We're hoping to have my dad's insurance in place by April 1st. I called the University of Colorado hospital the other day and talked to a social worker there named Fabi Imo. She works in the transplant department and has been very helpful in answering my questions. This time I called to ask if they would consider a live donor once the insurance kicked in. She said Kaiser has a program to cover live donors, but she had to go to an appointment. I'm still wondering how long the process would take if we had to start all over here in the US.
As of today we are leaving to India on the 17th so as long as that goes as planned, we will continue in that path. If we are delayed any more I think our first step will be to make an appointment on April 1st with Kaiser. Then Kaiser has to make a referral to a gastroenterologist and then to the transplant center at the University of Colorado Hospital. Who knows how long that will take and whether or not we would have to start all of our testing over again or if they would accept the tests we have already completed.
I saw my dad today and he is very bloated again from the ascites. He plans on going in to the emergency room again this Sunday to get drained. He has been going in to get drained about every 7-10 days because he gets very uncomfortable. He goes to the emergency room because he doesn't have insurance that will cover the draining. The emergency room doesn't expect payment upfront and I don't think they can turn him away. The procedure is costly and every time he goes in to get drained the bill is about $3,000. In the past they have been draining about 6 L of fluid out of his abdomen. Today he was very tired and said he woke up this morning and had breakfast and then went back to sleep. Then he went out for about 2 hours and was exhausted by the time he got home. We read an article about medical tourism today and I left so he could rest.
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Great start Renee! I am sure this blog will not only help you get information to family and friends, but will be a HUGE resource for other people who are in the same shoes. If you post links here to the information or helpful places you come across it will be a GREAT place for others to get help and for YOU to remember all the resources you have come across.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you will want to adjust your comment section so that anonymous posters can post as many of your friends and family might not have a blog or a google account.
Kelly
Mike, Renee and Neysa, What a wonderful tool this blog will be for keeping all of informed on an on-going basis. Neysa will have to take over the writing duties if there are days that you can't do it, Renee. It was nice to hear how your trip progressed after leaving Denver. I guess you knew that I was working all night the night that you were on the airplane. I thought about all of you all night and kept trying to picture "where in the world" you were at any given moment. With the episode that Mike experienced on Sunday, I worried that the flight might be extremely challenging for all of you. You can all be sure that you're in Sandy and my prayers.
ReplyDeleteUncle Al