Update

Sandi is doing about the same in all aspects. Late this afternoon new oxygen tanks arrived that should last

longer---- we hope. We know the cylinder on the right, which is the biggest she has had to this point, lasts about an hour and a half on her rate of 5 liters of air per minute. Hopefully the new bigger cylinder on the left lasts longer as just getting to the hospital and the doctor's office takes about 45 minutes one way.

By the way--the caution tape you see tied to Sandi's rocker behind the table is because they are in the process of fixing a hole at the base of the wall between our porch and next door. After leaking for over a year the porch was collapsing in that area due to wood rot so they have been working on it this week.

Sandi has been on steroids about two weeks now. Whether that is why she suddenly has started growing hair or not we have no idea, but earlier today we discovered she has hair growing on the sides of her head. She still has nothing on the top of her head, but it is definitely coming in on the sides and especially on the back of her head. It is coming in jet black and is very short at this point. Sandi was thrilled to see the hair start coming back as there was strong possibility that it wouldn't come back again.

Early this morning we got a call from the doctor's office and they want her down there Friday morning for a little blood work. They need to check her cumindin levels going into the weekend to make sure the dosage is right as everything has been jiggled this way and that with the recent hospital stay and everything else. We are still on schedule for Monday regarding major blood work and a doctor's visit.

I spent a large part of today working on letters to collection agencies thanks to Medical City Hospital Dallas and Texas Radiology ignoring the installment agreements we have with them and filing claims. In the case of Texas Radiology they told the collection agency Sandi owes over a grand in unpaid claims. Interestingly enough, they have only billed us for slightly more than $20 bucks and that was back the first week of June. How the alleged balance got to be over a grand with no other bills coming our way I have no idea.

I also don't know why, when they know about our situation and have the full details on it, anyone anywhere who has two brain cells to rub together thinks that reporting us to a collection agency is going to do anything at all to create money for them. Our credit is shot and we don't care. It does not matter. It is not like we are going to buy a house, apply for credit, etc. We don't have money to pay what matters--the rent, utilities, Sandi's insurance, her drugs that are not covered, etc. Reporting us to a collection agency is a waste of time and does nothing to magically create money for us to pay bills with or do anything. In the case of both the hospital and Texas Radiology as well as a couple of other medical providers that have done this, all the billing stuff is handled far away in Delaware, Ohio, and elsewhere. So, the local folks who start things can't or won't do anything to assist or fix the problems their external billing staff create.

I did manage to work on a couple of reviews today as this blog is becoming way to much medical news all the time. One of those reviews appears tomorrow......