Louis Mitlyng medical bills
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My name is Linda Mitlyng. I am married to a wonderful husband and loving father, that our boys adore. We had a simple life. We bought property and built a house in the country to start a small farm, raising chickens and ducks, and a huge garden, as well as resurrecting the orchard that was on the property. It was idyllic. Until, March 30, 2016, when I took my husband to a local hospital's Emergency Department because he was having trouble. He could not eat or drink anything, it would come back up like it could not pass through the esophagus. A friend watched our boys and we thought it would only be a few hours. It became a nightmare.
The gastroenterologists performed an EGD in the emergency room to get the blockage passed. BUT, it took longer than the 15-20 minutes they stated, and they intubated my husband. At some point, they punctured my husband's esophagus, and air had filled his entire chest cavity. They had collapsed his lungs. It was taking a lot longer than planned.
He told the gastroenterologist he couldn't breathe, but they kept insisting he was fine. The ER doctor came in and saw the problem (crepitis) and told the gastroenterologist put a chest tube in. I was told if they did not do this, he would die.
We were told the hospital was not able to handle the injury of the punctured esophagus, that my husband would need surgery and he was transferred to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, which is 2 hours away. I called my friend that was watching our boys. "As long as it takes" was the response. I didn't see my boys for 2 days until I picked them up to have their godmother watch them over the weekend, and then their great grandmother flew in to help after that. I had driven over 1100 miles in 6 days going back and forth to the hospital.
My husband spent 2 days in the ICU, then 4 more days in the pulmonary unit. They stabilized him, verified the puncture was healing and watched for infection because of the chest tube and made sure that it was draining well. My husband was off work for 5 weeks.
My husband was in good health before this. His asthma was minimal, and he rarely used his emergency inhaler, and stopped using the preventative inhaler all together.
Now, he is using a preventative inhaler again and is using the emergency inhaler on a daily basis. He had lost 25 lbs in a week, and he was not a large man to begin with.
We had talked to the hospital that caused the injury about the situation, but because of the consent form they have you sign, they are exempt from any wrongdoing, and basically we are on the hook for the bills.
Because of Affordable Healthcare, our plan has an $8000 deductible, which had not been met, so the bills are astronomical to us.
It has been a struggle to pay the medical bills. The hospital here, the ambulance, and Henry Ford hospital. Not to mention that when my husband was off, short term disability only pays 60%, and with the mortgage payment, taxes and insurance, and 2 young children to feed, it didn't go far.
It was very hard on us financially, as my husband is the breadwinner, and I am a stay at home mom for our 2 boys. We had just started a small farm 2 years ago and trying to get that up and running had drained a lot of our resources, that we could have used to pay the medical bills.
Any support would go to pay the hospitals and the ambulance company that transported my husband. My husband's insurance premiums will be going up at least 30% next year, which will make it even harder to get the medical bills paid and try to sustain a farm and family. Because he works in the banking industry, we cannot afford to have any delinquencies or bad debt, as it could jeopardize his job.
If we can get help with this, it would mean so much to my husband and I. He is frustrated that this happened and has plummeted us financially, making it difficult to live the simple life we had prior to this.
Please consider our request. We have prayed for help for this to get us back on track. We would be eternally grateful for any support.
Thank you!
The gastroenterologists performed an EGD in the emergency room to get the blockage passed. BUT, it took longer than the 15-20 minutes they stated, and they intubated my husband. At some point, they punctured my husband's esophagus, and air had filled his entire chest cavity. They had collapsed his lungs. It was taking a lot longer than planned.
He told the gastroenterologist he couldn't breathe, but they kept insisting he was fine. The ER doctor came in and saw the problem (crepitis) and told the gastroenterologist put a chest tube in. I was told if they did not do this, he would die.
We were told the hospital was not able to handle the injury of the punctured esophagus, that my husband would need surgery and he was transferred to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, which is 2 hours away. I called my friend that was watching our boys. "As long as it takes" was the response. I didn't see my boys for 2 days until I picked them up to have their godmother watch them over the weekend, and then their great grandmother flew in to help after that. I had driven over 1100 miles in 6 days going back and forth to the hospital.
My husband spent 2 days in the ICU, then 4 more days in the pulmonary unit. They stabilized him, verified the puncture was healing and watched for infection because of the chest tube and made sure that it was draining well. My husband was off work for 5 weeks.
My husband was in good health before this. His asthma was minimal, and he rarely used his emergency inhaler, and stopped using the preventative inhaler all together.
Now, he is using a preventative inhaler again and is using the emergency inhaler on a daily basis. He had lost 25 lbs in a week, and he was not a large man to begin with.
We had talked to the hospital that caused the injury about the situation, but because of the consent form they have you sign, they are exempt from any wrongdoing, and basically we are on the hook for the bills.
Because of Affordable Healthcare, our plan has an $8000 deductible, which had not been met, so the bills are astronomical to us.
It has been a struggle to pay the medical bills. The hospital here, the ambulance, and Henry Ford hospital. Not to mention that when my husband was off, short term disability only pays 60%, and with the mortgage payment, taxes and insurance, and 2 young children to feed, it didn't go far.
It was very hard on us financially, as my husband is the breadwinner, and I am a stay at home mom for our 2 boys. We had just started a small farm 2 years ago and trying to get that up and running had drained a lot of our resources, that we could have used to pay the medical bills.
Any support would go to pay the hospitals and the ambulance company that transported my husband. My husband's insurance premiums will be going up at least 30% next year, which will make it even harder to get the medical bills paid and try to sustain a farm and family. Because he works in the banking industry, we cannot afford to have any delinquencies or bad debt, as it could jeopardize his job.
If we can get help with this, it would mean so much to my husband and I. He is frustrated that this happened and has plummeted us financially, making it difficult to live the simple life we had prior to this.
Please consider our request. We have prayed for help for this to get us back on track. We would be eternally grateful for any support.
Thank you!
Organizer
Linda Mitlyng
Organizer
Saint Charles, MI