The money situation gets worse :(

[StinkerbellStar]

I just had to post this to you OP, because you sound like a survivor!

Today my Dove chocolate candy wrapper said "Belief in yourself is a candle burning brightly without end"!

Believe that everything will get better, believe that you are strong enough to endure it all, and BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE GOING BACK TO DISNEY SOMEDAY!

 

[Cindy B]

Hi all ~

I just wanted to post an update since you all were so supportive

First, my husband is HOME. He came home Thursday & while the first few days have been rough, each day is a little bit better. He's got a feeding tube, but he's been able to eat small bits of applesauce. Baby steps!

Second, our disability papers finally were taken care of Wednesday. BUT ~ here's the WEIRD thing ~ my husband DID get a pay check on Thursday! I don't know how or why, there's no way they processed it that fast but not only did we get a pay stub in the mail, but it sure as heck was in our account Thursday night. I'm soooo grateful & while I'd love to know how -- I won't be calling to find out LOL.



Thanks again for your posts -- personal stories -- & support. Even though we may never get to Disney again I will be sticking around

So he got a disability payment already? or was the paycheck from his former workplace?

Several years ago, I used to work at Social Security-and a large part of my job was processing disability payments. Some payments got higher priority (renal failures, congressional inquiries, "dire need" cases) and got processed extremely fast- while some lingered in payment purgatory for years.

If you used a social worker at the hospital, an attorney, legal aid agency, or filed online for disability clients seemed to get money faster.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Oh yeah, the surgeon's a piece of work. I shouldn't complain, because my husband survived the surgery & it was kind of a major one -- although he did damage his vocal cord -- but when I told the nurse on Friday about him not signing the paper work, she had him paged. When she asked him why he hasn't signed it, he said "You're seriously asking me about this at 4:00 on a Friday?" Um first -- he's had the paper work A MONTH, not like we JUST asked him to sign it yesterday. And second -- we're not all rich doctors. Some of us DO struggle.

Sigh.

Michelle

This surgeon sounds like a jerk. I work with surgeons daily, and by and large they are decent people. It would take him, what, a few minutes to take care of this for you? It sounds like he's just stringing you along on purpose at this point.

I agree with a previous poster, show up at the hospital with a set of papers for him to sign. I would say maybe get a lawyer involved but that would cost money. At any rate, I would not give him one more dime if possible. There are websites where you can "grade" doctors on their practice, bedside manner etc. Go to one and tell your story. Hopefully, that might wake him up.

Hope this gets fixed for you soon. **Update- yay, glad it worked out! Hopefully, now you guys can concentrate on your DH recovery and other things.

 

[maggs1035]

I know people are not fond of bankruptcy but you are the very people it should be used for. Both were working, one became disabled and the other had a pretty big pay cut. You may have items (multiple cars, boats, campers, second homes, etc) you can sell but if you are bankrupt you are bankrupt and in a situation like yours I would consider it.

But I think the first thing I would do is start calling that dr every single day, twice a day maybe until he signs those papers. I would tell him flat out your family is being impoverished by him not making time to stop by his office for 5 minutes. In a month he couldn't go by for 5 minutes? Bull, he just has not been bothered, so I would pester him and his staff til he did. Can you get a second copy and greet him with the papers to sign?

I wish the best for you. I understand the medical bills, we have had kids in treatments for the past 4 years. I didn't think we would ever be able to go back either. We might be able to next year, or at least go somewhere. I feel like we have come through and I hope you will soon have that feeling too.

I agree! There is no shame in Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 you pay back part of your debt! You should really think about it! But wait until all the debt has come your way! It's really not that hard, and sure does take a load off your shoulders!

 

[mousefan5]

I glad that things are looking better. You mentioned selling on eBay. I not sure if you r on Facebook. But there is a garage sale group for my area. It iSight easier to sell on seething like this since you don't have to pay eBay or shipping hassle.

 

[mousefan5]

I glad that things are looking better. You mentioned selling on eBay. I not sure if you r on Facebook. But there is a garage sale group for my area on facebook. Post a pic and name the price and people will comment and want the items. There is no fees and no hassle of shipping.

 

[luvdzny]

Almost all hospitals have charity programs or access to charity programs. Apply for them - they are for people who aren't eligible for medicaid or state programs, who are insured but have a gap or who don't have insurance. So - they are for exactly your situation.

Definitely look into this, not everyone you talk to will give you the information, but keep calling.

We live in the Milwaukee area and all of DD's specialists are at Froedtert. She accumulated quite a large bill and was only working part time due to her illness so she could not afford to pay it off. DH was also sick and we were dealing with his bills from a different hospital so we could not help. She was 18 at the time so we were not legally responsible, although we helped as much as we could. Anyway after many calls to the billing dept. explaining that she could not afford the minimum payments that had set up someone told her about the "Community Care Program." She had to fill out a lot of paperwork and it took some time, but finally they made a deal with her and cut the amount she owed to an amount she could afford.

Keep calling and good luck!

 

[milwaukeemommy]

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

Mousefan I did end up selling lots of my stamping stuff on a stamp web site, so that was convenient - but everything else is going on Ebay. I've sold on Ebay for years & since I print my labels at home, not as much hassle -- still takes time but it's worth it to see that balance in my Paypal account

Luvdzny thanks for letting me know about that -- my husband has his surgery at Waukesha Memorial - was supposed to be at Froedtert but for some reason they changed (which works for us because we live in Waukesha). So far the bills are manageable -- BUT I don't think they've started coming in from the actual surgery & hospital stay. There's been so much to sort through but I'm pretty sure we are still just getting the bills for all the PRE stuff. I am just glad we HAVE insurance!

And -- the papers are finally signed so we should be ok going forward, although there was still some FMLA paperwork that needed to be signed. We will see if we get a full pay check tomorrow - cross your fingers!