Confusion

I stayed home from the hospital yesterday to get the laundry done and try to get the house put in order or, at least, begin the process. I planned to go to the hospital once Don got home from work.

I did my Blog Post after talking with my father. Later in the morning, my sister called and began to fill me in on the latest. My father had a few of the details . . . uh, make that ALL the details . . . wrong. They hadn't toured the other hospital. My sister and brother-in-law went over to talk with the people and were told by the hospital administration that they didn't have time. Several other facts were incorrect, as well, and there seems to be a tremendous amount of confusion swirling around Amanda.

Her doctor has told her that she will continue to treat Amanda and that the other hospital will take her back and forth so she can attend clinic. The pelvic specialist is supposed to have his Georgia license tomorrow and then will get to work on coming up with a plan to get Amanda walking again. He will also ring in on Amanda's treatment and will see her in Clinic.

Apparently, none of that is correct. The other hospital does NOT shuttle their patients and their patients are seen by their staff doctors, not physicians from another facility. Furthermore, because of the severe trauma to Amanda's pelvis, they're not sure their doctors are willing to sign onto the case. REALLY? What a surprise. We've waited for this pelvic specialist and now, just as he finally gets his credentials and can actually help, they plan on removing Amanda from the facility where he practices.

This is all unbelievable! And now there's serious concern over Amanda's care again. What if the orthopedic people at this other hospital decide to try but, further into the process, are incapable of dealing with the extent of Amanda's injuries. What then? Nobody seems to have any clear answers to these questions.

Apparently, the move is driven by insurance. But how can an insurance company require her to move to a facility that can't care for her medical needs? I told my sister last night that she needs to find out if Amanda's case has been referred to a Major Case Manager who works for the insurance company. Since my career was as a Human Resources Generalist Specialist, I know a little about how insurance functions. However, this isn't medical insurance. It's vehicular insurance, and I know nothing about this arena. I suggested that Trina call the Insurance Commissioner to get some straight answers. She said she thinks she'll just wait, that they're not rolling Amanda's bed out the door just yet and lots more may happen before they do.

In addition, Amanda currently is trying to heal from 5 infections. She's trying to minimize the amount of pain medication she takes because the narcotics stop her up so badly, leading to other problems. The pins in one hip are causing her a great deal of pain. At first, the site around the pins was red, now the redness has moved in a much larger circle out from the pins and is spreading up her back. Her doctor told her yesterday that she may be having an allergic reaction to the pins, but the other side is fine. It seems that, if it were an allergic reaction, her body would respond the same way on both sides. Her doctor told them yesterday morning that she was calling in ortho to look at the pin site. They didn't show up yesterday.

It does seem that Amanda is getting better, but a chronic illness carries with it lots of other types of problems. Now we're dealing with these peripheral problems as we wait for the pelvis to heal enough that she can move to the next stage of healing.

Please pray against confusion. I don't know how my sister doesn't go crazy! She DID have a migraine for 4 days. It finally went away yesterday, but it's left her weak and frail, which she certainly doesn't need right now. Some answers to all these questions would set everyone's minds more at ease.

Today, I'm running errands for my sister and beginning to look for clothes for my family for Easter and the weddings of my two nephews one week apart in April. Oh, and I need to begin packing Don. He's working today to book a flight for Thursday. He finally got all the necessary approvals for the trip yesterday.

When I went up to the hospital yesterday evening, Amanda was asleep and Trina was gone. My brother-in-law was sitting with his daughter, so we had a nice visit, but I want to SEE Amanda, so I plan on spending some time up there during the day today. So . . . I better get moving. Maybe tomorrow we'll know more.