Another milestone in therapy today: John started aquatic therapy this morning, which meant getting in the water for the first time since his accident. Doing pool therapy lets him use the water's buoyancy to help him work muscles (like his hip flexors) in ways he can't on land. So in the pool, he can move his legs like he's doing jumping jacks. All of this will continue to build his strength, flexibility, and balance back up.
So now he goes to PT/OT twice a week (at one location) and will do the pool therapy once a week (at another location).
In other exciting news, he has a neurosurgeon here in town (or maybe that's only exciting to me because it means I've managed to track down all of his records and images [from three hospitals] for the doctor to see before John's first visit!). And finally, this will be one visit nearby -- the neurosurgeon's practice is adjacent to the hospital in our neighborhood, so it's just 4 or 5 blocks to the office for us. John will see him at the end of the month for a check-up.
I know I shouldn't be surprised by this, but I continue to be shocked at how much paperwork I'm chasing. We get an EOB listing what the insurance company has paid, what discount the provider has accepted -- and then we get a bill from said provider for the discounted amount that they've already agreed we don't owe. If I had a dollar for every phone call I've made to eventually be told, "You can disregard that bill," I'd be rich -- of course, since I've called rather than just write checks, I guess you could say we're already richer (or at least not poorer)! I mention this not to complain, but to empathize with others going through the same ordeal. It's really easy to see how more than 60% of bankruptcies in the US are the result of medical bills.
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