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THR So Much Easier Than I Expected!

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So far mine came in at 50k, hope that's it. I just wished it had the 50k "look" to go with that price tag. I should have asked for some liposuction while he was at it. I hear you hhh, driving, cleaning house and the excercise bike! I'll leave it at that. :wink:
 
I should have mentioned that my health insurance did pay the lion's share of the expense, and that my co-pay portion will probably be tax-deductible, so it wasn't a huge expense for me personally. I consider myself very lucky in that respect. Yes, Queenie, the prosthesis should be diamond-encrusted in a gold setting! But all the precious metals in the world couldn't mean more to me than my painless, functional titanium & polymer implant.

It feels like things are coming around. Friday, I tried a 30-minute low-impact aerobic workout. It wasn't bad at all. There was only one movement (a stomping sort of thing) that I couldn't do. Yesterday, I dusted, cleaned the kitchen and fireplace, changed all the linens and finally mopped my whole house including a big spot on the kitchen ceiling (long story, don't ask). Woohoo! Today, I'm going for a reasonable hike in a nearby canyon. I'll skip the big hills and the rock climbing for now, and stick to the level, stream-side paths. All of this busy-ness is because it feels good to be active, but I'm also trying to keep my mind off the fact that all my friends are competing in US Adult Figure Skating Sectional championships this weekend. It's hard not to be there with them.

Happy Sunday to all!

HHH
 
That's amazing HHH to manage an aerobics class so soon as well accomplishing all those household tasks. I would happily settle for the gentle stream side walks. You are obviously fit from the figure skating. Well done you.
 
Thank you, Barbara and Kim. I've missed being active these last 11 months so much. It wasn't just watching my backside grow as big as a helicopter pad -- I really missed the mood boost that you get from hard exercise. Hello endorphins!
 
Sandy that is frightening. All the stress of a heart attack and the worry about medical bills. In this country we don't realise how well off we are with the NHS. X

Aud
 
HHH, you are doing just fab! It definitely looks like life is getting back to a more normal state for you. Funny thing is, I was so busy with life stuff, yesterday and today, I forgot to post here. Early on this was a lifeline.

I went to my medical insurance site and from what I can gather, the OS charged around $10K and the hospital bill came to around $46K. Yikes, I have certainly gotten my money's worth out of my insurance premium. Something has got to change in this country regarding health insurance. End of soapbox speech.
 
designergirl, my OS charged 10k as well. My hospital bill was about 37k and anesthesiologist was around 2k. I would have liked to know the cost of the implant. I may ask at next OS appointment depending on his mood. LOL.
 
They'll probably have to file Bankruptcy. That's the answer to running up far more in medical bills than one can pay for in a lifetime. Then you can't buy cars and houses, or get credit cards and your life can fall apart. I think you can keep your house and a certain amount of things, but I'm not sure. And I'll say again that the people who would probably benefit the most, seem to be the most against government subsidized healthcare.

It's pathetic that we can't get it together in the US and make healthcare "non-profit" and open more slots to aspiring medical students. We keep the number of available slots for nursing and other medial schools small, as to insure shortages of medical staff and keep incomes high. How much of your medical care could be done by a well-trained nurse or physicians assistant? And health insurance companies scream about the high cost charged by Dr's because they bill such large amounts, knowing the insurance co. will pay them less than half.

It's a bloody mess, for sure. And honestly, I haven't read through the Obamacare documents to know how or if it will help to fix some of these problems, so I won't debate what I don't know. I've read some parts, and one of the first things it did was make affordable healthcare available to every child - it's called "Healthy Kids." I know that's unusual for someone from the US in general (not we smarties) to debate when we haven't done our home work. Our long-term problems with our education system are showing up in some disconcerting places is all I'll say. :wink:

HH
 
Wow, I just received a new statement, and the cost is still rising. It's over $80K, now, and still doesn't include all the final OS and PT expenses. I'm thinking I should build a case for my backside to properly display it. :heehee:

Susan, I agree with you about the state of health care in this country. And the attempts to resolve the problems only appear to be worsening it, for example, many employers are now forced to cut their workers' hours to part-time, because they can't afford the recently mandated coverage requirements. Our current healthcare legislation is designed to line the pockets of Big Pharma and the insurance companies with little regard for the patient's finances. Don't get me started. :gaah: OK, deep breath...I am grateful to have health insurance, grateful that my surgery was only a hip replacement and not some life-threatening illness treatment, and grateful to live in a country where I can still rant about it openly. I'll leave it at that.

On a happier note, it looks like Spring is arriving early this week, with temps in the mid-70's (that's 23C, Queenie). Did someone say "beach picnic?" I think you did!
 
Hippo......stop showing off with the high temps and Picnic mullarky. Did you not know we had the coldest March day on record here yesterday? I don't want to get out of bed because I can hear those Siberian winds whistling around my house.
Beach picnic indeed..........How very dare you!!(you need to watch Little Britain to get that last statement).

Sounds like you are getting on with it Mrs......Good for you! I'm sure we'd still all love to know what the stain on the ceiling is though.

I think your rump would look very nice encased in a gold frame with fresh flowers draped around the corners. Then perhaps you could even charge people for a quick peep at your marvellous derrière. I'd pay!!!

It won't be long before you're up and at 'em on the ice. Don't get too frustrated about that. Anyway you've got novels to think about!!

So pleased everything seems to be moving in the right direction for you and your priceless rump.

Lotsa lurve

Queenie xxx
 
I feel for you! We normally have very similar weather to you, here in the Pacific NW of the US. Gloomy and wet at least 7-8 months a year. We're both on the ocean, and close to the same latitude. We're having only 50% of our normal rain ... Just have the gray gloom. But to have icy conditions like you have on a new hip <shudder> I'd be afraid to go out.

I feel for you. I don't like the cold
 
Queenie, it's time for you to snuggle with that nice rugby-playing hubby of yours in front of a crackling fire, then. I love all sorts of weather. Cold days are meant for steaming coffee mugs and cuddly blankets (which the dog always monopolizes) and warm days are made for basking in the sun. I wish that we had the same changing seasons that you have. We still have Autumn and Spring, but they're less noticeable here than in your part of the world. It mostly turns from cool/rainy to sunny/dry and that's it. I miss the falling leaves and the woods tinged with budding pink flowers. Last weekend, I watched a remake of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility filmed in Devonshire that made me wistful for your rolling green hills.

Now, before I wax too poetic, may I just say, "Boy, my crotch is sore today!" :heehee:

Cheers,

HHH
 
Nicely finished off HHH...... Jane Austen would be proud. Pmsl...... itchy bum cheek in my case, blooming scar.
 
HHH you are doing remarkably well. I thought I was doing good just going out for dinner and then to a few PT sessions, which by the way sucked the life out of me. I don't know how long it will take before I can do any hiking. I am thinking about yoga, gentle stretches. I do know that with the hip problems that I have had for probably a lot longer than I realize it have a long ways to go to get this body moving. But I do know that lots of hard work and I will get there. I did vacuum the house yesterday....I had the vacuum in one hand and my cane in the other. The cane in useful for many things like helping grab the vacuum cord and smack things out of the way. That's funny way of thinking about the cost of the hip replacement as being something to put on display but you know if you paid that much for something you would for the most part want to be proud and show it off. I haven't gotten my big bills yet just the before surgery doctor's bills and I have to watch to make sure the insurance isn't ripping me off and trying to make me pay for more than I should. I had to make a call this morning and get a bill straightened out so that's something else everyone should keep in mind....check your medical bills thoroughly.
 
Why, thank you, Audball. Sorry about your itchy bum cheek. That's very poetic, too.

Queenie, the ceiling stain was nothing fun or exotic -- just a spot that occurred when I accidentally dropped a pot in a sink full of dish water one day. I should make up a salacious story about it, though. :umm:
sandybeach, you're doing really well, too! You're only two weeks post-op and already Hoovering your house? Wow, that's amazing! My doctor didn't order any outpatient PT for me and the in-home PT was a joke, so I'm kind of wingging it. It sounds like your PT is pretty intense, so give yourself props for doing it, and then doing the other stuff on top of it. I'm sure it's an energy drain. BTW, at 3 weeks, my OS said yoga was fine, as long as I didn't do any Lotus positions or anything outrageous. :heehee: to your smacking things out of the way with your cane. I almost used mine on my fiance's head, once.

Here's another chapter in the ongoing saga of my expensive derrière (which you can view for free, Queenie, with its draped flowers and gold frame on the "Friends and Family Discount"). A new statement that I received today shows that the insurance company "reevaluated" the chiropractic care that I tried last Sept/Oct, before I realized that my hip problem was something more serious than just soft-tissue inflammation. Aetna decided not to cover the chiro visits, even though they had previously approved them. Now, I am responsible for some $500 in service expenses from a chiropractor who, by the way, was just one nose-bone short of being a witch doctor. :headbang:

Good advice, Sandybeach, about checking all the statements. With all the co-pays, coinsurance and "in-network savings," sometimes it's hard to tell what I'm looking at, even when it's all gathered together. Does anyone else suspect that they obfuscate it deliberately?
 
Oh Hippo I do love the language you use............so eloquent and articulate(ever thought about writing a book?)

All the bills you receive would send my mind into a tail spin. My op was covered by my husbands work insurance. All hospital bills and apts were covered. There was a slight short fall that didn't completely cover my surgeons fees which we had to add and that was it. Easy peesy lemon squeezy. As Happy Hippy suggested earlier your health care situation in the USA looks like it could really do with a revamp. It seems to be extremely complicated to me. I know the world seems to knock the NHS and I know it's in a bit of a mess also, but thank goodness we've still got it.

I've come across quite a few quacks in my time. I do actually believe that it's the nutters that make the world go round, only they shouldn't be able to charge you for the privilege.

Will you be sending me a loyalty card for the 'Friends and Family' discount? I shall look forward to receiving that in the post.

The Queenster xxx
 
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