Beech Tree News Network

I have been hobbling around on this old people knee since July 4th, when I stepped up onto a small knoll at my brother's fireworks show, and my knee buckled under me.  Two x-rays and an MRI show no broken bones or tears to the surrounding tissue.  The scans do show, however, that there is little to no cartilage left in the joint, thanks to arthritis.  I see a knee replacement in my future.  For now, I have had a couple of steroid shots, which did absolutely nothing for the pain or swelling.  I am also on prescription anti-inflammatories, which continue to do absolutely nothing for the pain or swelling.  

I have to continue this treatment for three months from the first diagnosis of no cartilage in the knee joint, however, because it is a Medicare stipulation that I do so, before I can receive a gel injection into the knee joint that will, hopefully, give me some relief.  The middle of this month marks the date when I can receive the gel injection.  I am growing weary of always having to prove to Medicare that I am really suffering before I can get access to treatments that will work.

For two years, I have suffered with severe dry eyes.  You know how people say things like, I feel like I have grains of sand in my eyes.  Well, I feel like I have an entire beach in mine.  There are other times when my eyes feel like I’ve lost a set of contacts in there, and they are floating around at will.  I’ve had a few times, while driving, that I didn’t know if I was going to make it home, and if I might have to call one of my family to come pick me up.

I’ve tried several different prescription eye drops, and I have used a heat mask, as well.  The relief is temporary, and there is only so much an ophthalmologist can do for me.  The problem with dry eye lies in the oil glands located in the eyelids, where your lashes are attached.  It is the oil from these glands that keeps the tears in your eyes.  There is another procedure in which the oil glands in your eyelids are treated, either with thermal pulsation therapy or by being flushed out, but Medicare hasn’t approved payment for those treatments, and the out-of-pocket expense is cost prohibitive.

I might be able to argue my case with a higher-up at Medicare, but I’m just too exhausted to take on that challenge.  Recently, my stepsister decided to do just that.  She is retired now, but she was formerly a lawyer with the Kentucky State Highway Department, which meant she had excellent health insurance.  After retirement, she was forced to use Medicare and a supplemental insurance.  She is not adapting well.

My sister has suffered with migraines for years, the kind that, if you don’t have the proper meds, will put you in bed for days.  Under her state health insurance, she had access to the most effective prescription medicine.  Since her days on Medicare, she and her doctor have to fight for every pill.  One day last week, my sister ran out of her meds, and Medicare refused to refill the prescription.  After lying in bed for two days, she could finally sit up without the room spinning, so she decided to call Medicare and maybe, talk to someone who would listen.  I think I’ve told you before that part of her email reads: Bulldog at Law.  That is a pretty accurate description of her relentlessness, if she thinks she’s on the side of right.  

When she reached one of the top representatives of the Medicare Sanhedrin, my sister explained how severe her headaches were and why she needed that particular medicine.  An argument ensued in which the representative was adamant that her prescription would not be refilled.  It was at this point that the bulldog stood up, shook herself off and said, “You know what?  My doctor prescribed this medication.  He has a medical license.  Maybe, it’s time for a class action lawsuit against Medicare for practicing medicine without a license.”  Thirty minutes after the call ended, her doctor called.  Her prescription would be refilled.

You know, the Bible lists one of the fruits of the spirit as longsuffering.  Who knew the folks at Medicare were so interested in our spiritual growth?