Deconstructing the Billing Process

The medical bills for the previous 6 weeks of our lives have started arriving. It's a little scary to see the huge numbers that follow the dollar signs. I am grateful every day that Kasey's employer offers such great medical benefits. We would be sunk otherwise.

There is something very interesting that I have noticed with all of these bills. It seems to me that the longer the name of the test or procedure, or the more difficult it is to say, the more it costs.

For example, an x-ray costs less than $100, but a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI for short) costs nearly $2000. Too bad they don't have an abbreviated price to match the abbreviated name.

At my post-op appointment with my surgeon, he was concerned that the symptoms I was having pointed to a blood clot in my lungs. He ordered a CT Pulmonary Angiogram at the hospital. That's an awfully long name. I'm concerned about getting that bill.

Nerves

My surgery is set to take place in approximately 12 hours.

I won't lie, I'm a little nervous. Okay, a lot nervous.

Wish me luck!

Easter Love

This morning I was awakened by Makayla jumping up and down and shouting, "Mom! Wake up! You gotta come see this! The Easter Bunny came! I can't believe my eyes!"

Ellie followed closely behind with, "The Easter Bunny brought me Princess and the Frog coloring book! That was so nice of him!"

Upon closer inspection of Kimberly's basket, Makayla found a package of baby fruit strips. "Hey! these are for babies. How did that Easter Bunny know Kimmy was a baby? I think he must be pretty smart."

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I wasn't too excited about doing the whole Easter Bunny thing for my kids. We didn't participate in any egg hunts or get pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart. But seeing the excitement on their faces this morning totally makes me want to go all out next year. It's quite possible that they are more excited this morning than they were on Christmas morning.

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Last night, there was a knock on my door. When I opened it, there was no one there. But whoever it was left 3 Easter buckets on my step. Inside each was a stuffed animal, a package of cookies, and various Easter treats. The girls were so excited! And me? I was overcome with emotion.

Since all this crap started happening to us in the beginning of March, our family has felt an out-pouring of love from friends, family, neighbors, and members of our church. People have come over to clean our house, bring us dinner, watch our children, do our laundry, and called us on the phone to let us know they are there if we need anything.

I am overwhelmed by the kindness of people. These secret Easter Bunny baskets have just been the icing on the cake. And while I'm pretty sure the person responsible is not a reader of this blog, I just want to say thank you. This means more to us than you could possibly know.

I'm Sure God Has a Sense of Humor. I Just Don't Get It.

For the better part of March, we have had beautiful weather. Last week was especially nice. We took advantage of the 60 degree temperatures to color on the sidewalk with chalk,

test drive new bikes,

and run around with huge grins on our faces.

But this morning, God played a little April Fool's joke on us. That's the only way I can explain the scene in our backyard. . . .

My Week In a Nutshell

Three days spent on the couch writhing in pain.

Two days spent in a hospital.

One surgery scheduled for next week.

One bottle of vicodin that has me in a constant haze.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

More next week when I am minus one non-functioning gall bladder.

A Moment of Joy

A little moment of joy to brighten my day.

And the Hits Just Keep On Comin'

There's nothing quite like being kicked when you are down. That's a little bit how I feel right now. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. One bad thing happens. And that is followed by another bad thing. And it goes on and on. And you wonder When is this ever going to end?

Unfortunately for us, it doesn't feel like the end is anywhere in sight. This is what the past 2 weeks have looked like at our house:

*I broke my rib, among other things.
*Kasey hurt his wrist at work, put off going to the doctor, and is now wearing a brace with a lifting restriction of 5 pounds. (combined with my 0 pound lifting restriction, we are doing really well.)
*Kimberly tripped and smacked her face on the corner of the couch. She split open her lip and got a bloody nose. Her face was swollen for 2 days. I was really concerned she might have broken her nose. (She is doing great now.)
*Kasey got a call saying his grandmother was in the hospital with pneumonia and not doing well.
*I went to the hospital in an ambulance.
*Kasey got another phone call saying his grandmother had passed away.
*I looked up a flight for Kasey to go to the funeral. One hour later, after trying to coordinate a flight with Kasey's brother, the price of the ticket had gone up.
*My brother-in-law sent a package to Kasey containing valuable memorabilia from the Superbowl and personalized, autographed hockey pucks. The package was stolen off the doorstep.
*Took our Durango in to get the brakes replaced. Turns out the rotors were bad too. It cost more than 3 times what we were planning.
*Had to replace the tires on my van.
*Driving home from helping a friend, a rock hit my windshield. It will probably need to be replaced--very soon.
*Kasey went to a specialist about his wrist (which is not getting better). Doctor suspects he has torn the cartilage in his wrist. He's scheduled to get an MRI on Monday morning.

I mean really! Really? Universe, why do you hate us so much?

I am trying really hard to count my blessings. For example, all but one of the above listed items has happened to either Kasey or me. I am so thankful our children continue to be healthy. See? I can be positive sometimes.