Those of us unaffected by Covid should really be thankful in these times. At the same time we feel sadness for those families that have been affected. The father of a good high school friend of mine had to be hospitalized. An attorney friend had to be hospitalized, according to my network of friends.
We wonder how the virus picks certain people out. Elderly? Overweight? Seems likely. We are taught not to attach such a stigma to "overweight" these days. We are discouraged from passing judgment on people based on body image. But it's paradoxical because the health care community would discourage carrying excess weight.
I turned off my refrigerator/freezer shortly after Mom died. Some friends scoff at me for that. I'm concerned that if I were to bring groceries home, I would consume it too fast. It's too tempting.
This morning I picked up a couple of terrific bagel sandwiches from Caribou Coffee at Willie's. The sandwiches have bacon, egg and cheese. This breakfast plus my senior lunch (cost of $4) could easily get me through the whole day, supplemented with "Boost." One morning I found myself feeling a little light-headed and then realized I had to re-stock my Boost.
I stay hydrated.
My attorney friend is the type you might call overweight. Oh, but we are not supposed to be judgmental.
Got a tip one morning that Prairie Ridge in Morris had the Moderna vaccine. We were all pretty anxious to get "poked." I had been on the waiting list at SCMC, my normal clinic. I acted quickly on the tip and got poked at Prairie Ridge. All seemed to go smoothly. Yesterday I got a bill for $42. Well, I didn't come into town on a turnip truck so I knew this was afoul. Medicare is supposed to cover this, silly rabbit.
So I called. I had to recite all my personal data, had to fetch my Medicare card (again) from the glove compartment of my car. At the end of it all the receptionist/employee said "disregard the bill for now." She was friendly enough but I wondered: "for now?" I consulted the Internet machine (as Rachel Maddow calls it) this morning, read on the official Medicare site that, ahem, "Medicare covers FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccines." Nice, succinct and direct.
I got the Moderna vaccine. Word had spread some in Motown so people were streaming in. When I told the person at the desk that "I'm a new patient here," she responded that most of the patients there that day were in that category. I presented my driver's license and Medicare card. Then a week or two later, I get a bill. What if I was a dull-witted person and just went ahead and paid it? Would the error be caught?
I had perhaps been caught dull-witted when I was persuaded to buy a new water softener, as per new city law. Well, screw the City of Morris, and by golly I mean that. Mom has been gone three years and I must learn to be sharper, to protect my own interests.
So I'm to disregard the Prairie Ridge bill "for now." And if they rock the boat further? Pay a lawyer? Well, that would seem to be self-defeating. Pay a lawyer to deal with the water softener issue? That (expletive) softener issue disrupted my whole life. Because government was involved - the City of Morris - the government had a better obligation to take care of the people.
Do I need to retreat into a cocoon and not trust anyone? Not even people at the medical office?
I find myself now regretting that I didn't just stay on the SCMC waiting list. I think SCMC would have been a lot more professional. Prairie Ridge could have used their prompt access to the vaccine to maybe lure permanent patients. Well, that sure got torpedoed with me.
Prairie Ridge was my late father's clinic. He lived to 96. Once when Mom and I were visiting Dad at the hospital, as Dad's health was declining, Dr. Stock spotted a mole on Mom's head that needed examination. She went to "Dr. Fred" at Prairie Ridge and had it all taken care of. Life-saving? Maybe it was.
And Dr. Stock had literally saved my father's life in the 1980s by getting him to Abbott-Northwestern Hospital for five-vessel heart bypass. It had to be done quickly. Previous to that, Dad's doctor at the other medical facility had simply told Dad "you're getting older," when Dad reported stress symptoms. Dad had an older doctor who had a reputation for not keeping up with things. The reputation was oft-repeated.
Mom and Dad miraculously got through a number of health hurdles through their later years. Now you can figure the ages of death from dates on our Summit Cemetery monument: 96 and 93. Not bad, I'd say. There is no date of death for yours truly. I take Lipitor once a day. A little prayer now and then doesn't hurt either.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment