squirrel 0 #1 June 15, 2009 ....all fused up. Jenni, my wife, had the surgery 5+ weeks ago to fix a 35+ degree curve. this is the second surgery, she had her lower curve corrected at age 15. this surgery attached to the old fusion and went up to T4. all of the pain and numbness in her arms, legs, and back is gone! just recover pain now. doc says "give me 9 months, and then you can go do what ever you want."got a copy of the bill to our insurance...$308,000. yikes! ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrwrong 0 #2 June 15, 2009 Yaaay..... Congrats to your wife and her new life as pain free But $308.000... Just WOW... How much of that are being covered by insurance??? “The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.” - George Bernard Shaw He who dies with the most toys, wins..... dudeist skydiver # 19515 Buy quality and cry once! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #3 June 15, 2009 I'm fused from T1-L2, with some other hardware stuck in there just above and below, and a cage replacing L1. My spine surgery was a lot less expensive (around 50k), but my total hospital bill was about 750k (I spent almost two months there, and this wasn't the only thing they had to deal with). My insurance covered almost everything--total cost to me was $25 ER copay. On the plus side, I'm now married to my rehab doctor. -- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #4 June 15, 2009 Quote On the plus side, I'm now married to my rehab doctor. I bet you can't get away with not doing your physical therapy exercises. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #5 June 15, 2009 sorry, that was the "total" bill for the surgery, and 7 day stay at cedars sinai. surgical services were something like $80,000. we have a $3500 yearly deductable to keep our rates down. always figured we could handle $3500, but not a huge bill. Quote Yaaay..... Congrats to your wife and her new life as pain free But $308.000... Just WOW... How much of that are being covered by insurance??? ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #6 June 15, 2009 was that from a bad landing? you teach BASE right? hows the pain now? gotta love that you married your rehab doc, so cool. we hope to be jumping and diving again after recovery. Quote I'm fused from T1-L2, with some other hardware stuck in there just above and below, and a cage replacing L1. My spine surgery was a lot less expensive (around 50k), but my total hospital bill was about 750k (I spent almost two months there, and this wasn't the only thing they had to deal with). My insurance covered almost everything--total cost to me was $25 ER copay. On the plus side, I'm now married to my rehab doctor. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrwrong 0 #7 June 15, 2009 Quote sorry, that was the "total" bill for the surgery, and 7 day stay at cedars sinai. surgical services were something like $80,000. we have a $3500 yearly deductable to keep our rates down. always figured we could handle $3500, but not a huge bill. Quote Yaaay..... Congrats to your wife and her new life as pain free But $308.000... Just WOW... How much of that are being covered by insurance??? Well... $3.5k are definately better than $308k “The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.” - George Bernard Shaw He who dies with the most toys, wins..... dudeist skydiver # 19515 Buy quality and cry once! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #8 June 15, 2009 yes. we both hate the insurance system, but since medical expenses are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, it is a must to have. and since we jump, dive, ride, and fly ultralights we have to have it. although the fact that our rates go up every year, it is getting close to the time of "self insuring." that is, take the funds paid to insurance and buy investment properties. our insurance has a 1 million lifetime pay out cap. so once we reach that, we need to move the money to growing investments, then, if needed, sell investments for medical care. risky, but the numbers can work. side note, interesting speech on medical costs right now by the president. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thedude325 0 #9 June 15, 2009 My open heart at the Mayo clinic was just over 1.1 mil. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrwrong 0 #10 June 15, 2009 Jeeesus.... Well You just gotta love the Swedish system.... We can have all that for just $50 of copay for each visit to the Dr. No BS insurances or anything....“The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.” - George Bernard Shaw He who dies with the most toys, wins..... dudeist skydiver # 19515 Buy quality and cry once! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DangerRoo 0 #11 June 15, 2009 Wow! just wow congrats, and hope the healing time goes well. (I.C.D#2 VP) ""I'm good with my purple penis straw" ~sky mama Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #12 June 15, 2009 Quotewas that from a bad landing? Low pull, resulting in high speed impact. Quoteyou teach BASE right? hows the pain now? Yep. I pretty much have constant pain. After a long day of repetitive motion is when it's the worst (like packing all day). The thing that makes it best is getting good low impact exercise (I'm swimming 60-90 minutes every day at this point, and it helps a lot).-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #13 June 15, 2009 Quote Yep. I pretty much have constant pain. After a long day of repetitive motion is when it's the worst (like packing all day). The thing that makes it best is getting good low impact exercise (I'm swimming 60-90 minutes every day at this point, and it helps a lot). Was this from awhile back or recently? Reason I ask is that Jenni had the surgery on April 29th, and the pain of recovery is there, but getting better every day. Will your pain eventually go away? She is off all pain killers, they made her sick to the stomach anyway, just has to lay down on her back every 3 to 4 hours or so. We are using the hot tub every day, being weightless and warm really helps. All of her muscles that were moved during surgery really ache. She also did not have pre-surgery trauma though, just pain from the 35 degree bend. Over all, she is in less pain now then before surgery. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OlympiaStoica 0 #14 June 15, 2009 Wow ... that is a lot of metal to carry around in one's body - it hurts just to look at. I'm glad to hear your wife is on her way to living pain free ... O Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #15 June 16, 2009 Quote Wow ... that is a lot of metal to carry around in one's body - it hurts just to look at. Quote I call her my little wolverine! Quote I'm glad to hear your wife is on her way to living pain free ... O thanks so much! ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
philly51 0 #16 June 16, 2009 Glad to hear that she's on the road to recovery. I was fused from L3 to T1 in February and my muscles still let me know that they're around. Off PT for a week (still exercising). and I've been jumping for a month. Concrats again! Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, Shouting "...holy shit...what a ride!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmsmith 1 #17 June 16, 2009 Quoteyes. we both hate the insurance system, but since medical expenses are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy... The amazing thing is that most folks who file BK [do] have medical insurance. The problem is that too many folks are over extended, and the co-payments push them past the point of no return. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #18 June 18, 2009 Sorry, I only just came back to this thread. QuoteQuote Yep. I pretty much have constant pain. After a long day of repetitive motion is when it's the worst (like packing all day). The thing that makes it best is getting good low impact exercise (I'm swimming 60-90 minutes every day at this point, and it helps a lot). Was this from awhile back or recently? Reason I ask is that Jenni had the surgery on April 29th, and the pain of recovery is there, but getting better every day. I always have pain, and probably always will. But, I think she's going to do better than that. After my major incident and surgery, I had pretty minimal pain, and felt pretty good. Of course, that made me go out and get into more trouble (which didn't result in surgery, but did require a body cast for a few months), and that has given me the level of pain I have now, which I expect to keep until/unless I get more surgery (my surgeon advised putting it off as long as possible--like 20 years). The lesson is: If you ever break yor back, for god's sake don't do it again. QuoteWill your pain eventually go away? I doubt it. I'm not on any painkillers now. We tried a bunch of different stuff, the best of which was the time release fentanyl patches, but eventually I decided I'd rather be clear and deal with some pain than be a little foggy all the time.-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #19 June 18, 2009 Quote I'm fused from T1-L2, with some other hardware stuck in there just above and below, and a cage replacing L1. My spine surgery was a lot less expensive (around 50k), but my total hospital bill was about 750k (I spent almost two months there, and this wasn't the only thing they had to deal with). My insurance covered almost everything--total cost to me was $25 ER copay. On the plus side, I'm now married to my rehab doctor. I got the 'Rough Country Suspension' put it 15 years ago...L1~L4. My bill was 220.000, my end was FIVE U.S. DOLLARS! Doc told me not to jump for at least a year...364 days after surgery I broke out an old Mighty Mac I had in the closet and went to Elsinore. No pain & no problems since the sawbones went ironworker. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #20 July 5, 2009 Update: about 9 weeks out...Jenni is doing great, no pain killers, walking 2 to 3 miles a day! We are now able to drive a llttle longer and made it to dog beach. still need to lay on her back to rest every 3 to 4 hours, but she is doing great! ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #21 July 5, 2009 All my love and well wishes for her.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pokerstar 0 #22 July 6, 2009 QuoteUpdate: about 9 weeks out...Jenni is doing great, no pain killers, walking 2 to 3 miles a day! We are now able to drive a llttle longer and made it to dog beach. still need to lay on her back to rest every 3 to 4 hours, but she is doing great! Fantastic! :) All the best and speedy speedy recovery!Fortunately, I'm adhering to a pretty strict, uh, drug, uh, regimen to keep my mind, you know, uh, limber. --- The Dude --- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
