Update #4

Let's summarize.

The storm moved through on December 9th and took away our power for 11 days. (Until the 19th.) Vacation started on the 14th, I was still in the dark for "6" days of vacation -- totally wasted. By the time the power came on I was using holiday leave and not my personal annual leave which is a precious commodity.

In the middle of the power outage mom's MD of 35 years, who is 85, (One year younger than her) closed his practice. He was also sent to Saints' and we learned that he had been admitted in a state of rapid decline and was sent home for hospice care the day before mom arrived. She is morning his lost. She has seen him every 8 weeks for years and they consider each other friends. Belleview gave her to another MD who comes in, but doesn't really know her history. He is a cocky young rooster who tends to piss us all off. I was going to go in to meet with him at 7:30 in the morning (he visits patients on Thursdays and has only seen her twice), but mom just called and said he came in this morning because he is leaving town for 2 weeks and if there is a problem they will call another MD for her. He stayed approximately 2 minutes and flew out before she could even ask any questions about her hospital stay (more in next paragraph), or request a new perscription for Nitro. I am trying to get her with a geriatric specialist who was recommended by the head of that department at OUHSC. While at the hospital on the 24th, I discovered that her nurse had tried to call me on the 20th and somehow my new cell phone had dropped the message. (Can you hear me screaming?)

Two days after the power came on Mom began having chest pains (angina) (Fri & Sat) and was taken on icy roads to Saints' (Sunday) for tests and new meds. (too old for surgery) We have gone from living on the floor (minus 4 days at an overpriced hotel when I got carbon monoxide poisoning) to living in chairs at the hospital. She came back to rehab late Monday (Christmas Eve.) and they had given her room to someone else, packed up all her stuff, thrown out any open bags of anything that was in her drawer, lost her favorite pillow and embroidered pillowcase, suitcase, laundry basket, AND given away her flowers. I spent Christmas eve, and Christmas day screaming at people and making them go all over the facility until they came up with most of her stuff. We were unable to get back the flowers. They had gone home with someone. They'd closed out her records, including her meds which they have to reorder and it takes 24 hours, expecially at Christmas. My bloodpressure shot up and I had to take double pills to get rid of the headache. I've also just been told that ambulance transportation to and from the hospital is going to cost us close to $500, a little under $250 both ways because they used a streatcher instead of a wheelchair (which she was in too much pain to sit in) which would have cost us 2 times $75. It may cost more than that because there is an issue of whether or not Medicare will pay for an ambulance. How the hell do they expect critically sick people to get to help if they can't use an ambulance?

The family has decided to get together at a restaurant "tonight" for a Christmas dinner and a bitching session.

All in all, this ranks right up there with the Christmas of the bologna sandwiches only megga times worse. At this point I just want to get to January and kiss this fuckin' year goodbye.