Vernon was sent home from the ER the other night with a recommendation to see a certain orthopedic surgeon, who, it turned out, didn’t take Vernon’s Medi-Medi insurance. I was bracing myself to pay the cash for today’s appointment, but then I got a call from the case manager at Mesa Verde, telling me that doctor wouldn’t see him at all, regardless of cash. She and the social worker reported today that they’d called every other place they could think of, but no one would see him till late next week. We were concerned about this because his arm needs to be fixed soon. He can’t keep it elevated and refuses to keep the brace and bandaging off, if he can get them off himself.

I am especially concerned about future problems, in particular infection. We’ve been down that road before, but not over his previously broken bones. So since I already had a babysitter for Justine, I went up to see him anyway, even if the appointment had been cancelled. The case manager, doctor, and I all agreed we were worried about waiting till late next week so we had him sent to the ER yet again. I feel bad taking up more resources if they aren’t necessary, but I was feeling at a loss. And I don’t like that these things take so long (or don’t happen at all.) Where I have some control, I want to utilize it, I guess.

Also its a rare time that I can actually be with him in the hospital (often he is sent at night and I’m home with the kiddos so I do things over the phone…if I’m lucky.) So we wanted to take advantage of the afternoon window. I’m glad I did, because I was able to explain in person what was going on. The (youngest yet) doctor assigned to his room heard me out and looked over his x-rays. He thinks its going to be okay for a few more days but the brace needed to replaced. This time, they got serious with layers of wrap.

Adding to the list of things I’ve never seen before, they used a special kind of bandage to wrap him up inside all those layers of gauze and netting: an air drying bandage wrap, which hardens like a light cast. I hope it lasts till Thursday, when we have our appointment in Irvine with a specialist. I’ll believe it when it’s over, but for now it’s on the calendar. My hope is that he can get surgery that day and this won’t continue to play out for weeks.

We’ve got other things to do!

PS…Maki is back in New Zealand now with his other family, surely having a great time.

And guess what? Vernon remembered. 🙂

PPS (half an hour after posting this) I just got the call from Mesa Verde that Vernon has already taken off his soft cast. Why am I not surprised?