Thursday, November 10, 2011

The week from hell...........

After the high from the wedding things went down hill very fast.......

My step-father started having chest pains on Saturday morning, and never said anything as he didn't want to spoil the wedding.  He didn't tell us until Sunday morning at breakfast, and when we suggested going to the hospital he wouldn't go.  Fast forward to Monday afternoon and we did an emergency dash to our local hospital.  Where after a CAT Scan, many blood tests, and various other things they admitted him, as they had ruled out a heart attack, blood clots and pneumonia.  They decided he needed an angiogram, which they couldn't do at Alliston hospital, but would have to do at South Lake hospital in Newmarket.

They didn't take him on Tuesday but finally got him an appointment on Wednesday afternoon.  They did an angiogram and found one of the smaller veins was blocked 80%.  He also has an irregular heart beat and a heart murmur.  None of this he knew prior to coming to Canada.  They have given him the all clear to fly thank goodness.

Now if this wasn't bad enough, trying to sort out the insurance what an utter and complete nightmare.  They are insured but trying to get all the paperwork to them in England and sorting everything out has been terrible.  When we went to Newmarket hospital they wouldn't do the angiogram without payment up front by credit card, that was $1,450.  The doctors fee had to be paid in either cash or cheque.  That was another $700 in cash.  The medications came to another $100.

They charged $1,700 a night at Alliston hospital.  He was admitted Monday night by Tuesday morning his bill was $5,100.  We were lucky as I found a super woman in Alliston that helped us out with everything and had dealt with foreign insurances before hand.  We also found another lady in Newmarket hospital to help us get paperwork to London, England.

We had gone to Staples and they were going to charge us $5.99 to fax the first sheet and $3.99 for everything after that.  There were 19 pages to fax.  So we got it scanned onto a memory stick and we sent them from our computer, but for some reason they didn't get it.  So thanks to talking to the lady in Newmarket she found someone to do it in the hospital.  All the hospitals in Ontario are not allowed to fax anything outside of Canada or the States, due to cut backs.

I will say everyone we have dealt with have been really nice and very understanding and helpful.

Then we discovered dh's best friend was having a scope for a mass beside his colon, and it's not looking too good.  Ds got hit in the mouth with a hockey puck the Tuesday before the wedding and had to have his main front tooth extracted and another one put in, which he did today and the final bill for that will be $5,300.  Got an estimate for Molly's surgery and that will be around $1,050.

Oh and then I got sick............what a hell of a week!!!  Things can only get better.  We are all going out tonight for dd's birthday which is today.

Onwards and upwards as they say..........more wedding photos soon.

18 comments:

John Going Gently said...

bloody hell!
thank god for the NHS
take care eh?

Scarlet said...

Oh Gill , what a week. Hope things get better soon!

flowerpower said...

I am at a loss for words!!!! but i am sending you lots of positive thoughts and prayers.

Angela said...

Oh Gill - what a dreadful time you have all been going through - I am glad most of this happened AFTER the wedding though.

You and your family are in my prayers

blessings x

Rose said...

What a time...sounds like a nightmare. Then to get sick on top of it all...

Karine said...

Oh good heavens, you have all been run through the wringer!!! Here's hoping you've had your share of problems for a good long while!

~Carla~ said...

Oh no! :( You'll be in my prayers, Gill! Hope things settle down for you soon!

DeniseinVA said...

Good grief, what a week! I'm surprised it was so expensive because I would have thought that Canada and Great Britain would have had some agreement to cover such situations. So sorry about your step-father's ill health and the dent in his wallet on top of all that. Hope you feel better too.

DeniseinVA said...

Oh my gosh I missed the paragraph about ds and Molly. How awful!

Maggie said...

OMG can't believe the price of health care. There are a lot of things wrong with the UK but thank goodness for the National Health Service!!

Wishing you no more mishaps.

Stella Jones said...

Oh no!!!! what a bum week. I'm sorry for you all. Shame he didn't get that sorted before he came over. Must have had an inkling? How is it all going to get paid for? by insurance company? or will they get out of it, do you think? No, don't think, get well, have fun tonight.
It will come right in the end.

angela said...

OMG that is a week from hell, but hopefully everyone will get better and put it all behind you.

Joolz said...

Oh, you poor things! I cannot believe the cost of those medical bills! I do hope everyone is doing okay now - uncle, sone, you and friend!O
One blessing - the wedding went off without a hitch!

Take a deep breath - then onwards...

Cheers - Joolz

Rita said...

This is just unbelievable! What a time you have had. Hopefully, you are feeling better now. And all the other things that have happened will work out well. Disbelief here. I'll send you many blessings.

Kaisievic said...

Oh Gill, that sounds so dreadful for you all! I hope that you get it all sorted out with the paperwork. Some weeks seem to go like that, unfortunately. Take care of yourself.

Hugs, Kaye xoxox

Niki said...

you must be exhausted...not to mention stressed to the max! Hopefully all will settle down now!
hugs,
Niki

Shammickite said...

Crikey!

Boyett-Brinkley said...

Wow, girl, you bring new meaning to the old saying "when it rains it pours". I hope things are getting better now!

{{{SIGH}}}

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