RAI - Day 7, hour 2

We just had another earthquake or possibly an aftershock from the Easter Day earthquake @ 4:54pm PST. I was standing in the kitchen and heard this rumbling in the ceiling (not unlike what my stomach has been sounding like before toilet fireworks!) that wasn't from passing military aircraft, then all of a sudden the walls started to shake a little. Crazy.

Anyway, happy to report that my digestive problems took a break for most of the day, so far, at least. I was motivated to take a walk with my parents to our local 7-11 so I could buy a Fantasy 5 Lotto ticket for this evening - the jackpot is over $110k. After receiving more of my medical bills this afternoon ($1675.00 for the second surgery), I figure the only way I'm going to be able to pay them off is if I win the lottery. You can't very well win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket. Sadly, I usually only win free play tickets for the lotto drawings, so I exchanged two of them for this evenings' drawing.

Despite the good things about having a PPO, such as if I didn't like the management of my thyroid cancer treatment by my current ENDO, then I could go pretty much anywhere else I wanted to without having to change medical groups, it is still taking a toll on my finances. Dare I admit that sometimes I wish I decided to not even deal with the lump on the left side of my thyroid so I wouldn't be drowning in medical bill debt? Well....yes, sometimes I wish I took that gamble, and other times I just wish I chose the HMO option instead. I'll admit that it is interesting to see what things really cost when you see a doctor. For example, any time they look in your mouth and ask you to say "Ahhhhhhh....", that is considered a surgical procedure (my ENT did this during each visit, and it cost $163 each time!) and you are billed for it if you have a PPO. Costs for office visits and 'saying Ahhhhh....' vary from medical group to medical group. For example, ENT #1 consult, aside from saying 'Ahhhh......' was $394, ENT #2 was $513 for the consult and $309 to say 'Ahhhh...' That being said, my PPO covered a small share each time until I hit my deductible of $2500. So my $24k hospital stay for the second surgery thank fully only costs me $1675. It is still a bit overwhelming every time I get a medical bill. I'm afraid to see how much my RAI pills and the two WBS will cost.