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Edited on Mon May-29-06 02:56 AM by TheProphetess
That's a sucky day.
I'll tell you, I feel for you big time. I've been in the ER a thousand times with one or the other of my parents. Last summer, when my dad (who has chronic lung disease) could not breathe and we took him in to the ER, my mom and I spent about 7 hours there. There was a drug addict right across from us, locked into a room for detox, and she kept banging on the door and trying to get us to come over and let her out. Two curtains down was an elderly woman who kept repeating "somebody help me - please help me" every 10 seconds. After a few hours of that, I thought I might lose my mind.
Then, the doctor said he's got my dad's xray results (when I knew he had not had an xray) and when we told the doctor that those couldn't possibly be my dad's results, the doctor laughed at us. Turns out, they weren't his (the doc only figured that out after giving my dad a CAT-scan and seeing that the two didn't match up). I called the hospital and said "if my parents are charged for xrays, the meds immediately given to him to treat his "problem" that he really didn't have, or the CAT-scan, I will turn in the hospital for insurance fraud." Luckily, they came clean and admitted that they messed up and never did charge him for those things.
I cannot even begin to tell you what kind of week I've had. EP and I have to move out of our apartment by Wednesday. No one will help us pack, move heavy stuff (I have a 10 lb. limit since I'm still post-op from my back surgery). I have two sisters (with strong husbands) who live an hour away but one of them (we'll call her Satan) has not helped at all and I asked her twice to help me do some work in the place where we are moving to (which is about 10 min's away from her house). The first time I asked for her help was a day after I did too much and ended up in tremendous pain - she still didn't help. The other sister (we'll call her Princess) has helped in a very limited way - it's got to be on her terms and she always does a tiny bit of work then suddenly has somewhere to be and leaves (she doesn't have a day job - stay-at-home mom with a kid in school). My parents (mom is 72 and dad is 77) are the only ones who will and have helped. Then, my dad, who we kept trying to give small jobs since he can't stress his body and lungs, ended up in the ER on Friday while Princess was on her way to actually help for once (she took him to the ER b/c Satan "didn't have time to check up on him before starting work at 11:00 since she had errands to run." When my dad ended up in the ER, I called Satan and told her that I never want to see or speak to her ever again. Not to mention that Princess was stuck in the ER and so we had, once again, no help to pack and move. BTW, my dad ended up in the ER b/c of his chronic lung condition, not because of anything we had him do, even though Satan would like to believe that it's my fault and that, instead, we all blame her for his problem (rather than understanding that we're all pissed that she couldn't take 10 min's out of her day to check on him - she lives very close by my parents' house).
So, yesterday, some friends did help us move some heavy things - thank goodness for friends! But today, Memorial Day, my very strong brother-in-law (Princess's husband) is off from work all day and my sister said "it's his only day off and we just don't want to leave the house" - translation: "I know you really really need help and that my husband usually cannot help any other day (he works during the day long hours) but we're not willing to give up our Memorial Day to help you." Keep in mind that they are going on a small vacation (camping) this Friday, which is my birthday, by the way. I'll be moving on my birthday (with no help). Fun, fun times.
I guess I'm selfish - I understand my brother-in-law needing a day off. I'm just asking for one trip to help with the heavy stuff that I just can't help EP with. But no. So, we had to call our landlord and ask to extend our stay until Sunday (an additional 4 days which he'll pro-rate); thank goodness he said yes. Meanwhile, my back hurts (not the incision area but the muscles around my shoulder blades keep burning and spasming). I know that I have 3 other "suspicious looking" discs that may herniate or rupture if I'm not careful. But, I just don't know what to do. I know I've lifted boxes that are heavier than I should, but I feel like I have no choice. I'm so exhausted (mentally, emotionally, physically), that I can't even eat anything without my stomach freaking out. I had 13 hours of sleep in 3 days. I had to drive a van we borrowed from a friend when we made a trip to the new place (about an hour away), so I didn't take half of my meds b/c I was afraid they'd make me too tired. I might flip out. Seriously. I'm barely hanging on. I just have to keep reminding myself that we'll get through it one way or another and that many, many people have worse problems than I do.
Wow - I'm really sorry for the major rant. Yikes. I'm fun to be around...:)
P.S. on edit - I cannot afford to pay for help b/c I lost my job (just in case you're wondering why I don't just put some money down and get it over with - hell, I have medical bill collectors breathing down my neck).
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