THIS Is My Discount?!?

I have made it very clear to the doctors at MedVet that money is a HUGE issue for me at this point.  They have all seemed very understanding and sympathetic and have been telling me since I brought Lexie back last Thursday that they were going to do everything they can to make the charges "as minimal as possible" for me.  I wasn't required to leave a deposit this time, either, so I trusted that the doctors at MedVet really were going to cut me a break.  After all, they had sent Lexie home before knowing she had TWO different bacterial infections (staph and serratia), which they later told me were the reason why Lexie's stitches burst.  Furthermore, not only was Lou sent home with the wrong antibiotics for her type of bacterial infections, but she was also sent home without an E-collar to protect her stitches, even after I specifically requested one!  (The vet tech, Amanda, told me that they "generally don't think an E-collar is necessary" and added that "it may get in Lexie's way as she tries to find her way around the house.")

So, I really wasn't THAT worried about cost at first, but every time I asked a doctor for an estimate over the phone, I was told that they "didn't have one yet."  I started to get a little concerned when I learned that Lexie's surgery was being pushed back another few days AND Dr. Kennedy was recommending she have a mastectomy.  I specifically told Dr. Kennedy that I wanted an estimate so I could decide whether or not I could afford to have the mastectomy performed at this time.  Dr. Sawyer told me yesterday that Dr. Kennedy had spoken to Administration, and they had given him the go-ahead to discount Lexie's services.  She said that he was going to "crunch the numbers" that night, then call me with a cost estimate for everything today.  She also said, "Believe me, we're doing everything we can to help you out, so you don't have to worry...."  I truly believed at that point that I would end up owing maybe $1000-1500 when it was all said and done, which is still a lot, but I was trying to stay realistic.

Well, I waited all day today, but never got a call from anyone at MedVet.  So, I called a little before 6:00 p.m. to find out what was going on.  After all, Lexie's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, and I didn't want them to perform the mastectomy if I can't afford it.  Mind you, I have NO money left.  The only way I'm able to "pay" for this next surgery is because my brother, Zach, was kind enough to open a Care Credit account for me to use (I was turned down for one).  His credit limit is $3000, but, like I said, I was pretty confident that I'd only need about half of that.

Well, I was wrong.  First of all, Dr. Sawyer said that Dr. Kennedy had a family emergency today, which is why he didn't call me.  He told her to tell me, though, that the estimate for Lexie's surgery, AFTER the discount, is going to be around $1800!!!!  That includes the mastectomy, but does NOT include the charges that have accrued from Lexie having to stay there for so many nights.  Dr. Sawyer said the balance for Lexie's care and overnight stays so far was at around $1400, but she also said that a discount has not been applied to that amount yet.  Even so, Lexie still has to be there for two more nights!

I told Dr. Sawyer that I was expecting to not have to pay more than about $1500 TOTAL because everyone has been telling me this whole time not to worry about the cost and assuring me that Administration was going to "help me out."  I also explained to her that I HAVE to stay under Zach's $3000 Care Credit limit, to which she replied by assuring me that they'd do all they can to keep my total under $3000.

REALLY?!?!?!?  Gee, THANKS!!!!!!  I know that $3000 must not seem like a lot of money to these doctors or the big wigs in Administration, but that's almost two whole months' salary for me!  How can they not take into greater consideration the fact that I just paid MedVet $3500 (thanks solely to the generous donations of others) last Tuesday, plus a $1250 deposit a couple nights before that, AND I paid them around $1000 during two separate visits prior to Lexie's enucleation surgery?!?!

Seriously, I cannot freaking believe they are acting like they're doing me a favor by ONLY charging me another $3000 to repair her incisions, which never should have opened in the first place!!!!!!  WHY did they send her home one day after her surgery before they even knew the type and extent of her infection, especially knowing that infection sometimes causes incisions to pull open?

Ladies and gentlemen, I am not happy.  I'm in shock.  This can't be right, can it?!?!  I keep thinking that this additional 7-night stay and need to perform an additional eye surgery could have all been avoided if the vets had simply kept Lexie there for a couple of days while awaiting the results of her bacterial cultures.  I am SO disappointed right now because I truly do believe that MedVet provides excellent medical care.  Therefore, it's such a shame that my opinion of them may now be tainted due to their inability to accept more responsibility for all of this.

Still on Schedule...Still No Estimate

I just got a call from Dr. Sawyer, the doctor who's name I couldn't remember from my previous post, but there's nothing really new for me to report.  Lexie was really good when they changed her bandages yesterday, and the wound still looks good.  So, as of now, her surgery is still scheduled for Wednesday.

Dr. Sawyer then told me that Dr. Kennedy has spoken with Administration about my bill, including the cost of performing Lexie's mastectomy while she is under anesthesia on Wednesday.  She said that Dr. Kennedy is going to "crunch some numbers" tonight, and then call me with an estimate in the morning. 

In the meantime, I don't think Wednesday has ever felt so far away...

Then, They Brought Up the "C" Word

Dr. Kennedy just called to give me an update about Lexie.  She's doing well.  They cleaned her right eye really well yesterday and bandaged it, but they aren't going to change the bandage again until tomorrow.  If it looks like it NEEDS to be closed tomorrow, they will, but Dr. Kennedy would like to perform the surgery on Monday, if possible.  

Then, he asked me about Lexie's swollen mammary gland and how long it has been producing a discharge.  Excuse me?????  I had noticed her swollen mammary gland for the last couple of years, but I had never noticed a discharge.  I certainly would have taken her to the vet if I had.  My dog, Sam, had growths happening all over her body for a few years, but the vet assured me they were just benign fatty deposits.  Still, I decided to have five of Sam's growths removed  last year (shortly before Lexie had to have emergency surgery for pyometra) just because I didn't want them to get any larger.  I had planned to do the same for Lexie this year, but then all of this happened.  

Anyway, I was not aware that a growth in a dog's mammary gland is a bigger deal than a growth anywhere else on the body, until Dr. Kennedy just told me that.  He said that anytime there is a growth in a dog's mammary gland, there is a 50/50 chance that it will be cancer.  Not only that, but if they were to aspirate her growth right now and the cells tested positive for cancer, then it's cancer; however, if the cells tested negative for cancer, there's still a 50/50 chance that it's cancer.  I asked how much an aspiration would cost, but Dr. Kennedy said that he hated to perform one because, if it tests negative, it's just a waste of money.  

I asked Dr. Kennedy if cancer would have shown up in Lexie's X-ray and/or ultrasound that she just had done recently.  He said that it takes billions of cells for an X-ray to show a 1 cm growth.  So, while it's GOOD that Lexie's X-ray and ultrasound did not show any signs of cancer, it still does not mean that there is no cancer present.  

AWESOME!!!!!!

Basically, Dr. Kennedy just wanted me to be aware of the fact that a mammary growth is not something that should be let go for very long and suggested I have it removed sooner than later, because even if it's not cancer it still needs to be removed.  I told Dr. Kennedy that, after all Lexie has been through lately, I would love to be able to wait until her eyes are completely healed before putting her through another surgery.  On the other hand, now I'm super worried to wait any longer to have her mammary growth removed.  Dr. Kennedy said that he still didn't know what Lexie's current stay and upcoming eye surgery was going to cost because Administration has just told the vets to do what Lexie needs to have done, then they'd discuss my bill.  However, Dr. Kennedy said he was going to go ahead and ask for an estimate of how much it would cost to also remove Lou's mammary growth during her surgery on Monday.  He made it clear that Administration is only going to try to cut me a break on Lexie's eye surgery, so if I decide to have her mammary growth removed I will be charged their regular fee for that procedure.  

So, yeah.  Now there's also the question of cancer to worry about.  It's probably going to depend on how kind Administration is to me in regard to the cost of Lexie's eye surgery whether or not I will have Lou's mammary growth removed on Monday.  Believe me, if I can figure out a way to afford it, I'm going to have it done.  If I can't afford it right now, I'm going to save all my pennies so that I can have it removed as soon as possible.