Hernia Repair Waiting Room

Posted on by Thor

While hiking and sketching in Europe, I developed a bilateral hernia below my belly button at the ridge of the pelvic bone. Because I was traveling in Europe for 3 months my insurance had been canceled. When I got back to the states, my first order of business was to get my insurance renewed since I knew that I would need an operation. My primary care doctor with the renewed Ambetter Insurance sent me to a doctor whose consultation made me believe he was an inexperienced butcher. He looked like he was straight out of high school, and his explanation was blunt and less than reassuring.

My sister from Port Charlotte Florida had a hernia several years ago and she had an operation like the Ambetter Insurance doctor was describing. That operation failed and the hernia returned. Another doctor tried to fix the botched operation and his patchwork also failed. She described the results like having our intestines pressing through chicken wire crudely sewn into the abdomen.

My sister then found Dr. Jonathan Yunis in Sarasota, Florida. He performed an intricate operation that was so complex that he invited medical interns to witness the procedure. This operation was a success and has lasted for many years.

I decided I had to have Dr. Yunis perfume the operation on my abdomen. I sketched the waiting room, hoping others might enter who wanted the same operation. I was the only consultation on that morning. Drawings on the wall showed the abdomen and pelvis.

I had just had an operation to remove my prostate gland, which adds enzymes and citric acid to semen, maintaining its fluidity and supporting sperm viability. I had seen electrocardiograms of my pelvis before that operation, so I was very familiar with what that region looked like from the inside. Having my prostate removed left me feeling asexual. I feel a bit like a dog that has been neutered. Finding friendship has become more important that finding a sexual partner.

Dr. Yunis gave a thorough explanation of what he would be doing, and I felt sure this was the right way to go. He isn’t on Ambetter’s list of doctors, however. He doesn’t want to deal with having to answer to insurance companies. Regardless, I moved forward hoping that the insurance would cover some fraction of the cost. They never did. I filled out multiple forms which were all denied. The operation cost $11,000 out of pocket.

The operation was a success. Yunis used a DaVinci Robot to perform the operation under his control. I was shaved completely free of any hair on my chest and groin. Three small incisions were made in my abdomen. Two were for robotic hands and the third for a camera. I wanted to sketch the DaVinci Robot, but I was put under anesthesia almost immediately.

Though this was an outpatient procedure, I was told I could not drive after the operation. My sister pan and her husband Mike were there to drive me back to their place in Port Charlotte Florida. I was told I might be in a lot of pain for several days but honestly, I was fine. It was a rare chance to sit and relax on ac ouch and just watch TV. I did take some Aleve each day since the incisions could be felt, like sandpaper against my belly. There were no stitches. Instead, glue held the wounds closed. I took off the bandages several days later. The three scars made it look like I had been shot in the stomach 3 times. I healed quickly. Today the scars are almost invisible. Despite the cost, I am glad I used this doctor. My instincts told me it is better to get the job done right the first time by an experienced doctor. Now I am biking and hiking around downtown Orlando and I am sure the abdomen is getting stronger.

Waiting for Dr. Rachel Apoo

Posted on by Thor

After having my prostate sliced out by a doctor using a laser shoved up my flagpole, I then developed a bilateral hernia while sketching in Europe. I noticed the hernia when I woke up one morning in Herdecke Germany. I thought I had it because I had decided to try the coffee in the historic Air B&B. It had developed so fast that I feared I might have to cut the trip short as it expanded. I spent the morning reading online articles about hernias and became convinced that it wasn’t dangerous at the time. I am sure a laser beam had ripped the lining of my lower abdomen from the inside during the prostate operation. I figured lots of hiking around Europe would help the healing process. Perhaps I was wrong.

The doctor arranged a follow-up after the prostate removal operation with his assistant Rachel Apoo. I had consulted with one doctor about correcting the hernia, but his consultation was less than informative or reassuring. He planned to sew plastic mesh on the inside of my abdomen. My sister had a hernia, and she had the exact same operation he described twice and it failed both times with different doctors. She later went to Dr. Jonathan Yunis who used pig’s bladder to correct the hernia. It was this trusted doctor I eventually used to do the operation. It cost $11,000 out of pocket and Ambetter Insurance refused to help with the costs in any way since he was out of network. Health insurance is a scam.

I asked Apoo about the hernia correction surgery. She told me the operation had nothing to do with the hernia that developed shortly after leaving the operating table. That protected the doctor from any possible lawsuits. She also prescribed me a drug which would lengthen the amount of time between bathroom breaks. The whole reason I had the swollen prostate removed was so that I could sit for several hours and finish a sketch or painting before having to run off to a bathroom. In Germany I was peeing everywhere I sketched. I marked trees all along the route of the 75th Infantry Division as they liberated the Ruhr Pocket during WWII. The pills Apoo prescribed were turned down by my health insurance. On a second office visit she prescribed another pill which did the trick. It is called Oxybutynin ER. I ran out of the drug last week and now I have to pee every few hours or so. I get up several times at night as well. I am calling in a refill today. I tried calling in a refill yesterday, but the Walgreens robots put me on hold for an extremely long time and then a human hung up on me. I hope to have better luck today.

Last visit to Ho

Posted on by Thor

The last time I visited Doctor Angel Ho on Mills Avenue, I was told by the receptionist that she was no longer my doctor through my Ambetter Insurance. I needed to fill out a form that stated that another male doctor was in charge, but then I could see Dr. Ho. Having just returned from Europe after 3 months I wanted to be sure the new insurance was working and I could get the meds I am issued for high blood pressure. I ran out of the meds in Europe, but I was fine without them for the final month.

A Christmas wreath was still on the door for the patient entry. Though there were several small American flags, I didn’t understand what most of the patients were saying. I believe most were Vietnamese. When I went back to the exam room I was asked to remove my socks, and I was given a sonogram on my ankles. When a woman is pregnant she gets a sonogram to bear the baby’s heartbeat. In this case I could hear my own whooshing and pulsing heartbeat. It turns out, I do have a heart.

Since Angel Ho is no longer officially my doctor, I never returned. She refilled my prescriptions and they haven’t run out yet. I sill get weekly texts reminding me to go to the office for a check up. I always respond that “Angel Ho is not my doctor.” I don’t think they read the texts. Probably robots or AI keep sending out the messages.

I have turned the age where I had to switch hover to Medicare. An agent walked me through the process but after the first visit I once again feel that I am struggling with 3rd world care when I go to the Doctor’s office. When I got to that office a sign on the door said the staff was out. The door was locked. The sign had a clock to show a return time but 8Pm could not be right. I was a little early, so I decided to wait in the sun. A woman driving by in the parking lot stopped and said, “They are not in!” I asked if she knew when they would be back and she said, “No they were gone when I got here a hour ago.” She drove off, but I stood fast. Eventually the front desk receptionist opened the door and offered a chipper “hello”. I wasn’t impressed. The doctor Raquel Alexandra Michel checked my pulse and breathing. Since there was no sonogram, I felt it was a move in the right direction. An Eco-cardiogram test was ordered but when I went to get it, I was told by the receptionist that the test was “Not Authorized.” I had wasted an hour drive there and back. The lab keeps calling, but no one returns my call when I ask if the test is “Authorized”.

Definitely this was not a good first impression. This low-cost Freedom Health Medicare may be a nightmare.

Urologist Waiting Room

Posted on by Thor

At the end of my trip through Europe, following in the footsteps of my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken, I discovered that a double hernia had developed at the base of my pelvis. All the hiking I had been doing should have been good for my health, and it was. I lost plenty of weight but perhaps the weight loss revealed the hernia which may have already been developing. In my mind the hernia happened overnight. The Airbnb I was staying in had free coffee. I never drink coffee, but I decided to try a cup that night. It tasted good, so I had another cup.

In the morning, as I was getting dressed, I noticed the two rather large bulges at my pelvis. I panicked. My health insurance had been canceled because of my travels. I scoured the interned to self diagnose the situation. It was not life threatening as I at first thought. I was fine with it unless I had to lift something heavy.  My heaviest object was my backpack full of sketchbooks. I decided I could live with it and then I would get it fixed once I got back to the United States.

This trip to the Urologist was a check up on a previous operation I had which was to remove my prostate. For that operation a laser had been shoved up my flag pole and the prostate was burned away with the laser beam. It was a high tech solution. I wondered if a laser bean blast had ricocheted and caused the hernias. One internet article confirmed that was a possibility.

At this visit with the doctor’s assistant, she denied that the previous operation could be the cause. She gave me a referral to a doctor who handled hernia repairs. I had the prostate removed so that I would not need to urinate as often as I did. Traveling in Europe I found that I still had to urinate far too often. I took a pee in just about every German landmark that I sketched. A sketch takes about two hours to complete and by that time I would have to pee like a race horse. A side effect to the double hernia is a constant need to pee. The doctor’s assistant prescribed a pill that helps reduce the urgency, but my Ambetter Insurance refused to fill the prescription.

My sister in Punta Gorda Florida had the double hernia repair surgery. Her case was much worse than mine. She had to have the surgery done multiple times because the doctors botched the repair. One doctor finally fixed all the botched operations and she has been fine ever since. I started looking for information about that doctor online.

My primary goal, and the reason I was staying in Florida was to get this operation done. I would have to face sketching a series of doctor’s office waiting rooms. This wait wasn’t very long. I only had enough time to put some lines on the page and add three washes to cover the page.