I forgot to mention that when I
first got to the ER, they couldn’t find my previous medical records. The
reason? They had my age as 75 years old. Damn! I look good for 75!
While wearing a hospital gown, one
must be constantly aware about how one's legs are positioned. Well I lost that
awareness while being pushed on a wheelchair from the telemetry unit to the
cardiology department. I forgot to keep my legs together. Fortunately I was
wearing shorts.
A woman was pushing me around at the
hospital and I loved every minute of it. Oh, it was just a cute radiology tech
transporting me on a wheelchair. The same wheelchair which I offered to two
ladies in the elevator in my attempt to be a gentleman.
Before the treadmill stress test, I
was hooked up to more electrodes. Thoughts of Steve Austin (the Six Million
Dollar Man) ran through my head. Another echocardiogram was done prior to
mounting the treadmill. Here is how the treadmill stress test went: it started
with a very slow 3 MPH walk and every three minutes the speed would increase. The
second 3 minute segment was also easy. On the third 3 minute segment, the speed
increased significantly. I told the technologist that it felt like a 13:30 to
13:40 pace per mile. He was surprised how right I was and confirmed that the
pace was indeed 13:30. I told him that was how fast I can walk on pavement for
6 to 8 miles. I anticipated that I would
have to start running on the next segment because it would no longer be a walking
pace and told the tech and cardiologist so. Um, did I mention that I was only
wearing hospital supplied socks on my feet? Well, that’s akin to barefoot
running which I’ve never done on the street or the treadmill. But run barefoot
on the treadmill I did, knowing it would only last for 3 minutes and hoping I
don’t tear my bad inner ankle tendons. The pace was probably only 6 MPH but it
sure felt close to 6.5. Heck I haven’t run 10 minutes per miles since I don’t
know when! At least I surprised the tech about my knowledge of pace based on my
perceived effort J.
Before I could catch my breath, it was back on the bed for a post
walk/run echocardiogram. I jokingly asked the tech if I could do another 18
minutes on the treadmill so I can put in my minimum workout for the day. It
felt so good to walk fast then run on the treadmill even though it only lasted
a few minutes.
My cardiologist cleared me for
discharge after the treadmill stress test. I’m glad that my labs (other than
the cholesterol level), cardiac ultrasound, and treadmill stress tests indicated
that my heart is ok. However, I am still having some discomfort on my chest,
neck and trapezius areas which might be muscular pain or stress. And darn, that
nitroglycerine headache lasted for 3 days!
Someone from the hospital called at
about 1 p.m. last Monday. I thought they were just calling to follow up and ask
how I was doing. Well, she identified herself as a patient account representative.
That didn’t sound good. That usually means that I owe them some money and how
right I was. I was informed that I indeed owed $100 for the ER visit. What I
understood from my insurance coverage was that if I was admitted, the ER fee is
waived. Sylvia explained to me that if I was admitted, my co-pay would have
been $250 but since the doctor only ordered an “observaton”, that counted as an
ER visit. So the hospital was actually billing me for a lower rate. Just to
make sure, I asked if the rest of my tests, meds and treatments were covered.
She said yes. I told her that when I heard the words “patient account
representative”, I started having chest pain again, then I laughed with her. Well,
there goes my credit card getting another workout to pay for another ER visit.
And I even haven’t paid off my Korean Airlines bill yet. Oh my…, I can hardly
wait for the Long Beach Fire Department ambulance bill to arrive(yes, you have to pay for those too).
I don’t even know if that’s covered by insurance. And what about my traffic
ticket? Still waiting for that fine too, most likely about 500 dollars.
Lastly, I don’t remember ever riding
in an ambulance here in the U.S. before other than when my job requires me to
escort a patient aboard. One time I was in an ambulance as a patient was in
1972 when I was being transported from the Manila domestic airport to Capitol
Medical Center to have my fractured ankle treated. Ok, I just remembered
something. I think it was 1983 when I got hit by a car coming out of a driveway
while I was riding my bike. The paramedics might have transported me to the
hospital in their ambulance at that time too.
Well, that’s
it folks. I hope I don’t have to write about another hospital stay any time
soon.
To read part 1 and the rest of this hospital visit click the links below:
Public comments below, private comments: E-mail Me!
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