fml or how i reached my insurance deductible by february for the second year in a row

boo.

if you have been reading this blog since i was pregnant, then you know about our insurance ordeal(s).  if not, let me (quickly) explain.

in september 2009, my happiness in having my first baby was turned to fear when i learned that my husband's company (which i hate with every fiber of my being) was "revamping" their insurance plans.  this meant that on january 1, 2010, we would be covered by a new plan, with a new, much higher deductible.  our deductible which was once $300, would now be $2,000, $3,000 or $4,000 (and after that only 80% of costs would be paid until you hit your max- which is double your deductible).  the only things that would be paid would be "preventative care."  so in essence, they want their employees to be healthier, go to their dr's for preventative appointments in order to avoid other appts and to cut down on unnecessary er visits when you could wait to see your dr. in the morning.  what they failed to realize is that emergencies happen, and that PEOPLE HAVE BABIES.  this company did not care that i would only be pregnant 3 weeks (not even) of 2010.  my condition was not "pre-existing."  in other words, i, a perfectly healthy woman was being punished for having a baby.  we tried to deliver early, ian's lungs weren't healthy enough, we had to wait, we got slapped with $4000+ worth of bills and we are STILL paying for the birth of my son 13 months after his birth.

dave & i will probably not have another baby while he is working for this company.  sad, isn't it.

so, january 20, 2011- my son's 1st birthday.  we go to play group and have a good time.  monday, january 24, ian starts coughing.  i learn from another mother that her son was diagnosed w\ rsv over the weekend.  rsv takes 4-6 days to show up- explaining why this baby wasn't sick until the weekend and why ian wasn't sick until monday.  at this time ian also appears to have all 4 of his top front teeth coming in.  yay.  we're also on the brink of a wonder week.  joy.

saturday, january 29th ian throws up after nursing from coughing so much- it's the 2nd time it's happened that week.  we are able to get him in to see the pediatrician, who almost writes us off after we explain ian's "symptoms" until i finally get ian to drink water from his sippy- which causes him to cough.  the dr. doesn't say one way or another whether ian has rsv, but his cough is consistent, he has a runny nose and he has lost 5 oz.  we go home irritated.

wednesday, february 2nd.  dave & i are watching a movie when all the sudden ian wakes up screaming in terror- we usually give him a few minutes- and we did, but the screaming doesn't subside.  i go in and pick him up, but he's still screaming, i rock him, i walk with him, we turn the light on in the room- still screaming.  i take him into our room, lay him on  our bed, try to sit him on the floor to crawl, give him to dave- he was still inconsolable.  i sent my friend a text b\c i was so worried, and she called me back- the screaming was terrible- her husband could hear him.  i talked to her for a few minutes, and then called my mil.  we finally decided to page the pediatrician's office- the pediatrician was SO RUDE (there are 8 dr's at our practice and thank God this wasn't my dr.).  he told us that we should take ian to the er because "he couldn't help me over the phone" (ass).  this was our worst fear- do we wait and see if he gets better & risk something bad happening b\c we are afraid to take him to the er b\c of the cost or do we take him and know that we're going to get slapped with a bill that could range up to $6000 (i call this fear-mongering, husband's company calls this "insurance.")

so we bundle our screaming kid in his snowsuit (please remember we had a BLIZZARD that had just ended 8 hours before this) and drive as slooowly as possible on the awful roads to a hospital i'm not familiar with (the hospital i delivered at was just too far to go to).  it's almost midnight.  ian is calm for the car ride.  we get him checked in, they take his temp (no temp), weigh him (he's now lost 8 oz) and ask us some questions, then we go into our er room.  the nurse comes in and asks questions, we tell him about the possible rsv, the blood that's been in the diaper for 3 months, etc.  ian goes back & forth the entire night between screaming in terror/tiredness/anger/confusion and laughing or being calm.  he wants nothing to do with me, and only sleeps in small spurts when dave is holding him.

tests performed at hospital:  catheter for urinalysis, rsv test, breathing treatment, chest x-rays, iv and blood draws (had to leave the room for that one), ultrasound, and abdominal x-rays.  everything comes back negative except for "inflammation" in the blood work, which gets us admittance to the regular hospital (around 6 am).  ian is asleep on dave, so i drive home, grab snacks, extra clothes/diapers and fight morning traffic back to the hospital.  we're in our room (which they don't have a crib for) and waiting on the ped.  we finally see the ped who goes over all the inconclusive tests- and says that maybe ian just had gas (i will refrain from punching anyone in the face at this time).  we're told to monitor is intake & outtake for a few hours, and they'll let us know when we can leave.  finally after sitting in a hospital room all effing day doing nothing- we get discharged around 2:30 (and ian is asleep).  so we wait until he wakes up, we get his iv out, and we go.  we have no answers, and now we have no money.  awesome.  we also got to visit the pediatrician again on friday the 11th for blisters in the diaper area- we got the honor of seeing the dr. for a full 3 minutes for him to tell me to keep doing what i'm doing for it, and that maybe the concentration of his urine is what caused the blisters.  grrrrrrrrrrrr.

so thank you to everyone who asked about ian during these last 3 weeks.  i wish i could say i knew what was going on with him that night- or during these last 3 weeks.  he's currently doing really well- happy and smiling and laughing- he's being himself.  me- i'm recovering.  i was pretty depressed during that time- it was worse than anytime after i had given birth to him.  it was hard.  we're glad to all be back to normal.  now, to win the lottery and pay off those medical bills!

a couple photos to remember this by...

ian in the hospital crib- which looks like a cage.  and finally asleep after being discharged.