Hospital Nightmare

I just spent 3 miserable days in the hospital. So I have been out of the loop a bit. However, I learned some very valuable and irritating lessons while there. So now I have something that pisses me off enough to write about it, even though I feel like crap.
First off, I have very good health Insurance. I pay out the wazoo for it, so I should know! On day three I was all but thrown out of the hospital with a bunch of lies and a Doctor that I felt could care less about my well being.
For my followers, and the people that read my long blogs, you may understand quite a bit of what type of a person I am. I can hang pretty much with any one I want and fit right in. One thing I am not though, is stupid. I am a smart, articulate (when I want to be) man. I had my laptop in my hospital bed and was researching my diagnosis the entire time. So needless to say, I was well versed on it. It all had to do with my diet. Which turns out is a pretty good diet that just needed a few changes. But boy was I in a lot of pain! For those that care to know it is diverticulitis.
I won't mention the Hospital because I don't want people to think the place is all bad. The entire staff were very nice to me with the exception of the most important person during my stay...my actual Doctor. That Wench was mean and condescending from the start. I mean what's wrong with you Doctors these days? This is not the first time I have been treated this way simply because I researched and knew a lot of what was going on with me before I go to the Doctor. I mean, are Doctors intimidated? Pissed off because you went to so many years of school and I happen to know more than the average person when I get there? Or do you think I'm a know it all? Sorry if I like to know what's going on with me before I waste a trip to the hospital! jeez There is a lot of info out there in these Internet days!
I call the disease the "Diver" for short. So besides the Diver a had a few other things I wanted the doctor to check out. I know for a fact my nurse let her know about them but the Doc never even asked about them, much less care.
I am great at reading people as soon as I meet them and I could tell within the first few seconds of meeting this doctor that she did not like me or her job or whatever for some reason.  In 3 days I saw her maybe a total of 10 minutes and those 10 minutes seemed like an eternity, and it took all of my self control not to go off and ask what her problem was. So many rude comments and condescending hints that is was unbearable. I wanted to smack her in the face with my IV bag! Of course I thought better of it.
On day three, my Primary Care doctor is trying very hard to get in touch with this attending Doctor. She had some requests and recommendations. After I annoyed all the right people  enough, here comes the Wench. Pissed off and ready to send me home she says. I asked her to please touch base with my Primary Care Doc, so she left and called her. In the meantime, a few SECONDS later, a Case Manager comes to my room and advises me that my Insurance company says I have to leave and this will be my last day there.
I can't prove it, but I know damn well the attending Doc had something to do with this. I immediately call the Insurance Company and find out this is all a LIE! In fact my Insurance Company says I'm in good standings and can stay as long as needed and they have NOT been contacted by this hospital!
 I find out later that the hospital apparently has a "book" that they go by that gives a general description of what insurance companies will and will not pay for and they decided that my insurance company "might" not pay for a longer stay. Guess work from a book? are you kidding me? You mean to tell me your are playing around with my disease and pain because a "book" says it "might" not be covered? Then this Bitch of a Case Manager (I say bitch because maybe she had a bad day...not my problem) says she never said that about the insurance. I look her straight in her eyes with the Managers next to her and say"don't you dare call me a liar. Those were your exact words which is why I immediately called my insurance". She shut up quick.
Now I'm really pissed! I asked for every ones BOSS to be in my room and said "I MEAN NOW"! All of a sudden I have Managers standing in my room and I am letting them all have it. Maybe some poor old person that doesn't know any better would have said OK and just left, but not me. Now everyone is really taking back their words. I get the name and number of the person in charge of the entire hospital and will be following up with him after this blog entry.
So, 3 days of diet advice from the entire staff at the hospital and several close friends with the exact same problem, and still in a lot of pain. You would think I would have been released with at least a diet plan or recommendation or something right? or even some pain meds right? Noooomeds, and no restrictions at all, even though I was straining just to lift my laptop bag. So again, I asked for the Nurse Manager to document this and all of a sudden I'm getting a script for pain! Wow, funny how that works. Then I ask about the diet. They actually told me to google it!  I was at a loss for words for once!
Disgrace is the word that comes to mind here. There are a lot of people out there that are not as fortunate as I am to have Insurance like me and I get treated this way? I was annoyed at all the people in admitting that were being given a hard time because of no insurance and how long they were delaying my treatment. NOW, I feel sorry for those people. NOW I understand.
All I can say is this people. When you are in a hospital, you are the CEO of your body. You take charge. Don't just do what you are told. If you feel you need a CAT Scan demand it, if you feel like you need ANYTHING at all DEMAND it. If you hurt, tell them. Do some research if you have the chance on what you have. Don't try to be a "know it all", you don't wanna piss off the Doctors,  but definitely ask for whatever you feel you need because they will not just be offering it to you.
It seems to me costs are being cut everywhere at the patients expense, which is just my opinion, but the hospital had no problem charging my wife $59,000 just for a bed and a room (not including treatment) during a 9 day stay for her at a different hospital recently. Hell, a badasss vacation in Tahiti doesn't cost that much!
Also, not just Doctors. Anyone that deals with the public. If you don't like what you are doing or just don't care...please quit. Don't take it out on us, the customers. Especially the people that don't know any better! Sooner or later someone is going to stand up and make a big deal of it all and it isn't going to be pretty....

"Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anyway".....

One of my favorite T shirts I saw in Key West said "Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anyway".....

I eat pretty healthy only because the chips happens to fall that way. I grill most of my food so that fat drips away for all you fat watchers (not that I care) I love the fat, especially the skin on whatever! I just like grilled food over oven food. I love seafood and it just so happens most seafood is good for you. I grew up on roast Pork, seafood, and rice and beans.

I have always been a good cook because I learned from my Mother and Grandmother. My Grandmother Blanca Avael (God bless her Soul) used to cook at a restaurant in Key West named "The Fourth Of July". Most Conchs will remember this place. There used to be lines waiting all the way down the street and around the block just to get some of her food.

At her home she had three Bustelo cans full of lard.Yes LARD. One for fish, one for chicken, and one for beef. Yes she re-used this lard over and over. She also had three different cast iron skillets to match the lard. I still remember the backwards box fan in the window sill to blow the smoke out when she was cooking. It used to bring the neighbors running over! She made the best of whatever she was cooking. I miss her so much. Every time I cook something, I think of her.

We grew up on this supposedly unhealthy food but lived pretty long lives. My Grandfather Julio Avael into his 90's. My Uncle Raul smoked 1-2 packs of unfiltered cigs per day and ate the same food. He also lived a long life. 

Even today, I have family members in the medical field that believe without a doubt, what you eat, can kill you. Sorry, I don't believe it. I think it's how you grow up and how you live. I don't mean what you eat or how you exercise. I mean HOW YOU LIVE. Stressful life? early death in my opinion. Get rid of that stress and laugh more and you will live longer. Google it for crying out loud, if you don't believe me.

I also believe it's WHERE you live. My Family for the most part grew up in Key West. An Island life that was laid back and easy going. Everyone worked hard and pitched in, and at the end of the day, Family is what mattered. Not style, or fashion, or TV, or Money. We always had enough and we all always shared. There was something about catching all that seafood yourself and eating it fresh, that just made it all the better. I remember riding my bicycle with a mask, fins, snorkel, and a spear. I would catch dinner only a few yards away from the beach, in a matter of minutes. I miss that sand so much.
Conch Shells that you can't even touch these days? Hell, I stepped on more than I could eat right off the beach. Lobster that you all pay so much money for? I ate so much of it for free to make you jealous.

We also ate a lot of fruit. Not from the grocery stores either. Straight from the trees. Fresh picked mangoes hanging over my Grandmothers fence from the neighbors yard daily. Coconuts straight from the trees, simply because it was fun to climb the trees and they were delicious, tamarinds right off of her back yard tree, and my favorite one, also from the trees in her yard......Mamoncillos. Again, if you don't know what they are...Google them. Conchs know, Sweet and delicious.
I just relived a great part of my growing up, and I understand the style is not for everyone. Especially athletes that require "special" diets. All I'm saying is relax people and eat what you like, laugh more, and find a way to rid yourself of useless stress. Exercise is still important. I just used to get it diving, spearfishing, and climbing coconut trees!

mamoncillos