Nasticity

xray view 2
Originally uploaded by Deluxx

It's been a long 5 weeks since I broke my leg/ankle.

I feel like everything has been on hiatus. You'd think with all this time at home I would have been able to tap the creative juices, but it didn't work out that way. The first month was a blur of painkillers, television, and aimless Internet surfing. The last week has been spent on the phone with insurance companies and doctors. Only now am I starting to feel restless and capable of doing more. It feels like wasted time but I suppose it is what I needed to heal. Of course, I will be going back to work soon, albeit from my home office. Commuting is still not an option.

For those who want the gross details, they are in the following paragraphs. The injury description is nasty, but the part about how the insurance companies work is even nastier.

What you see here is my actual "after" x-ray, post-surgery. I sustained an impact to my left leg. My left fibula (the thin bone on the outside of the leg) was splintered into 5 or so pieces, which you see here held together with a plate and 7 screws. Below that is a large screw (or pin) that is holding the bones of my ankle in place and aligning them for correct healing. The force of the impact pushed the fibula way from the ankle, "exploding" it and tearing the ligaments and tendons that hold the ankle together.

My insurance company has denied every single claim I submitted. I spend hours on the phone, contesting each item, getting documentation, faxing, confirming, and following up. The doctor who did my surgery wasn't in my insurance plan, so I had to change doctors, slowing up the entire process.

My disability claim was also denied as of May 6, which means my employer will use vacation and personal time to pay me for a week, and then I won't be getting paid at all. I'll have to wait until Friday to get documentation from the new doctor to support my disability claim, which will then be reinstated -- meaning the company will have to reinstate my vacation and personal time and then pay me disability pay instead. Supposedly.

It is no wonder people who sustain injuries in accidents end up homeless or broke. I have more education and financial resources than most, and it's taking me hours and hours of work to get the benefits I am entitled to. What if I didn't have the literacy or intelligence to figure this all out? Suppose I didn't have money in the bank to cover my expenses while we wait for all of my retroactive benefits to be reinstated? This process is eye-opening, and making me an advocate of universal health care.

The almost-funny red tape: I am actually not allowed to return to work next week. I am not to return to work, even from home, until I have a doctor's note stating that I am able. Which I won't have until Friday.