged for that, $600 gone. 

And after four frustrating hours of being unable to reach my own hospital's billing office, I got a helpful soul who told me they had never sent me a bill for the March 2017 hospital stay because it had been paid in full.  Really? Because I have the damned thing IN MY HAND with this month's date on top, would you like to see it???  She gave me her name, her word, and told me to destroy the bill and not worry about it. 

"You people should pay for my blood pressure medication this month."  She laughed a little, and said, "We should."

Bottom line:  I've still got a crap ton of bills to pay.  I'm guessing that I'll be able to use our health savings account in January, but since that's a new thing to us, I'll have to see how THAT game is played when I get the information about how that gets accomplished.

DeeDee.

Unprepared....

I feel like Christmas is hurtling at me like a freight train, and I'm somehow just plodding down the tracks.  We finally have our little tree up, but Maisey un-decorated the bottom half while Babygirl and I were in Philly (all's well with her, by the way (Baybygirl, that is, although Maisey is also fine LOL), more on all that later perhaps). In the gift department, I have managed to get all the out-of-town things into the mail.  Locally, I was on time with Secret Santa. 

The rest?  Sigh.

I think I've wrapped four gifts. 

Usually, at some point, the spirit of the season settles in my soul.  I have to say that directing the choir has done THAT to an extent - my head and heart are full of lovely music, but my time and energy has been shortened because of it as well. Between bursts of music and work, I've been, well, tired.

I'm not accustomed to that.

So, I'm making an effort to sleep properly. Eating well has been more challenging. Exercise has slacked off some. 

But happiness?  Contentment?  I think I'm good on those. I'm looking at a four-day weekend here.  It's time to start some lists! Get the Santa Central Room hopping! Get that rum I bought Monday at the street market matched up with some eggnog and Christmas music and wrapping paper!

I can do this. I can feel it settling. 

And the true mystery of Christmas is a story of lack of preparedness. No one expected Jesus to come as he came:  A baby born in poverty, homeless, a refugee from political danger.  People who are "ready" for Christmas perhaps don't fully understand the real gift. I feel like I learn something new about it every year.

DeeDee

Before the Crack of Dawn.....

Babygirl has an appointment at CHOP today.  It is a testament to how routine this has become that I am  still sitting on my couch with a dog in my lap, drinking coffee, and enjoying my Christmas decorations.  She is still sleeping.  So would I be, but Simon the SeniorDog got up to pee at 3:30, and then realized he forgot some other urgent outdoor business at 4, and by that time I knew it was time to just give up and make coffee.  In about 2 minutes he'll think it's time for breakfast LOL.

Maisey has utterly ignored the Christmas tree.  I expected her to be a problem.  It's LARRY who keeps rubbing his head into the branches. Last night Capone yelled at him for it.  That seemed an unlikely turn of events all the way around.  Who can predict dogs??

There were four grandkids here yesterday.  I can tell.  Every picture frame in my living room is askew because of the vibrations from the running and yelling.  They each settled long enough to make a gift for their moms for Christmas, and my tree is still standing.  Next Saturday is Cookie Day.  I think I need to buy more wine.

Lord help me: Squeaker wants to learn to crochet.  I. Am. Not. A. Good. Teacher.  Just ask Citygirl.

Random thoughts on a random morning.  Pray for us as we head into the Poconos in the cold, rainy dark.

DeeDee