A little bit of progress
Apparently, I've got hella-good health insurance. I'm pre-approved for anything. Netcare says all I need to do is give them one business day to make arrangements in the Philippines (for lodging, transportation pickup from the airport to their own Netcare office there, plus the process of admitting to the hospital). And, treatment is 100% covered. I've already done all the diagnostic work-up here on Guam, so I don't expect the PI doc to do anything else but admit me and treat me, then send me back home.
There were some things I forgot to ask, but I'm sure I know the answers to them. I forgot to ask if the insurance covers the plane tickets to and from there...but I think not. I've got to be sure to prepare a list of questions for the next time I see the Netcare peeps.
I applied for my passport today. I've had one in the past, but I have since lost it. So I paid $158 bucks for it to be processed in 2 weeks. I really want to go in Mid-March - preferrably by or after the Ides. I hope mom can arrange to be away from work then. My head nurse is super - she understands my health troubles, and she just needs to know when, and I'm sure to get the leave.
Which reminds me...sick leave and annual leave. I've been using them like crazy for the past 3 or 4 months. I've just about run out of them both. Thank God GovGuam allows leave-sharing. I just have to find someone willing to donate leave to me, should I deplete my leave to nil.
And I can never jump off this "sick" train. I've been coughing so hard my lungs or bronchial tubes are hurting. My throat is sore because of the forceful cough. And nothing comes out. There must be some heavy-ass phlegm stuck in my lungs somewhere. And, my dermatitis is flaring up bad these days. The damn vinyl gloves at work are to blame. I try to soothe my skin with all kinds of lotions, which make it worse. Then I scratch and hurt like crazy. I got a bit of cellulitis with the recent dermatitis flare-up. Then yesterday, my hands got so swollen and red and hot and itchy and painful....*ugh* I took me some benadryl to get rid of that shit, but I know it will come back tomorrow when I go back to work.
It always comes back because I use the same type of gloves at work. I've tried to get the past Employee Health Nurse to get me special gloves, but she dropped the ball on it, and I've been suffering since. There's a new employee health nurse now, and I hope she will be able to provide me with these special gloves, but I've yet to see her.
A coworker of mine uses these special gloves. The employee health nurse only gave her ONE box, and God only knows how long that will last - so she conserves in certain ways. I hope the same doesn't happen to me. Maybe I should just buy my own damn gloves to use.
well...enough bitching for now...I'll keep you posted...
these are the gloves I should be using - NITRILE (but they are a bit expensive)
There were some things I forgot to ask, but I'm sure I know the answers to them. I forgot to ask if the insurance covers the plane tickets to and from there...but I think not. I've got to be sure to prepare a list of questions for the next time I see the Netcare peeps.
I applied for my passport today. I've had one in the past, but I have since lost it. So I paid $158 bucks for it to be processed in 2 weeks. I really want to go in Mid-March - preferrably by or after the Ides. I hope mom can arrange to be away from work then. My head nurse is super - she understands my health troubles, and she just needs to know when, and I'm sure to get the leave.
Which reminds me...sick leave and annual leave. I've been using them like crazy for the past 3 or 4 months. I've just about run out of them both. Thank God GovGuam allows leave-sharing. I just have to find someone willing to donate leave to me, should I deplete my leave to nil.
And I can never jump off this "sick" train. I've been coughing so hard my lungs or bronchial tubes are hurting. My throat is sore because of the forceful cough. And nothing comes out. There must be some heavy-ass phlegm stuck in my lungs somewhere. And, my dermatitis is flaring up bad these days. The damn vinyl gloves at work are to blame. I try to soothe my skin with all kinds of lotions, which make it worse. Then I scratch and hurt like crazy. I got a bit of cellulitis with the recent dermatitis flare-up. Then yesterday, my hands got so swollen and red and hot and itchy and painful....*ugh* I took me some benadryl to get rid of that shit, but I know it will come back tomorrow when I go back to work.
It always comes back because I use the same type of gloves at work. I've tried to get the past Employee Health Nurse to get me special gloves, but she dropped the ball on it, and I've been suffering since. There's a new employee health nurse now, and I hope she will be able to provide me with these special gloves, but I've yet to see her.
A coworker of mine uses these special gloves. The employee health nurse only gave her ONE box, and God only knows how long that will last - so she conserves in certain ways. I hope the same doesn't happen to me. Maybe I should just buy my own damn gloves to use.
well...enough bitching for now...I'll keep you posted...
these are the gloves I should be using - NITRILE (but they are a bit expensive)
Oh, I'll be back in a little over a week. It's a short stay - I'm planning to be there for no more than 10 days. So, I should be on island when you're here :-)
I hope things go without adverse events. It's pretty straight forward treatment. Nothing else should be done to me.
Posted by
ronnie |
2/17/2006 11:57:00 PM
buy your own gloves. don't wait. no one should be in pain needlessly. and i totally think you're allergic to lanolin. or another additive. like i was telling Val, i used Eucerin until i was like ... 18 or so. and then i'd turn red and burning and itching immediately after applying it. and if they mixed your topical with it, the cream will just make the dermatitis worse. i avoid anything with lanolin, wool wax alcohol, etc.
Posted by
sabete |
2/21/2006 12:51:00 AM
I'm definitely hunting down that employee health nurse today. If she can't give me gloves today, I'll just have to try to buy them somewhere before I go to work tomorrow. And I'm not putting anything on my hands anymore - which sucks cause they're always dry - and I need moisture for them - but better to let them heal and not irritate them more. I'll just keep popping the Benadryl.
Posted by
ronnie |
2/21/2006 10:40:00 AM