[MelodyL]

Okay, just wanted to update you on what we are dealing with.

I called all the Wound Treatment Centers covered under Alan's medicare HMO. Seems that Wound Treatment Centers bill as a clinic visit and it's a $50 co-payment each and every time you go. So if you go 3 times a week, that's $150 a week and since we live on $900 a month after the rent, who on earth has $150 a week to spend on wound treatment centers. I can't imagine what a person does if they don't even have insurance, and he has Blue Cross Blue Shield.

So we did the next best thing. Since he has already been to Methodist Hospital for the stent, the neurologist, and other things, and they have all his medical history, they have a podiatry department.

I phoned them and just spoke to the person who handles everything. I told them about his recurring foot ulcer and I just wanted to make sure that if Alan went there, that they just don't do debridement (which he has had done for 18 months). I explained that his regular podistrist recommended bone shaving but they won't do it.

I simply asked "if the podiatrist, after examining my husband, says "oh, he needs the bone shaved", will the podiatrist recommend to a surgeon in the hospital to do it?? And she said "oh the podiatrist here does that". I said 'oh really??" so if my husband needs this, it can be done on an outpatient basis?? and she said "oh we do this all the time". Now I don't know where they do this, if they do it in the office, or in the Methodist Hospital itself (I didn't want to start asking so many questions, that I would come off as a person who yaps their heads off). I had asked blue cross if any procedure is covered and I was told that Alan is covered either for any in-patient surgery or any outpatient surgery..

I then was told that he only has to pay the specialist co-pay (believe me, it's not $50.00) So we decided to go this route.

His regular podiatrist absolutely told us to go to a wound treatment center because even though he recommended shaving down the bone, the actual doctor who runs the practice said "no, we can't do that". I have no idea why. I didn't ask any questions.

So this tuesday, on the 7th of August, Alan and I will go to Methodist Hospital to the podiatry department, and hopefully, after 18months of recurring foot ulcers, me doing wound dressings, every morning, and oft-loading shoes.....maybe, just maybe.... this new guy will say "oh, I know what he needs, he needs the bone shaved" Alan will be bringing all of his medical records and x-rays from his present podiatrist.

Now my question is this. How do we address this new guy?? Do we say "Alan has had recurring foot ulcer for 18 months, we've done the wound dressing thing, we've done the oft-loading shoe thing", "nothing has worked", do you think you can shave down the bone?" Is this okay to say??

See, Alan is afraid all the guy is going to start doing is debriding the ulcer (which he has already had done for 18 months).

And Alan does indeed make his own appointments and phone calls but believe me this morning, to get to the step I just got, it took me 2 hours, 5 phone calls to various places, two phone calls to his insurance company, etc. Alan would have thrown up his hands and gone crazy.

So I just did my thing. And we now have the appointment.

Thank god for that.

Melody