Cystic Fibrosis Fatboy — Page 9 — The daily quest to gain weight

Beware of Warning Signs

March 9, 2012

Warning sign Welcome to Fatboy’s longest hospital stay in over 9 years. Prior to this week, my longest stay since I was in elementary school was a total stay of 3 days for hemoptysis back in 2000. Well, you know how I am about shattering my records, so I was going for broke on this one.

Symptoms started Friday afternoon. I thought it odd a couple of times during the day that I hadn’t gone to the bathroom, since I can’t go more than a meal without making room for new food, thanks to my small intestinal resection at birth. When it was closer to dinnertime, I came downstairs and Beautiful gave me a playful punch in the stomach. It hurt, but it shouldn’t have and definitely shouldn’t have been sticking out like that, either.

We got into the car a few minutes later and I had a moderate cramp as the garage door closed and we pulled away. Since we were headed out to her parents’ for dinner with a family friend, I (stupidly) went against my last-minute better judgement and sat down to beef roast, potatoes, and veggies. I have no one but myself to blame for not stepping up and saying, “You know, I think I’m teetering on the edge of a blockage now, so I think I’ll stay in the living room and try to stay active.”

I 100% guarantee you that I’m man enough to do that should an “obligation” like this present itself again. They know me. They know my limitations, and still love me just the same. No one would have been upset if I had done what I should have done. Lesson learned.

So, what happened? [Read more…]

American Idol Season 11 – Top 13 Predictions

March 8, 2012

Last night was quite the performance! For you, for me, dawg, most of these people have to go and let the hot singers stay to entertain us longer. I know it’s been more than 2 weeks since my last testosterone shot, but I got a tear in my eye after Jessica finished “I Will Always Love You,” as that was arguably one of the top performances of all-time on Idol. Watch for yourself if you missed it:

In danger:

Shannon Magrane – girl, you know I’ve liked you since the audition, but that wasn’t up to snuff. I’d love to see you continue, but I’m afraid you’re in real danger.

Jermaine Jones – who listens to that, bro? That was awful, unmarketable junk compared to the others. Go home and wash your mamma’s dishes. We want to be entertained.

Elise Testone – yikes, that needed help. All over the place on pitch – never really found the note, did ya?

My faves (in order):

Jessica Sanchez – best performance among over 200 episodes that I’ve seen.

Heejun Han – those were terrific vocals, you’re a great person, and I couldn’t be happier to see you in the finale. You almost made me cry, too. Jennifer Lopez isn’t the only one who gets goosies watching Idol.

Skylar Laine – you barely beat out Hollie, but you did. That was pure fun, the presentation and character were perfect. You’re the next Reba.

Hollie Cavanagh – whooo, that was good, too. You’re a force to be reckoned with alongside Jessica, but you’re both similar in style, so we’ll see how you two play off Skylar being country.

Phillip Phillips – excellent performance. I truly enjoyed it, but I’m waiting for your to stop pulling faces and lifting your leg up like you’re about to fart on someone before I hop on your bandwagon.

Bottom Two:

[Read more…]

An Update from Tallahassee

March 8, 2012

Cartwheels Just as I was finishing my nebs this morning, I got a call from an 850 area code – Tallahassee. I got so excited and dropped everything we were doing. The news is beyond good, but best digested in bullet points.

Aetna responded to them that I rec’d my booklet now (we have) and that I did request it on Jan 2 and mid-Feb (we did).
Aetna admitted that we did not get proper notice of the plan changing according to law.
Aetna admitted that we did not get a choice of new plans to choose from – but that was because it was supposed to just be a new ID card.
Aetna’s wording of the issue regarding my Rx costs made it sound like we were not the only ones in the system who were affected because it was an issue with a group number.
Tallahassee was going to get a reimbursement for us for any costs had we purchased Rxs at the improper rate (we didn’t).
They also said we can’t really get any compensation for our 20+ hours arguing with Aetna reps.
Tallahassee said they have been receiving numerous complaints similar to ours now, but ours was the most eloquent and cut to the chase, so ours led the way to the problem. They are auditing and attempting to contact everyone in the group who has these medications to assist them.

I feel like a champion for the little guys out there now. He thanked me for getting this info to them to help so many people. He said Aetna is a very responsive company when contacted and are more willing than most companies to respond well.

I told him that we confirmed that I had a grandfathered plan with a $5M lifetime max and asked him his professional opinion if it was smart to stay on that. “Absolutely,” was his confident reply. I asked him if I jumped to UnitedHealthcare if I’d be going from the pan into the fire and he said that if I did that, Tallahassee has no regulatory control over them because they are out-of-state insurers – and it would actually be Golden Rule as the company. He said for the $640 we will be paying for my plan alone starting next month, I have an excellent plan that I should never consider ditching for another.

At the end of the call, I told him about my Twitter storm and the responses we got back. He said that is most likely the same department that Tallahassee deals with: the resolutions department. They are the ones who either give direct answers or solve problems efficiently.

David: 1 – Goliath: 0

Back Home from the Hospital

March 7, 2012

We got discharged at 3pm today! We’d simply had enough when infectious control came in to inform Beautiful that she needed to wear a gown, mask, and gloves at all times in the room with me for HER protection. I made a call to clinic, relayed that, and got the answer that it is indeed the policy.

I didn’t even have to ask (because Sue is the greatest nurse in the world and knows when I have reached my breaking point), discharge started, calls were made, texts were sent, papers were printed, and my street clothes went on. Somehow I was no longer considered a danger to Beautiful as we walked out of the hospital unmasked and got in the car together.

I’ll have several posts about my 5 days in the hospital – I started writing a post and stopped at 1200 words. It’s best digested in small servings, just like my food for the next week.

My stomach is VERY tender and does best with warm food and drink and my intestines are going to be their usual tender self for a week or more, but at least they didn’t have to operate!

Oh, hi, Kristen. You win the best nurse of the 8th floor award.

Beware of Warning Signs

March 9, 2012

Welcome to Fatboy's longest hospital stay in over 9 years. Prior to this week, my longest stay since I was in elementary school was a total stay of 3 days for hemoptysis back in 2000. Well, you know how I am about shattering my records, so I was … [Read more]

American Idol Season 11 – Top 13 Predictions

March 8, 2012

Last night was quite the performance! For you, for me, dawg, most of these people have to go and let the hot singers stay to entertain us longer. I know it's been more than 2 weeks since my last testosterone shot, but I got a tear in my eye after … [Read more]

An Update from Tallahassee

March 8, 2012

Just as I was finishing my nebs this morning, I got a call from an 850 area code - Tallahassee. I got so excited and dropped everything we were doing. The news is beyond good, but best digested in bullet points. Aetna responded to them that I … [Read more]

Back Home from the Hospital

March 7, 2012

We got discharged at 3pm today! We'd simply had enough when infectious control came in to inform Beautiful that she needed to wear a gown, mask, and gloves at all times in the room with me for HER protection. I made a call to clinic, relayed that, … [Read more]

In danger:

My faves (in order):

Bottom Two:

Time Elapsed Since IVs