kneegate 2010

it's the left knee - in case you can't tell.
swollen and bruised and ugly!

get it?  'cause it's my KNEE, and it was injured jumping off a tailGATE. right?!?

after giving the knee a chance to rest overnight following my big day at del mar, not only was it not feeling any better, it was even less weight-bearing and more swollen.  i called in sick before calling my health insurance provider to find out what urgent care i could visit to 'maximize my benefit'.

remember, i've been through this before.  and the last time, it happened only three days after my health insurance had kicked in. i hadn't even gotten my medical cards yet, so i called my then boss to find out where to go, who to call, etc. she was so sympathetic that she came and took me to the hospital herself.

an out of network hospital, as it turned out.

three words that now terrify me: out of network.  instead of the 20% portion i would have been paying in network, i ended up with the 80% bill, which took years to pay off, fairly destroying my credit in the process.

this time, i was/am determined not to make any similar mistakes, and was glad i was overcautious, as the urgent care i would have gone to, would not have been covered.  and at 8:30am when i arrived at an urgent care that WOULD be covered, i immediately saw the sign that said walk-ins were accepted between 1pm - 9pm.  i guess nothing urgent happens before 1pm.

so i made an appointment. the receptionist was quite nice, and was able to fit me in at 10:20. okay, not too bad!  she suggested i go ahead and check-in upstairs, even though i would be quite early, and when i made it to the upstairs receptionist, i was called back while still standing at the desk filling out paperwork.  as i commented on the speed to the nurse, her response was, 'well, if people are late and other people are early, that's just how it goes!'.

the largest bottle of pills
i've ever been prescribed

there was a little more up and down as i was sent for x-rays, but i was in an out of the urgent care with a mere $20 copay and within ONE hour, which, let's face it, is pretty miraculous.  the diagnosis was more ambiguous however, as i suspected it would be.  i'm fairly certain there is a ligament tear, and x-rays can't see ligaments.  they did confirm that there were no sprained, fractured, or broken bones, but i already knew that.

i was sent away with a prescription for the serious ibuprofen and vicodin, as well as being informed that they had run out of, but had ordered crutches and an 'immobilizer' for me.  they also submitted an ortho referral, and i was told that i would be contacted by phone or mail with more details. but, of course, after sitting on that overnight, i was more than a little confused.  by mail? really?

when i called this morning to follow up, i was transferred to ortho, where i was first informed that i could have and should have contacted them myself, and second, that the earliest i could be seen was august 19th.

after i stopped crying, i informed them that they could take me off their 'list' and that i'd find another place to go.  so i did.

monday afternoon was the earliest anybody could see me, but i was happy to take it. particularly since i'm scheduled to be on a flight to atlanta on wednesday, and will have to do some serious staff prepping if i am not able to go.  the truth of the matter is that i'm almost 100% sure i will no longer be attending this conference, but at least if i have an actual diagnosis, it will make it easier for my boss to swallow.

stay tuned for more kneegate news - i suspect that there will be a fair amount of it.