What A Day!

Good grief. Nothing can ever be simple, can it? This day has been one of those days. Even my coffee this morning was not cooperating. I got grounds in my coffee. The coffee maker wasn't working right, so I tried fiddling with it, and in doing so, got a bunch of grounds in the cup. I'm too cheap to start all over (I use an espresso machine to make one HUGE really strong cup of coffee). So I fished some out and drank the rest.

And Mr. Jacob didn't do ANYTHING I asked him the first time. I've got to get back to hard core discipline with the child. I've been so weak and sick that it's been all I can do to keep him from playing in the road or burning the house down, let alone do things like use good manners, listen the first time, say, "yes Mommy" and do what you're told.

Found pheresis close to home, right? Right. Now I just have to jump the 17 hoops, and I can actually get it done. Called the blood people today to see if they got the referral from my neuro at U of M. Yup, but there's a note on it (from St. Mary's, not my neuro) saying that you need orders written by a doc from St. Mary's since that's where I'm having the pheresis, even though it's being done by a completely independent third party. {Sigh.}

So I call St. Mary's to find out how many fingers or toes it's going to cost to get orders for plasmapheresis written. Turns out they don't take body parts. They take more enjoyment out of TRUE torture: more hoops and paperwork. So NOW I have to get a referral from my PCP (who knows nothing about the whole process) to a neurologist at St. Mary's, whom I will have to probably make an appointment with, who will look at me for 10 seconds, after reading the records I'm supposed to get from the U of M (HA!), and write orders for pheresis.

So I call my primary's office and the office person answering the phone says he's going to want to see me. I'm like, no, I'm not seeing him, I just need this referral.

Office lady: "Well I'll take a message, but...."

Me: K. You do that. Write down exactly what I say."

Office lady: "Well...."

Me: "I need to get a referral to a neurologist at St. Mary's hospital because I get a treatment called plasmapheresis. Normally I go to Ann Arbor and St. Mary's is much closer. Michigan blood comes in to their outpatient department to do the procedure. It's pretty much all set up with me, my docs at U of M and the blood people. We just have to make St. Mary's happy."

Office lady: "Plasma ....what's the second word?"

Me: It's all one word. I'll spell it for you. Plasma p-h-e-r-e-s-i-s."

Office Lady: "So you need a referral for plasma-whatever-the-second-word-is to St. Mary's because it's closer. Is that right?"

Me: "Yes. The referral needs to go to the neurology department."

Office Lady: "Okay, I'll give him the message." {in that voice.....you know...the condescending one that says I-know-you-think-you-know-what-you're-doing-but-it's-not-going-to-work voice.}

Why can't people just do what I ask?!?!?!

So. Instead of a simple piece of paper from the U of M to the blood people, I now have to jump through all these hoops. Why? So the insurance companies are happy. That is the ONLY. Flippin'. Reason. Who else cares?

And who gets to handle all of this stressful bullcrap? Yup, me. Doug's out building chicken coops. At least he has Jacob. AND, one of my dumb dogs has a cold. So Doug took him to the vet yesterday to the tune of $80 some dollars. I want to curl up and find my happy place.
Cuz it ain't here right now!