Today I went to visit Pepsi again with Debbie, who is his caretaker while Ann is in France. It was great to see him again and this time I was able to help a lot more. Luckily he was close by when we got there so there was no hiking to find him. I am not sure if he recognized me, but he came right up to me when I got to the fence and let me pet him on the head right away.

Boy was Pepsi muddy. It has been raining here for several days and it really shows. He must have been rolling in the mud because he was covered head to toe. Debbie brought him into his stall and we spent over 30 minutes brushing him to get all the dried mud out of his fur. And he was shedding his winter coat so there was dust and fur flying everywhere. There was no hay in the stall for him, so when his oats ran out he nudged me for more, so Debbie had to go up in the hay loft and throw some down so we could continue to brush him. Then I got to feed him carrots and apples and he slobbered all over my hands, so much so that I had to find a hose and rinse off.

We also saw a foal that was less than a week old. It is hard to see him in the photo because it was so far away from the fence. It was great to get out and I felt great the whole time and my back did not bother me (at least I forgot about it for a while so that's good). I was a little sore when I got back into the car, but not too bad.

From Pepsi

I fell asleep on the recliner last night while reading around 8pm and now here I am wide awake. I usually feel my best when I first wake up in the morning and get progressively more sore throughout the day. I have been taking lots of naps in hopes that it will help me heal more quickly, but this messes up my sleep schedule (this was no problem the first few weeks because of the meds and I am guessing intense healing). I have also been taking maximum doses of tylenol and naproxen, but has been pretty hard on my stomach. And what's up with the head aches and dizziness?

I have an appointment with my PCP later this morning to tell him what is giong on and ask for some non-narcotic pain meds that are better than the otc stuff I have been using. Maybe he will give me an Rx for PT so I can get started sooner than my ortho appointment on Wedensday of next week.

Last night I cooked for the second time since the accident. Just some simple flounder that I seasoned and breaded with waffle fries in the oven and green beans in the microwave. Last time I cooked it was just a frozen bag meal in the skillet. This was much better and another milestone in my recovery. Tom really enjoyed it, especially when I served him on the recliner like he served me for 3 weeks. He more than deserved it.

As the dawn light starts to appear I notice the cool foggy conditions. But I guess it is not so neat if you have to drive to work in it. Hopefully the weather will hold up for my visit with Pepsi today.

More good news. I found my new ski goggles that I thought were left at the house in Cass! Have you ever lost something, and then have no idea where or when, and then you are constantly double-checking places it might be? Well, another burden is gone. Just like that. All because I decided to do some picking up around the house.

I wish I had a cool picture to show you of me in my new goggles and helmet, but I just didn't get one. Next time... well, if there is a next time for me and skiing....that is a conversation for another day.

From Snowshoe II 2009

The moral of the story is....

Good news with the insurance debacle. I called the main number for the insurance company and talked to a really nice representative who listened to my whole story and all my worries (ha! almost like free therapy). Anyway, he said this sort of thing happens sometimes and it is not nearly as bad as I think it is. My claim was denied because to them it looked like a standalone hospital procedure. Normally when you go to the ER they notify the insurance of the situation and that there might be admittance to the hospital, etc. This never happened for me because the Roanoke ER never got my insurance card (I have since gotten a bill from the ER and notified them of my ins. info). So, everything will probably be re-evaluated when the ins. company gets all of the claims. And if it does not happen automatically, all I have to do is tell them. So I might have to do an appeal letter, but I will not have to convince them medically, just a simple story about what happened (got hurt, went to Pocahontas, got admitted, transferred to Roanoke, got admitted, etc). I might also have to appeal a double charge for co-pays, but that won't be hard either.

So, I am feeling much more relaxed about the whole situation. It is like a burden released from my shoulders (or back in my case :). My situation is not nearly as complicated as I thought it was. I do have to stay on top of things, but I have faith that things will work out in my favor.

The moral of my story is this: Always carry your insurance card, and emergency contact info. MAKE SURE all information is given to the hospital. AND when you are transferred, don't assume you insurance info was transferred. My excuse is that I was half asleep and well drugged when I was wheeled into the ER at Roanoke. And Tom was half asleep too (I still don't know how he drove from Poca. to Roanoke in the middle of the night). Tom said the Roanoke ER never asked for the insurance info. Which is weird because we were there for 5 hours.

I am still adjusting to sleeping upstairs. On the recliner I would sleep straight through the night and not move much, but in the bed I toss and turn a lot and wake up early.

So here I am awake at 6am watching tv. Tom will be meeting his CEO today for customer visits her in Charlottesville and Salem. So, I a going to stay up until he leaves for work so I can wish him good luck (and see him in his suit, bubba hubba).

Today I took the first step in the insurance appeal process. I wrote a letter requesting the "clinical review criteria" used to make the decision to reject my coverage. Once I get this information I can start with the actual appeal letter. Exciting stuff. Luckily there is no charge for this service, but I am getting stressed out about this whole situation because I can't start on the appeal letter now. And I probably have to track down the Roanoke ER doctor who admitted me into the hospital to help argue my case if necessary. I was talking to Tom about all of this when he got home and he calmed me down and told me to relax because I can't do anything until I get the criteria back anyway. And I will have more than one try to make my case, and I have 180 days to get it done. Sigh.

Yesterday was a good day. I forgot to write about it because I was so busy with medical stuff. I did show you Griff the mastiff, and he is becoming a bit of a celebrity on facebook. He has his own fanpage by Karin-Anne (her fans demanded it), if you are interested in more pictures.

You might wonder why one would actually enjoy doing housework. I work part-time as an engineer, but my full-time job is keeping house. And since my accident I have been unable to do either one. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to get back to my day job, but right now I can't wait to get back to getting this house clean. Four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and 2000 square feet is a lot to keep track of (compared to an apartment) even if it is just me and Tom. He does most of the cooking, and I do almost everything else. Since coming home from the hospital, Tom has done a great job with cooking, dishes, taking care of me, and staying on top of his demanding job. I just dread playing catch-up with the rest of the house. Unfortunately, most house chores are very back-muscle intensive.

So, yesterday I starting feeling less like a parasite and more like a contributing member of the household. I folded laundry while sitting on the couch. And I cleaned the kitchen sink. Insignificant you might say, but a huge hurtle for me in my recovery.

I am much more mobile lately with the aid of my back brace, but I constantly reminded that I cannot lift more than a few pounds, even if it is without bending. Every once in a while I accidentally twist my back ever so slightly that I get a tinge of shooting pain in my butt. And the hardest movement is picking things off the floor. I can bend with my knees with almost no back pain, but my legs are so weak from the lack of exercise that it is hard to do. This is heartbreaking to me because of all my hard work in athletics, and I am reminded of the long recovery to get back to where I was before the accident.

I am taking regular Tylenol and that is all I need know for pain management, as long as I take it easy. My mind is wonderfully clear, when I am awake I am not too sleepy, I can see without double vision, and I have returned to natural bowl movements (ok, I just had to add this, it is something that a healthy person takes for granted, and something that you have to learn to talk about freely because every medical person will ask you this while you are on narcotic pain meds). I should be able to drive soon, if I can remember how. I should be able to return to work Wednesday or Thursday, but I am dreading sitting upright in a chair for more than a few minutes at a time (I still have to sit reclined).

Another big hurtle was crossed yesterday. I slept upstairs in bed next to Tom. This is one of the things that I missed the most. Until now I have been sleeping downstairs on the recliner because lying flat on my back was agony. The bed is much more firm than the recliner with the egg crate, so I could feel that my back is still swolen. But I did not hurt too much, and I was asleep in no time. I can't sleep on on either side because that curves my lower back.

Well, I have rambled on too much about myself and yesterday, that now I do not have the energy to talk about today. So it will have to wait until tomorrow. Tom is still upstairs working, so I get to watch some TV that he doesn't like. Yeah.