Updates on Jerad and Stephanie

It's been a while since I've posted, and I thought I'd share some updates.

Jerad is doing great.  Though it was a VERY LONG process, he is finally off all steroid medication--the Decadron and Hydrocortisone.  He has recently started Synthroid, as it seems that his thyroid now has issues keeping up after all the surgeries.  We've been told this isn't too out of the ordinary.  He's been at work for a few months, and aside from occasional bad days, he's feeling good. 

I on the other hand am not feeling so great, but it will all be worth it.  After what felt like endless bad news, we finally got some great news--Jerad and I are expecting Baby Brown in December 2013! 

Thanks for all the continued support.  We really appreciate it and feel very lucky that Jerad is now healthy, and we have a Christmas Present to look forward to. 

With this new shift in our life, I've started a new project: A Baby in the City.  While morning sickness has delayed the launch, I have plans on turning the site into a steady stream of stories from other moms including advice and tips (some they've learned the hard way), as well as resources for peaceful and natural parenting and pregnancy, some with an NYC focus.  In the mean time, like our Facebook Page!     

Bills, Bills, Bills (gotta pay those medical bills)

Don't mind the title.  Whenever I think of bills, I can't help but think of Destiny's Child and their song Bills, Bills, Bills.

Hard to keep track of so many bills while Jerad has been in and out of the hospital, still collecting bills, and not working...Just got a call about the $6 bill, threatening to go to collections.  Oy vey!

Since everything started back in November, we have been getting bill after bill.  Some as high as $1,200, one as low as $6 and some change.  Regardless, it's been a little difficult to keep track of the paper trail, considering for a while, we were getting new bills every day.

Finally, we have it all under control (to an extent), and I figured I could teach the value of health insurance, the cost of major surgery, and show just how medical reimbursement works...

So Jerad has been in the hospital a total of five times (including SICU/ICU stays), had three surgeries, three ER visits, two private ambulance transports, two PICC lines, home nurse visits for the PICC line over a total of about ten weeks, eight weeks of IV antibiotics delivered to our house, too many imaging scans for me to count, and many consulting doctors on his case.

one

two

three

four

five 

The grand amount charged for all of this?

A whopping $786,761.69

Yup, when it's all totaled up, all I can say is THANK GOODNESS for health insurance.  

The bigest charges were hospital stays.  NYU billed United $58,352.47 for his stay in the ICU for his most recent surgery, on top of another $98,838.12 for "in house msc. services."  Based on their contractual rate, United paid $23,650.47 for the former and only  $16,612.66 for the latter charge. 

How much does Jerad owe for either?  $0.  That's right, nothing.  Again, thank goodness for insurance...

It does provide insight onto why some providers chose not to be 'in-network' with insurance companies however, since there will be a considerable discount to the service.  While obviously, what they do charge is a higher amount, they do stand to make more money as an 'out-of-network provider' or if their patients are paying cash.  On the other hand, the risk taken is that they could potentially lose a large number of patients, which is why many doctors participate with at least a few insurance companies.  

For example though, Jerad's first surgery, Dr. Golfinos, the neurosurgeon billed UHC for a total of $56,458.  He was paid $20,142.41 by the company and we do not owe anything.  Dr. Roland, the head and neck surgeon billed twice, (which is not only odd, the first one is reaching VERY far), once for $88,088 which was denied, the second charge of $38,750 was paid by the plan at a rate of $12,553.65. In his case, we owe $1,394.86. 

The total of all of Jerad's medical bills so far?  $5,913.16  

While Jerad was out of work for about 16 weeks and this does take a toll, financially, it could be a lot worse.

As someone who works in hospital administration, as well as a family member/patient, I can't help but wonder a few things while looking at billing, contracted rates, the amount hospitals and surgeons charge:

Where do they come up with change amount?  A SICU stay can't just be $58,000, there has to be the 47 cents.  Weird, no?    

Do the doctors really over-estimate their cost/service price, or are the insurance companies genuinely under paying hospitals?  

Also, are these rates really sustainable?  

I really am finding all of this interesting and hope if anything, it makes all of you look into your health insurance.  Were Jerad to sign onto my plan (BC/BS) we would have been in a MAJOR pickle, since his surgeons do not participate.

Also, at one point, one of his roommates in the hospital who had a major accident and was having surgery and then another procedure in a few weeks mentioned he didn't have insurance.  Just looking at how much his services with quality physicians have run up makes me so thankful.  You can't take anything for granted...

Now to really start paying all of them off!  

Nevermind about work...

So, Jerad went to work, and well, he was sent home.

Due to a miscommunication between Jerad and the HR rep, and Jerad didn't have the documents allowing his return to work.  He went in to work at 2pm and was sent home around 4pm.  The good news?  He clocked in, so at least he'll get paid for the hassle...

That being said, I made some chicken and veggie soup tonight for dinner and it was delicious.  Thanks to the Crepes of Wrath turkey noodle soup recipe I saw a while back, I'm officially a fan of putting ginger in poultry based soups.  I used to like lemon for a little twist, but too much and it could ruin everything.  Ginger is much easier, and there's no way you can go wrong when it's fresh.  Try it!

The soup had chicken, carrots, green beans, fire roasted diced tomatoes, parsnips, celery garlic and onion.  Yum!

After dinner, we were relaxing when as usual the dogs had to be in the center of everything.  The only difference was this time, Rue jumped right on top of Lola.  While after freaking out about not having my cell phone, I was able to grab my camera and get a few pictures of the moment.

Lola's eyes say it all.

Rue kept her head on Lola, no matter how much she moved. Lola chewed her bone no matter what. 

Since this post is filled with tons of awesome stuff, I feel I need to include my friend Kim.  Not only did she wear a wedding dress to prom (her date was named Corn...), this former cheerleader loved cats and gave them craziest names imaginable (Mr. Bob and Salad Fingers--both girls), and she might have had the best portraits ever done while making use of a decorative umbrella/parasol. 

Us...yeah, I'm on the right...I looked like that in my youth.

For fun, we used to go to Clearwater beach at night..and take pics like this?

No idea...Almost anything goes at Amanda's house!

When Kimmy was getting to know her husband!

One of my all time favorite pictures of Kim.

Who knew this would be my future...minus the fluffy dog.

Weird things went down at Walmart.

And last but not least, the cutest little bee ever...

Young Kim

Man we were weird!  Gotta love the fact I always documented everything!  All kidding aside, Kim is all grown up now and has been married for a few years and has the most beautiful two year old daughter you could imagine, and aside from her cooking venture, she's one of the co-hosts of her very own radio show.  Awesome right?

I was not kidding! What a lovely family! 

Kim's show, Mama Bear Shares, based out of Tampa, FL, and they need votes to be included in the Top 25 Mom Vlogs of 2013 for Circle of Moms.  Click here to vote for them!!!  All previous episodes can be found online--and they're definitely fun, since Kim is fun (proof is in the pictures), while still informative and like you're chatting with a friend. Whether you're considering becoming a parent, going through pregnancy, nursing, have a toddler, believe in peaceful parenting, a woman looking for new products, a father looking for ways to help your partner, or are just expanding your knowledge for Jeopardy, give them a listen!  Don't want to?  Still go vote for them--there are only ten days left!

16 weeks later, Jerad's back to work!

Originally, we were told Jerad's recovery could take UP TO eight weeks.  We never thought he would need that much time, considering surgeons can at times be generous with how long they allow patients to recover (and in my experience most patients take advantage of how long they're given away from work).

Somehow, Jerad ended up needing twice as long, and he hasn't been to work since his first surgery mid-November.

Crazy, isn't it?

Thankfully, we've been able to get by through some generous wedding gifts, which were not at all expected, and helped with living expenses and bills (we haven't begun to make a dent in his medical bills, though they could be a lot worse), as well as his short term disability checks, and some money Jerad had put aside.  This was the first month we've needed anything extra, and thankfully, Jerad is returning to work just in time.

What's a little worrisome is that he will be returning to work while still on Decadron, the main steroid he has been on the past four months.  Every time they have tapered him off the steroid, he experiences bad withdrawal.  To help counteract this, they had him go on hydrocortisone, but he had been experiencing fevers and bad headaches, which led us to the ER (doctor's suggestion) February 21st.  Only good thing about the ER?  NYU's make-shift ER had personal tv's which was really neat and great for waiting.  He stayed over night to ensure that his shunt was working properly and that there wasn't any sign of an infection, and after giving him a dose of Decadron, he was suddenly better--he had finished his post-op taper the week earlier.  Due to this, the doctors decided to put him back on the steroids and taper again over a three week period, which falls during the period he'll be back at work.

So hopefully this time, tapering will work out well, as he doesn't really have sick time or any vacation days.

Here's to being back in the dreary basement, honey!  Hope you have a great first day back at work. 

  

Why I Love My Husband (the never-ending list)

So, while searching for blogs on relationships and marriage, I found The Happy Wives Club.  Though it doesn't feel like it, Jerad and I are newly married, and unfortunately most of our marriage has been spent focusing on his surgeries, hospital visits, doctors appointments, and antibiotics.

Every time he comes home it makes me appreciate the time we have together that much more, and since he has come home from his most recent hospital stint the past Friday, I can't stop myself from staring at him, and wanting to hug him and kiss him.  Though it's an exaggeration, since he was only at NYU for 8 days,  it feels like it's been years since I've been able to truly hold him.  It really makes getting up and going to work that much harder.  Especially when you have to leave your warm and cuddly husband behind in bed.

As he heals, and gets better once and for all, we'll finally be able to get back to focusing on our marriage, without illness. 

The Happy Wives Club is having a link-up, prompting all happy wives (since most often those that are vocal are NOT happy) to share a list of what they love about their husbands.  Though it started back in January, it's a continuous effort every Thursday, and I figured it would be perfect for Valentines Day!

Why I love my husband (the never-ending list)    
1. When we went on our first date, I accidentally over slept and was mortified, he didn't hold it against me.
2. He took an immediate liking to Lola and Olive, and is a dog lover.  He also loves cuddling with said pups.

3. He loves technology and is tech-savvy, yet still doesn't have a smart phone (YUP).
4. He always makes me feel beautiful and sexy (and says so, too).
5. He makes me laugh all the time. (And I make him laugh, which also makes me happy!)

6. He's one of the most thoughtful people I know, and always takes care of me.  (When my coffee pot broke, he surprised me by buying one while he was at work.  When it was a little small, he exchanged it and got a bigger one.) 
7. When we order out or eat somewhere he'll sometimes order differently if he knows I'd like it and want to share.
8. He loves my cooking and eats whatever I make him.

Instead of going out to eat for his birthday, he wanted me to cook.

9. He's incredibly smart and we can talk about anything with each other, without worrying about offending the other person.
10. He's going to be an amazing father one day.  He also knows how much I want a baby, and though it's not the right time for us, he patiently listens when I share all my baby news/information, and lets me spam him with baby pictures.

11. He stands by me, respects and supports me.  
12. I can trust him and know that we will work through anything.
13. His boyish grin.

14. He puts up with my need to document everything and loves/accepts me for who I am.

He must love me to let me take a picture like this!

15. When I'm taking a nap and ask him to come cuddle me, he will lie down with me until I fall asleep then sneak away.
16.  He has great taste.  He put together most of his wedding day outfit on his own.

You can't see the shoes here, but they were quite nice.

17. He never thought twice about how quickly we moved in together.  We both knew it was what we wanted and the right step for our relationship.
18. He helped me set up this blog when we first found out about the brain tumor.  While there are certain times we keep things more private and certain things that are private, he lets me have fun with the blog, sharing his story (and pictures) while keeping everyone up to date on what's going on with him and our lives.

As the title says, this is a never-ending list.  I could go on and on, but don't worry, I'll stop at 18.

While I wish we could spend today, as many other couples might, or even act like most couples in love do on a regular day, unfortunately Jerad was feeling the effects of steroid withdrawal while I was heading out to work.  It looks like his initial goal of bringing me one of my favorite sandwiches from Sal's Deli will not pan out. 

The fact he had hoped he might be able to come bring me a sandwich when he wasn't feeling well, just to make my day a little brighter...that's why the reasons I love him are never-ending...

(Correction regarding our lunch plans--he was feeling better and still wants to come up to work with the sandwiches!  As a compromise we'll have them for dinner.  Maybe I'll light a candle or two.)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.