Insurance and Injuries Suck!

Sorry for the bold statement but they do! Who knew that this knee surgery would turn into such a financial mess. Today marks 2 months since my surgery and boy do the bills keep showing up. I don't mean to complain I just want to know where it all keeps coming from. I feel like my credit card is getting more of a workout than my knee. Speaking of which, PT has been going well and last week may be my last week. Praise the Lord for that! I can start using the $40 copay per visit towards the other bills now.

Today while at the orthopedist the receptionist was like you have a $421 payment today. I looked at her in a state of confusion and asked her why and evidentally it was a coinsurance bill. I thought I was paying my coinsurance payment to the hospital... where did this come from? Insurance is so confusing and I feel like I'm getting played somewhere in the process. I've called the orthopedist office back and hopefully they can give me some more explanation..I'm just waiting for them to call me back. SO bottom line....don't get injured..and insurance sucks!

In other news, teacher workdays start Friday. Our new school building is not finished and we will spend the first 3 workdays at the high school. We hope to get in on Wednesday which is also meet your teacher day. I can already anticipate the chaos that is to come and I'm not excited. I don't feel prepared for the year at all. Summer as flown by with all the knee drama and babysitting that I don't feel like I've spent anytime focusing on the new year. Usually summer is a good time for me to reflect on the last year and make improvements. I do some research, some reading, and overall planning. This summer I haven't really done any and I have this feeling of panic. The next week or so is going t be crazy with trying to move in and getting acclamated to a building that I'm afraid the first day of school is going to creep up on me without me being prepared. Please pray for me that I would rest in the Lord and the talents that He has given me. We are also short staffed as more and more kids enroll and more classes have to be created. Pray that our principal would be able to find highly-qualified teachers this late in the game and that they would be there in time for the kids.

Thanks gang! I really do appreciate you listening to my rants and raves all the time. :)

Torture Board

When the doctor says he wants you to use the torture board for 2 weeks...you know it can't be good. It has now been 5 weeks since my surgery and my knee is not back to its full position. When I went two weeks ago they noticed it so they sent me over to the physical therapist. So now I've been seeing the PT 2x a week for the last 2 weeks and been making progress. Well today I went back to the orthopedist and he seem puzzled as to why I still couldn't straighten my knee fully out and lock it into place. He said 5 weeks out it shouldn't be like this, so he said I needed to spend the next few weeks on the "torture board" and it should straighten right out. In my mind I'm thinking, "Isn't this why you sent me to PT?" and I repeatedly told him that the PT and I were working on it and it was getting better. I really don't think he listened to me but rather had in his mind what he was going to do. Frustrated I waited patiently for the nurse to come in and explain how to use the board. Once she put the board on she noticed that my knee was almost there and she couldn't see the need for the board...at least someone was on the same page as me. I thought the doctor would come back in but of course he had moved on to another patient.

This whole process has been so frustrating b/c I feel like while the doctor is knowledgable, he rushes through your visit, not really taking the time to listen to you or really for that matter giving you an extensive look over. I really just want this process to be over so I can stop seeing him.

I now sit here wondering why would he originally prescribe the PT if he could have given me this device in the first place and saved me $40 per visit to the PT. Also I wonder does he not think the PT is doing anything productive so that he has to now prescribe this on top of PT? I wonder what the PT will think of this. Honestly I think I trust her more now than him. At least she takes the time to talk to me and have me do more motions to see what my knee is capable of.

Below is some pictures Jerm took of me in the torture device.





As you can see from the pictures, you strap your leg in and put the straps tight so that your leg lays flat. You are supposed to keep it in there for 5 mins. 10x a day no matter the pain. My leg is really not that far from being flat so it's not as painful as it could be but still its no walk in the park.

I'm sorry to ramble on but I really needed to vent! Thanks for listening!

4th festivities and more knee drama

Again another 4th of July has come and gone and we celebrated our freedom by eating hamburgers and hot dogs while watching fireworks. The festivities started on Tuesday when we celebrated with our small group; we had a cookout at our house and then watched the Wake Forest fireworks. Sorry the picture is blurry...the camera didn't like that we were trying to take a picture in the dark.


Then on the 4th we went furniture shopping! When J and I got married we were blessed to be given furniture to help fill our new apartment, but now we are ready to buy new living furniture that fits our style and comfort. After many stores, we finally found the perfect couch, loveseat, and chair. J was excited because he finally got a leather recliner. Sadly we have to wait like 4 weeks before our couch and loveseat arrive, but Jerm was thrilled to be able to bring the chair home immediately. Below is a picture of the sofa ex. for ours is a camel color. The other picture is of Jerm's chair and another of him enjoying his chair.






After furniture shopping we went over to celebrate with my family. My aunt Jennifer and uncle Mark are members of Northridge Country Club so we went over to the pool and had dinner there at the club. We skipped out on the fireworks because we were so tired so we just came home and watched a movie. (Sorry there are no pictures because they wouldn't let me take pictures of them in their suits) :)

So today I went back to the orthopedists for a 2nd post-op appointment. I'm sad to report that I have to be on the crutches for yet another week. I also am going to have to go to physical therapy because my knee with not straighten out fully yet. It also won't bend past 90 degrees, but it really isn't supposed to until I'm putting full weight on it and walking on it again. I'm frustrated because I really don't feel like I need the crutches and also b/c they are a huge hassle.

In other fun news, tomorrow I get to hang out with 2 of my favorite people. For the last 2 summers, my dear friends Robin and Claire and I have gotten together for our own little camp reunion. The 3 of us met the summer of 2002 when we worked on staff together at Camp Willow Run. (I actually met Claire when we were campers but we never really hung out until we were on staff.) This weekend we are spending the weekend together catching up and playing at camp. I really excited about seeing them! Here is a pic of our reunion last year (with the addition of Alicia!)


Hope you had a wonderful 4th (and for making it all the way to the bottom of the page. :) )

Say goodbye...

to the stitches but the crutches must stay for 10 more days! Needless to say, I'm not excited about the crutches or the information he gave me. He said that there is no way to prevent the extra cartlidge from growing again and there is a good chance it will reappear, meaning another scope. Let's pray that it doesn't return and this will be the only scope. Please also pray that my knee will be able to return to its normal position.

Thanks guys!

Polar Care 300

This is the Polar Care 300 which has been my friend over the last week and half. This lovely appartus has kept my knee nice and cool without the messiness of leaky bags. Well today we finally got around to checking our snail mail, which had our wonderful bill from the hospital in it. It is amazing the amount of medicine and materials that go into having knee surgery. As we were going through the itemized bill we found the expense for this lovely "cooling system" that encompasses my leg and can you guess how much it cost? Ok look at it closely...its really a little Igloo cooler (not even big enough to hold a six pack of sodas), some tubing and a knee pad. Not really complicated from our standpoint but the company must think so because it cost a WHOOPING $435!!! We were shocked!! Luckily as of right now, the hospital and I expect the insurance to cover it all and we do not owe any money. But if I comes back to us having to pay, this is the first thing I'm going to ask if I can give back! :)

Stay tuned tomorrow for the doctor's update!

Update on the knee

Can I just say that I praise the Lord that I am not permenantly crippled? Crutches are a struggle for me and I'm not liking the fact that I can't get everywhere in my normal quick fashion.

Monday I was allowed to unwrap the bandages and take of the dressing. The knee is serverly bruised near the incisions but otherwise it's ok. Before Monday, any time I wanted to take a shower I had to wrap plastic trash bags around my leg. Monday was a glorious day when I could take a normal shower.

The pain hasn't been too bad for the most part ex. right before bed. I'm also having to take injections of Lovonox to prevent blood clotting in my knee. Because I can't stand the sight of the needle, Jerm is having to give me the shots. While he is an excellent nurse in every other way, he needs to work on his shot-giving techniques. The shots hurt like none other esp. since they have to be given in my stomach. Needless to say, this is my least favorite part of the day.

Tuesday I started my nannying job, which was a little challenging with the crutches. Luckily the kids are pretty self-sufficient and I didn't have to do too much. I think I overdid it though and Wednesday it hurt more. The kids went to the water park on Wednesday so I had the day off and rested it on the couch.

Slowly the knee is coming along and I'm hoping Monday, at my post-op appointment, I will be able to leave the crutches behind.

Thanks for all of you who have called and checked on me. I especially have to thank Jeremy and Alyson who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you J for taking care of everything in the house, from cooking to cleaning to taking care of me. Alyson thank you for always checking in on me and for constantly changing my ice bags and getting my mail. I could never tell you how much I appreciate all you have done. Hopefully I can pay you guys back one day!

Surgery

Hey everyone!

I just wanted everyone to know that I am home now from surgery. We got home around 11 am and I've been perched on the couch ever since. I have a set of lovely crutches, beautiful bandages, and a cool new toy. Its an ice knee brace that is continously cooled by this tiny cooler of ice.


So I know what you really want to know is what the doctor found. Dr. Galland said the lining of my knee was producing extra cartlidge and therefore extra fluid around my knee. He scraped out the extra cartlidge, drained the fluid and repaired a small tear in my menicus. He says it will be 72 hours before I can take the bandages off and before I'm really able to get out. Visitors are welcome to come by though!

Thank you for all your prayers and support today!

(Please forgive me if there are grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm still not 100% in the head)

Love,
Shannon

A little of everything..

I haven't really updated with anything substantial lately so I thought I'd update you on what's going on in our lives...

First, Jeremy has survived his 2nd year of seminary. He finished up last week and is enjoying having some extra time and reading for pleasure. I'm enjoying actually seeing him since he's not locked up upstairs hunched over his books.

I have 8 more days of school! This long weekend has been a tease as the weather has been beautiful and hot. I am digging deep for the motivation to go back tomorrow. Oh and Jerm and I also have chest congestion so we're not our complete normal selves.

I have now secured a summer job as a nanny/chauffeur. For 4 weeks this summer, I will be driving/supervising an 11 and 8 year old as they take swim lessons, tennis lessons, and play this summer. I am excited about the change of pace and what seems to be an easy way to make some extra cash. The idea of hanging out by the pool all summer really excites me!

(I can't remember if I told ya'll this, so bear with me if I have) June 15th I'm having arthroscopic surgery on my knee to see if we can find out the problem. Pray that the surgery will prove fruitful!

My mom, my mom-in-law, and I went to see Beth Moore this weekend in Boone. She was amazing speaker and teacher of the word. She spoke on Deut. 33 and the blessing of Asher. If you want to know more, send me a message and I'll elaborate some more.

On a more personal note, I have baby fever! As much as I love my friends' babies and enjoy hanging out with them, I want my own, one that looks like Jeremy and I. Jeremy continues to tell me to wait and that's it's not the right time but he doesn't help the matter when he looks so stinkin' adorable holding all the babies.

So I think that's it...sorry it's not too exciting. My friend Jaime is a picture taking fool and is documenting her family's life through online scrapbook/blog. She really inspires me to take more pictures, so hopefully more pictures will come soon to my own blog. Have a great week!

Scoping it out...

So the scoping/surgery is set for June 15th. Hopefully this exploratory surgery will find what is going on with my knee.

In other fun news, I'm going to see Grease on stage Friday night. While it's not the Broadway version, I'm still just excited. Grease is one of my favorite movies and I look forward to seeing it on stage, esp. when I only had to pay $10 for the tixs. Gotta love the educator discount night!

Happy May!

I haven't updated in a few weeks but I really haven't had anything eventful to report.

Yesterday I went back to the orthopedist for the 3rd or maybe 4th time. (I've honestly stopped counting!) Once again, he is baffled as to what is wrong with my knee. He has done 2 MRIs, blood tests, and a steroid shot. None of these have solved the mysterious knee injury nor cured it. He is puzzled b/c everything he thought it could be would have gone away now reducing the swelling. He now wants to put a scope into my knee to do some exploration. Jeremy went with me to the appointment and he now thinks we should get a second opinion before cutting my knee.

I don't know what I think...I just know that I want the mystery solved and my knee to be better so I won't have to wear this hot and ugly knee brace. So if you know an orthopedist out there who could give me a second opinion, please pass the name along. Please pray that the Lord would do miraculous things and heal the knee without any kind of procedures. If healing is not His will for this situation, please pray that He will reveal the problem.

Other than that, nothing new. We're traveling to Boone this weekend to see Adrian (Jeremy's brother) graduate from grad school. Only 25 more days of school!

Emotionally charged day

I have rehashed this day to so many people that I don't know if I can do it again but I felt like I owe an update to those of you who actually read this..

First, my knee...the doctor still doesn't know what is going on with it. After holding in the room for 30 minutes, he finally came in and talked to me for only 5 minutes. He said that what he originally thought was a cyst was actually just a very normal lymnoid. This would not cause the swelling so he is still unsure what is causing it because the MRI did not show anything. He is now sending me to get blood work done to test for anything from arthritis to lupus to lyme. If this doesn't show anything I then will have to have fluid drawn off my knee for testing, maybe even have the scope put in. Honestly I was left with a lot of unanswered questions and a sore knee from the big steroid shot he put in there. I would appreciate your prayers; pray that the Lord would reveal the problem to the doctors and that the solution would be easy!

Then the never ending drama of 3rd grade. I was basically told today that I would not be moving to 4th grade and that my partner may be, leaving me by myself. I found out that during my final evaluation today that my principal had a misconception of what was going on in our hall and I was finally able to express my frustration. It looked like I wasn't being the team player when actually all I ever do it collaborate with my team. I'm not sure if it helped but at least she finally knows. I'm not sure what will happen from here and I'm praying that the Lord's will will be done and that I will be content in whatever the outcome may be.

On another note, while I'm here wallowing in my woes there is something that is much bigger than me. I am heart broken at the deaths of the 33 students at Virgina Tech. Many details are not known at this point as to why it all happened but Hokies please know that I am praying for you.

Tidbits

Ok so I've been bad about actually writing anything of substance lately so here are little tidbits of what's been going....

1. My knee is improving by wearing the brace but it's still not 100%. I had my 1st MRI images read last Tuesday and the doctor said I might have a slight tear in my minsus (I can't spell!) but is more concerned that the radiologist said he saw a cyst behind my knee. The orthopedist says he wants me to have a 2nd MRI, this time with contrast, to see what is up with cyst. This was last Tuesday and it's now Tuesday again and I have yet to hear from the doctor's office again to set up the MRI. I realized this is the nature of working with a doctor.......waiting!


2. Sara York got married! We traveled to Charlotte this past weekend to see the joyous occasion! It was nice to see the whole college crew though I realized we aren't really as close anymore.



3. Bekah, one of my best friends from college, got engaged! We're marking the calendar for July 27th when we'll go to Asheville to see her get hitched! I am excited to be a lovely bridesmaid (with a most fabulous dress). I am 1 out of 2 so I have lots of responsibilities but I'm really excited about it!



4. This week is Spring Break! I'm enjoying sleeping in and not having a schedule. Jeremy is leaving for Boston today for a conference so I'll go visit my parents for the 2nd half of the week.



5. My plans for next year are still up the air.....My principal has not made a final decision as to whether she is going to move Kim and I up but it is not looking hopefully. She is afraid I don't have enough writing experience and she's worried about moving 2 people up at the same time. Honestly, I'm very frustrated and wish that she would come to my classroom and see what I can do. I'm so burned out with school and I would really love the change. We'll see what happens...please pray that the Lord's will be done in this situation and that I would have a peace no matter the outcome.



6. Jeremy and I will be an aunt and uncle next Tuesday! Erin, Jeremy's sister, is scheduled to have a c-section next Tuesday morning. Madison is already 9 lbs and she is 2 weeks away from her due date! (The Cox family has big babies! Jeremy was 10 lbs! OH my look what we have to look forward to!) She is too big for Erin to deliver naturally so they have already scheduled the c-section. We are excited to meet her!

I think that's all. :)

A Bum Knee

Isn't it sad when you are injured and you don't even know how you did it? As many of you know, I'm not really an athlete...don't get me wrong...I love to play and run around but I have never participated on an athletic team (ex. the cheerleading squad, which many people don't think are athletes, but that's another blog entry in itself). Anywho, about a month ago my left knee started hurting when I would bend. When I went to Charlotte, my friend Mandy (the soon to be PA) looked at and told me some fancy word and that I just need to take some motrin for a while. So I did but the pain continued and has progressively gotten worse. Now as I walk it will catch funny and send severe pain up my leg. It's the craziest thing because I have no clue how it happpened but now I have a swollen knee and lots of pain.

I don't really care to go to the doctor's so I put it off for a while but finally went to see my family doctor and he couldn't tell so he told me to go see an orthopedist which I saw today. He says he is kind of puzzled b/c some of the symptoms say I have patella tendonitis but the swelling is atypical for this diagnosis. So now it's off to yet another specialist for an MRI b/c I could have torn cartilage behind the patella. Needless to say, I am less than excited to have to make yet another appointment to find out what is wrong. Meanwhile, he gave me stretches to do and an oh so lovely knee brace. I mean now I really look the part of the injured athlete...maybe I can fool everyone. :)