Today, the first thing I was greeted with was “I was going to ask you how you were feeling, but I’ll just shut my mouth,” says a fellow co-worker. Yes, I’ll admit it. I had a puss on my face. I was hurting so bad; it feels like my back needs someone to just give it a good crack. I ignored the woman’s comments and went to work. Bending, standing, counting medications, reaching – by 11 o’clock I was practically in tears. I called my Doctors office and asked them if they could see me. “I’m sorry, we don’t take car insurance – but let me give you the number to someone who does.” I was fine with this and called the other Doctors office. I’m used to just handing someone my insurance card, and everything being taken care of.

Oh no, that’s not the way it was to be.

I made the appointment for 4:30 this afternoon and called my Mother to tell her. “Jamie!” she exclaimed. “You just have to call them up and ask them what they’re going to rap you. Those kinds of Doctors put you on all kinds of medications and Chiropractors fix it so that you have to keep coming back!” So I called them up and asked them what it would be without my Car insurance or regular health insurance. Three to five hundred dollars – and that was just the office visit. Five hundred?! I’d be responsible for 20% plus whatever else they sent off. I quickly called them back and told them “I just don’t have the money for that.”

I call my own Doctors office back (and office that I’d been going to for at least the last year and a half) and got into a semi-argument with one of the nurses. “I told you we don’t take car insurance.” I said “Well, can’t we just forget the car insurance and use my regular insurance? I don’t know if this is related to my car accident or not!” she tsk tsked like I was 3 and said “They will just deny it, and you’ll wind up owing more and you’d be commiting insurance fraud.” I burst into tears and said “I don’t have the money to go to the other place and it’s not my fault!” We hung up and I cried for a good fifteen minutes quietly near the back counter.

I felt so bad for yelling at them (and I was a little miffed at how she talked to me) but I decided that I was going to call them back after work and apologize. I didn’t care if they put “Crazy person” on my file, or anything, I just wanted to clear the air. This was the Doctor who took care of me after the whole “lymphoma” incident with the other Doctor, and I did not want to be in their bad graces. I just spilled it all out that I wanted to say I was sorry because I wasn’t very nice and yadda yadda yadda.

She said “Oh, it’s okay – but did you get it all straightened out?” and I told her no, and a little about what happened and she said “awww, I’m so sorry!” she put me on hold and told me to call a number in the morning because “maybe they can help you” she said. Oh – trust me lady, I’ll call. I wound up feeling better because I apologized (even if I did nothing wrong) and she sounded much happier and was much more willing to help me after that whole “I’m sorry thing.”

So, tomorrow hopefully the Deputy will call back and he can issue the girl a ticket, or suspend her license or something…and hopefully when I get the bill for the ER visit, it won’t be that much. If it is, I’ll just have to find some way to retain a lawyer and go after the girl or her parents. No one should have to go through this – no one. And the fact that I’m already tight for cash doesn’t help matters one bit.