[forestx5]

I fell out of bed in February. Never did that before. I woke early and made breakfast. Drank a couple cups of coffee. Watched some sports highlights on the tube. Saw that I had an hour and a half before needing to report to work so I decided to see if I could fall back asleep. I did.
I was in a deep sleep when my head hit the floor with a thunderclap. I knew immediately I was hurt bad. The head pain went away in 36 hours. The neck pain hung around and I had bruising on my neck. That concerned me because I did not fall on my neck. That was secondary. After a couple of days I went to the ER. My neck was broken at the C2 vertebrate. 37% of people with this injury don't live out the year. Superman could no longer fly after he fractured his C2. I was lucky I didn't damage my spinal cord. I took off my neck brace the other day and got a bill in the mail. All they did for me was image my fracture and provide a neck brace and instructions and an x-ray followup to see that the bone had fused properly. $37,500. You know they were happy to see me. If prone to falling out of bed, try bed rails. Most fractures result from car accidents. Wear your seat belt and save yourself a sore neck and your ice cream money.

[unaluna]

Holy carp!

[forestx5]

Just the beginning. It was a slow morning at the hospital, so they had time to examine me thoroughly. They found a mass on my thyroid about an inch in diameter. I have no symptoms from it. I was then referred to Ear Nose and Throat specialists for a biopsy. They were in no hurry. I paid my copay, noted that I had recent hearing loss, pain and discharge from my ears. The PA asked to touch my neck. That constituted an examination for insurance purposes, then he said they would schedule me for the biopsy. No reason they couldn't have done it that very day. I cancelled the appointment for the biopsy. There is a 5% chance the mass is cancerous, and a chance it will continue to grow to give me swallowing issues. I'm not going to pay another copay after paying $37,500 for MRI and CT Scan, and a copay plus $125 for an ultrasound, and a copay and who knows what else for a PA to touch my neck, bill my insurance, and make a biopsy appointment. He never checked my ears.

[Crazy Hitch]

This is madness. I can’t believe what they are charging you! I’m so sorry it’s so expensive.

[forestx5]

I guess it is OK. My health insurance covers most of it. I was charged $750 for physical therapy. Someone visited me in my room and suggested I not do my upper body workout until my neck brace was removed. That was expensive advice. They gave me a stomach ultrasound which cost over $1,000. They didn't ask me if I wanted or needed one. The insurance would pay for it so they just did it. Our medical conglomerate is building a $5 million expansion and they need the money. They employ a lot of people and treat the indigenous. I'm fortunate to be able to meet my medical cost obligations, but I plan to make extra efforts to stay out of the hospital.