A Crack in the Serenity

 

I had three glorious days of not worrying. Pick a subject, I didn’t worry, fret or obsess about the details that have marred the summer. I curled up with books, alternating between a light summer read and an artist’s biography. I napped, admired the vegetation, breathed deeply, observed the landscape. A robin feasting on elderberries mesmerized for long minutes.

Hollyhocks standing outside the bathroom window brought back childhood memories -Grandma’s hollyhocks growing as tall as her smokehouse and sheets billowing on the clothesline.

I begin to regain a sense of self, creativity and possibilities. A ringing cell phone broke the aura. The staffing company in Florida is calling with issues about Mother’s care. Reality elbows it’s way through the serenity – duty calls.

*Rant* – One of Those Days

This has been one of those days that requires venting – probably Venting with a capital V. You may not have the patience for this and may want to fast forward away from this post. You’ve been warned.

1 - The morning started for me before 7am, fortunately I was already awake. Mary Kay is on the phone ranting about Mother’s doctor, Mother is screaming in the background, “Tell her I’m ready to die, I just want to die.” I make the decision to send her to the hospital via ambulance. Calls, calls, calls – promises that her nurse will call me, waiting by the phone, no call. Mary Kay goes to the hospital and is told there is a blood clot and she will be admitted.  A couple of hours later I call the hospital to see if she’s in her room yet. We usually find it helpful to talk with her nurse about her special needs because of her blindness. I’m told she’s being discharged, the emergency room doctor sees no reason to admit her.

Before I get the phone hung up the cell phone is ringing – Mary Kay is having a fit because they’re sending her home. Now, it’s calls, calls, calls I making to the doctor, then to MK, then to Mother’s doctor, back to MK. At one point Bob’s on the phone with MK as I’m with the doctor. The conversations are very serious about whether MK’s facility can take care of Mother or if she’s become to needy, her doctor is trying to figure out how to get around the emergency room decision and admit her for observation for at least 24 hours.

I’m still awaiting one more call from her doctor but she is in a room for the night and her nurse reports she’s resting comfortably. Tomorrow should be interesting.

2- Since we got home from the Arizona trip I’ve tried three times to deal with my library about the books and cassettes that were stolen. First I visited my local branch and was told to just wait until the fines added up to the cost of the books and they sent me a bill. She wouldn’t even take my name or the list of lost items. I couldn’t believe the attitude.

Next I start getting overdue notices via e-mail. I try contacting the circulation department totally without success. On my third effort I did receive a response from a very nice lady. She wants to know if I don’t want to turn this over to my insurance. Why don’t they want my money?

She tells me that the because of the age and the number of times the cassettes had been in circulation they are not going to charge me for them. The hardback book that’s been on the best seller list and that my name had been on the reserve list for seven months costs $14.20. Pay attention,  don’t leave me now. The paperback mystery dated 2005 will cost me $28.95. I had to question whether I’d heard her correctly. She said yes that’s what her list says. Does this make any sense???  I tell her I will pay over the Internet as soon as she charges my account.

She soon calls back saying she talked to her supervisor and they will discount the paperback 40%, that book will now cost me $17.37, still more than the hardback best seller. I checked on the Barnes & Noble website and that title is available for $7.18 – before my discount. The fine is paid, I believe I got off cheap; however, I’m disappointed library personnel were so willing to put this off and didn’t seem to care if these items were available for circulation. Plus, I like things to make logical sense, the pricing makes none. Bob wants me to purchase four of the paperbacks from B&N and take them as a gift.

3- We have a payment dispute with Littleton Adventist Hospital from Bob’s surgery in December. There is a $28,000+ discrepancy between what Medicare and our private insurance tell us is our responsibility and what the hospital is trying to collect. They have received insurance and Medicare payments. I refuse to pay anything until we can agree on the amount due. We contacted the business office but the only response has been to send more copies of the bill.

Today Bob called to once again come to a resolution on the amount due. The lady he talked to was very abrupt with the attitude of, “What are you bothering me with this for?” She said the correct person would call him back. Of course, there’s been no call back.

This gets better, at dinner time the phone rang. It was an automated survey wanting to know his opinion for services received with today’s phone call. Need I say his ratings were very low? Maybe they should solve the issue, or at least call back, before taking the survey.

It’s all made me a little crazy. If you read this you probably feel that way too. Just listen to the news – the world has tilted off it’s axis and I feel like I’m in the middle of it all.

It Happens

You know what “It” is. Our room phone rang at 7:01am. I’m thinking we didn’t request a wakeup call. “Is this Nancy? Sorry to bother you so early. What kind of car do you drive? It’s been broken into, if you can come down to the lobby the police are on their way.”

Welcome to Phoenix!

I throw clothes on from the night before and get downstairs pronto. The mind is whirling, “What did we leave in the car? How much damage will there be? How will this affect the trip?” The night  auditor insists on walking out with me. Broken glass covers the ground, items are scattered on the pavement.

Initial assessment is that it’s not as bad as it could be, a couple of tote bags are missing. The snack bag is gone - I hope the creeps like granola bars. I’m going to owe my public library when I get home, a bag with two books and two books on tape has taken flight – I hope they have a literary bent. The irony is that it was one of my favorite totes and was a gift a few years ago from the Arizona Tourism Office.

The hotel staff is terrific, from manager to maintenance, front desk to Starbucks barista. There are a couple of other victims as well. Police are called – the hotel placed four calls but  the police did  finally come and take a report. I know that in many cities that would not have been the case. Glass was swept, brushed and picked out of nooks. Lattes are provided while insurance company is contacted, glass company suggestions were made, schedules rearranged.

By mid-afternoon we were once again operational. The Desert Botanical Gardens were understanding and slid our entry ticket time from 8am to 4pm. By bedtime we realized a more items were among the missing, three bottles of hard cider – I hope they were of drinking age, and $60 of speciality pecans – they better appreciate our gourmet taste. Sorry Pat P.

As disappointing and disruptive as this was to deal with we can’t help but realize it could have been a whole lot worse. One or two lowlife left a lasting impression about Phoenix but many more kind citizens did all they could to lend a hand. We’ll try to remember the positives.

Where’s the Parenting?

As requested we’re on the top floor of a three story motel. It’s 11:01pm and a family gets off the elevator, 2 children run full bore down the length of the hallway, yelling all the way. For the next 70 minutes there is thumping and loud child voices. I don’t even think they are right next door to us but the racket disturbs me as I work and I’m not even trying to sleep. I can’t begin to imagine what is sounds like in the room beneath them.

Never do I hear any adult supervision or effort to curtail the behavior. The voices and foot thumps sounded like the children were under five. How will they learn civilized behavior if they are not parented? Are the parents that stupid or that rude? Probably both.

Visitor Centers – Benson & Willcox, Arizona

Why is it that some places and people can get it right and others seem destined to mess it up?

Stopped at the Visitor Center in Benson, Arizona to pick up some regional travel info this morning. The staff seemed more argumentative than friendly. One lady just not understanding the question the gentleman was asking. Another was trying to be helpful, all the while peeling and eating an orange. The apparent boss lady had to chime in from another room while she was on the phone. I simply wanted to get out  of there with or without information. This wasn’t the first disappointment at the Benson location.

Down the road in Willcox we’ve had just the opposite experience. The staff asked intellegent questions that gave them the information to best assist with our travel plans. They were knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the area. We were directed to a wildlife site that we’ve returned to again and again. What a difference the right people with the right attitude can make!

If you’re traveling I-10 and want information for Cochise County and Southeast Arizona skip Benson and stop in Willcox.

*Mini-Rant* – Let ‘em Roll

May there be a special place in the afterlife for the man who invented the toilet paper holder used in public bathrooms that will not let it roll. Three squares and it stops. There’s no question in my mind that it was a man. He’s probably even been decorated with awards by Al and the boys - but, I want revenge. Please don’t try to govern our lives to that detail. I believe Mr. Inventor and Sheryl Crow should be very happy together in the great beyond.

Mini Rant

As we left the Sunnyside Cafe today two of the wait staff were having a discussion near the hostess desk. Voices weren’t raised but the facial expressions and body languages shouted that they were unhappy campers. This sent a negative message on an already mediocre experience.

Whether it’s a restaurant, store, or doctor’s office I, as the customer, do not want to witness issues between employees. Bickering, disagreements and issues should be discussed behind the scenes.

We’ve long been ingrained with the familiar adage, “There’s only one chance to make a first impression.” I would like to add, “The final impression may be lasting.”

If It Can Malfunction – IT WILL

I seem to be in a vortex of malfunction. On Sunday my desktop computer simply would not turn on. Monday the diagnosis was bad mother board. Thankfully Advanced Computer (303-986-4500) had me up and running by late Monday afternoon.

Last night we were driving home from dinner when a red light shown on the Honda dashboard – one we’ve never seen before. You should know this car is 22 years old and has 260,000 miles on it but runs like a charm thanks to Pro Auto Care in Denver. Consulting the mannual the light indicates a fuel injection malfunction.

This morning I was concluding a long chatty e-mail to the Spokane Yackels when the laptop shut off with absolutely no warning. Bob diagnosised the problem as transformer and ordered a new one. I’m anxious to see if that is the problem, doesn’t quite make sense to me. Wouldn’t the battery back it up for a while? The transformer will be delivered tomorrow. We shall see.

This evening’s Spokane e-mail tells of Steven’s car refusing to start and needing to be towed. Malfunction pending.

Don’t you wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Staying On Topic

Anyone who knows me knows that I easily wander off onto tangents. Somehow they connect to the main topic but it’s not always immediately apparent.

However, I’m stellar at staying on topic compared to some women I know. I walk out of a monthly board meeting shaking my head and muttering to myself all the way home. In a few months we have gone from concise one-hour meetings with everyone getting their jobs done and informative reports made to rambling, multi-conversation gatherings that repeat themselves month after month. In the middle of the treasurer’s report everyone but the treasurer is discussing archiving elderly member’s life stories. We now have a house committee but re-hash everything they’ve considered in their meeting. It’s the treadmill of meetings and I’m one fat little hamster – muttering all the way.

Rant – Colonial Healthcare – Pompano Beach, Florida

Today’s mail brought a letter from a debt collection agency concerning a long standing issue with Colonial Healthcare of Pompano Beach, Florida. Back in May 2004 Mother (92 years old at the time) was a resident of Palms Edge Assisted Living Facility in Riviera Beach. She became critically ill and was  transported from the ALF to Palm Beach Gardens Hospital. Judy and I got on a  red-eye flight with warnings that she might not still be alive when we arrived. She was very sick with a blood level so low doctors were sure she had had a bleed out. After tests from  colonoscopies (yes, in the plural), to bone marrow biopsies we never found out the cause but she slowly improved. Doctors could only shake their heads and say, “We don’t know how she survived.” After nearly two weeks in the hospital she was so weak she required six weeks of care and therapy in a rehab center.

Colonial Healthcare was the pharmaceutical provider for Palms Edge at the time. They billed for drugs while she was in the hospital and at rehab that she obviously never received. Medicare and her secondary insurance were paying the hospital and  Chatsworth rehab for the drugs she received during this time period. For five years this company has tried to collect for expenses never incurred. Each time I hassle through their phone system hell until I get some bookkeeper who says, “No, you don’t owe. We’ll send you a check for what we owe you.” You see, to complicate matters, in the midst of Mother’s hospitalization I paid a bill from this company that was also paid by her drug insurance company. In fact they owe me more money than they are so arduously trying to collect from me. This is the third time they’ve sent the bill to collections. Supposedly each time they will correct the error. They let it rest for a year or two and then try to collect once again.

I’m convinced they are crooks and frauds. They count on the elderly being confused and easily intimidated. Scared of poor credit and more willing to write a check than to fight the system patients are conned into paying fraudulent bills. Not this lady, I’ve faught them for five years and I’m not stopping now. I’ve kept all the paperwork, dates and notes on phone calls, etc. Not only will I not pay them I’m turning them in to Medicare and the State of Florida Consumer Health Care fraud unit. Their pattern would certainly indicate that we’re not the only victims. I know that there were other families scammed at Palms Edge. They haven’t heard the last of me.