Thanksgiving Adventure
Donativo protegido
If you're here, it's probably because you're one of my friends/family, so you know who I am. In case you don't know who I am, and you just stumbled here by serendipitous accident, I'm Chris McNaught and I am not a healthy person. Chronologically I'm closing in on 50 years old. Medically I'm closing on 80 years old.
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2006. Since then my life has been one long medical adventure. Blood clots, kidney stones, hand surgery, bone spurs in my shoulders, vocal chord issues, and regular sinus infections.
Thanksgiving 2015 was an even bigger adventure for me - not one I would have planned or wanted.
Years ago I was diagnosed with blood clots in my leg. I took blood thinners for a short time and the blood clots seemed to break up. Of course then they came back. With clots, two strikes and you're out. I was told I'd be on blood thinners the rest of my life. I check my INR regulary to keep my blood from getting too thick or thin.
Because of my RA, I take meds that suppress my immune system, which means I have a poor immune system. I try to stay healthy by staying away from groups of people. Even so, periodically I develop sinus infections that get treated with antiobiotics.
Antiobiotics interact with blood thinners. Although the antibiotics interact, they never seem to affect the INR very much. With this latest round, the antiobiotics interacted much more than in the past. My blood got so thin, I developed a bleed in my stomach muscle. The pain became unbearable - and this for someone who's had more than a dozen kidney stones.
Thinking I was having another kidney stone - because of the pain in my abdomen - I went to my urologist. Good news after the scans: no kidney stone. Bad news: the pain didn't go away. The pain got worse - bad enough for me to go to the ER. They did some scans and found the bleed, which landed me in the hospital for four days, three of those in ICU.
Hospital stays, as I'm sure you're aware, are expensive. There is no inexpensive way to be in a hospital. The final cost of the the visits, the scans, the meds, etc. is almost $40,000. Fortunately my insurance covers most of the cost. My responsibility will be less than $2000, including the follow up visits with the surgeon and my primary doctor. I'm also starting a new med, instead of the previous blood thinner. It costs $370 for a 30 day supply. I am looking into assistance options (through the drug company).
When I shared this holiday medical adventure on Facebook, several friends expressed a desire to help. It surprised me, in the best possible way. I'm so thankful to have a supportive group of friends. And not just financial support - I receive so much more.
Now, I could use your help.
Expenses to Cover:
$1260.00 - Hospital Visit
$130.00 - Doctor Follow-up
$? - Surgeon Follow-up (guessing $130 )
$43.03 - ER Visit
$17.87 - Radiology
$370.00 - One month of new med
$1.78 - Boise Advanced Imaging
$? - Hematologist Follow-up
$? - Vascular surgeon
Total: $1952.68
GoFundMe Fees: $156.00
Total Need: $2108.68
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2006. Since then my life has been one long medical adventure. Blood clots, kidney stones, hand surgery, bone spurs in my shoulders, vocal chord issues, and regular sinus infections.
Thanksgiving 2015 was an even bigger adventure for me - not one I would have planned or wanted.
Years ago I was diagnosed with blood clots in my leg. I took blood thinners for a short time and the blood clots seemed to break up. Of course then they came back. With clots, two strikes and you're out. I was told I'd be on blood thinners the rest of my life. I check my INR regulary to keep my blood from getting too thick or thin.
Because of my RA, I take meds that suppress my immune system, which means I have a poor immune system. I try to stay healthy by staying away from groups of people. Even so, periodically I develop sinus infections that get treated with antiobiotics.
Antiobiotics interact with blood thinners. Although the antibiotics interact, they never seem to affect the INR very much. With this latest round, the antiobiotics interacted much more than in the past. My blood got so thin, I developed a bleed in my stomach muscle. The pain became unbearable - and this for someone who's had more than a dozen kidney stones.
Thinking I was having another kidney stone - because of the pain in my abdomen - I went to my urologist. Good news after the scans: no kidney stone. Bad news: the pain didn't go away. The pain got worse - bad enough for me to go to the ER. They did some scans and found the bleed, which landed me in the hospital for four days, three of those in ICU.
Hospital stays, as I'm sure you're aware, are expensive. There is no inexpensive way to be in a hospital. The final cost of the the visits, the scans, the meds, etc. is almost $40,000. Fortunately my insurance covers most of the cost. My responsibility will be less than $2000, including the follow up visits with the surgeon and my primary doctor. I'm also starting a new med, instead of the previous blood thinner. It costs $370 for a 30 day supply. I am looking into assistance options (through the drug company).
When I shared this holiday medical adventure on Facebook, several friends expressed a desire to help. It surprised me, in the best possible way. I'm so thankful to have a supportive group of friends. And not just financial support - I receive so much more.
Now, I could use your help.
Expenses to Cover:
$1260.00 - Hospital Visit
$130.00 - Doctor Follow-up
$? - Surgeon Follow-up (guessing $130 )
$43.03 - ER Visit
$17.87 - Radiology
$370.00 - One month of new med
$1.78 - Boise Advanced Imaging
$? - Hematologist Follow-up
$? - Vascular surgeon
Total: $1952.68
GoFundMe Fees: $156.00
Total Need: $2108.68
Organizador
Chris McNaught
Organizador
Nampa, ID
