[MelodyL]

Well, Alan is very upset.

He was at the podiatrist's office. The ulcer was debrided. The doctor told Alan "we can't operate because of your neuropathy, it might screw up all your nerves. Wear the cam walker all the time you are on your feet, no more slippers. Use the bacitracin until Saturday and then on Sunday begin the Regranex (he gave him another tube).

Then he told Alan 'go back to your original podiatrist and have him re-do the orthotics, (and he gave Alan a note to give to the podiatrist about how he wants the orthotics re-done). Alan told him it takes a long time to get the orthotics done and the doctor said "yeah, I know, that's why you have to stay in the Cam Walker".

Alan calls me up and says "Call up my podiatrist and tell him I'm coming in tomorrow so he can take my orthotics and have them re-done". I call up the guy and he's on vacation until next week.

So Alan is not going to get the orthotics refurbished any time soon. He'll be in the Cam Walker as long as it takes.

So is this the way it's going to be from now on??? The podiatrist who made the orthotics called last week to ask about Alan. I asked him "can't he just wear the Cam Walker all the time, and he said "No, a person can't do that'.

Why is that??? Because if no one will shave down the bony thing under the ulcer because of his neuropathy and his neuropathy is not going away anytime soon, then what is this man supposed to do for the rest of his life?? Have this stupid ulcer on the bottom of his foot??? It's not like he has diabetes and he can't heal. He heals just fine. It's the bony thing that nobody wants to take care of because they feel it will screw up the nerves in his foot even more than they are already screwed up.

If someone would have told me this when he went to the gym and went on that darn treadmill, I would have never believed it. But because he did that, he got the ulcer, and ever since, all we have are bandages, visits to this doctor and that doctor, oh, poo. I'm just venting because I'm frustrated.

God only knows how frustrated Alan must be. He really thought the guy was going to say "no problem, we'll shave down the bone".

Isn't there anyone who will fix this bony thing under his ulcer???

No one???

Melody

[mrsD]

podiatrists have limits.

Your option is to see a orthopedic MD, or at least a wound care place that is MD. Shaving a bone, is not so easy. Bones are alive, and can get infected.

I wonder if this is a sesamoid bone issue?

If you are really dissatisfied, I'd get another opinion, from an orthopedic
doctor that is approved by your insurance. I have limited respect for podiatrists.
They are okay for some things, but when issues get stubborn, serious, or there seems to be no solution...then you need bigger guns.

[MelodyL]

Thank you. I never knew we had this option.

I'm looking into it.

Will update if I learn anything.

Thanks so much Mrs. D.

Melody

Okay, here's the update.........................

Found a possible orthopedic surgeon out of Beth Israel in NYC. He is a foot and ankle specialist and he does foot surgery. He also takes Alan's insurance. I spoke to a physician referral specialist at the hospital and to put it simply, I asked him "do you do email?" and he said "oh absolutely" and I said "can I give you my husband's medical information, and can you forward it on to the doctor you think may help him?" He said "I do this all the time, this is an excellent way to see if this is the right doctor for your husband".

So I'm emailing all pertinent facts, and contact information. The guy will then forward it to the doctor, who will either get back to me and say "yes indeedy, bring the big guy in and we'll take care of his foot", or he'll say "no, we don't do people with neuropathy".

I explained to the referral guy that we have been told by podiatrists that they don't do people with neuropathy and the referral guy said "that's why these doctors are orthopedic surgeons, it's their speciality".

So my Dear Mrs. D. I owe you big time. Even if this doesn't pan out, at least I gave it my best shot.

Will update once someone gets back to me.

Melody

[Yorkiemom]

Somehow I missed the posting on this, Mel. Sorry to hear about this, but boy, am I glad MrsD was back from vacation to catch this. Hope this works out for Alan.

Cathie

[MelodyL]

You think you're glad we have a Mrs. D????? Believe me, I'M THE ONE WHO'S GLAD!!!!! lol

I got a reply from the Physician's Referral guy, named Alfred. He received my e-mail detailing Alan's medical problems and he said he has forwarded it on to the doctor who is the orthopedic surgeon.

Now we wait.

AND THE PLOT THICKENS!!!!!!!!
lol

Mel

[mrsD]

I had two employees before my summer vacation, have complex foot/ankle issues, and both got corrected at an orthopedic MD. (not podiatrists).

So keep us up to date.

And this is a bit off topic, but I wanted you to know, I took the plunge and joined Ebay and even signed up for PayPal.. only I am "not verified" yet ...whatever that means in PayPal lingo. My son says I have to provide a bank acct # for that, IN ADDITION to my Visa #? I am hesitant to do that.

I am bidding on some glass New Visions cookware to use at our vacation home, which saves me lots of propane gas (it is hard getting the big tanks over in a boat to the house). This cookware is no longer made, so is hard to find.
I found a few to bid on, and so far looks like Imight get one! (bidding ends tomorrow on one and in 2 days on the other.). I sure hope I don't get addicted to this!

[HeyJoe]

be careful of spam letter you get saying that they are from ebay, everytime i buy something on there i seem to get a few...paypal also...i just delete them all without opening them.

[mrsD]

I will watch out. So far I just go to Ebay and hit MyEbay....

I do wonder what to do next if I win this bid round! We'll see then.

One of the people is near me and I can pick it up and not even worry about
mailing. (glass)

Also I found a used propane refrigerator! for $20... still waiting for the seller
to answer some questions I emailed. That would be a great deal for us,
since finding an affordable working propane refrigerator is not an easy task.
We need to replace our dinosaur 1935 Servel, which is in the shed, for safety
reasons... the thermocouple is going bad on it. Don't know how much longer it will last. 72 yrs seems like a bit of a stretch for us these days!

[MelodyL]

Mrs. D.

Welcome to the world of Ebay. Now listen to me very carefully. Ebay will never send you an email asking for any personal information. They will never send you an email asking you to provide your password, credit card update. NEVER.

If you ever get an email and it appears to be from EBAY, close the email and go to www.ebay.com and go to MY EBAY.

If Ebay has sent you a message it will be THERE and no place else. You will see a line that says YOU HAVE 1 MESSAGE (or however messages you have in your private message box.

You might get a message from a person whose item you are bidding on. They can only send you a message through the ebay mail center. They can't find out your persona email address.

If you get such a message (lets' say you are bidding on the item you are bidding on), and the seller wants to get in touch with you....you will receive an email in your regular email box and when you open it up, you will see the question they are asking you and to the right they will be a button that says 'RESPOND NOW".

If you wish to answer anybody's message, you click on the words RESPOND NOW, you will be prompted to give your user id and password and then you'll be routed to the ebay mail place.

Believe me, I know EBAY, been doing it for almost as long as it's been in existence.

So any scam email from anybody pretending to be an email from EBAY, well, they called it spoof emails, or phishing.

You can read about it in the help section of ebay.

Now, as far as Paypal. I've used it for years, and I'm a verified PAYPAL user.

That means, to be verified (to be under the protection of PAYPAL), you have to put either a credit card on file or a bank account. This is the only way to get verified.

If you plan on doing lots of buying or selling and using PAYPAL, well, people trust a verified seller or buyer.

So give it some thought.

And there are various PAYPAL accounts. There is the regular account, and there is the business account. You can read all about this at paypal.com.


See, you helped me, and I helped you.

You can private message me anytime you wish regarding EBAY. I know it like the back of my hand.

Melody

[mrsD]

I put in my active good Visa and it accepted it, but then says I am unverifed?

I called my son, and he said you need to put your bank acct number in...which I don't want to do.

We use one Visa for all online purchases, and it is good until 4-09.

So I don't understand why it is "unverified" still.

So what do I do if I win either of these two bids? Go to PayPal and put $$ in there to cover the purchase?

My son just flew out today to Boston and New Hampshire for a vacation.
So I don't want to bother him. Tomorrow the first bidding ends, and so far I am on top of that. The second item, expires in 3 days, and I am top on that one too (but she lives near me and said in email I could come in person to save the trouble of shipping. She lives about 1/2 hr from me).

Getting this glass cookware is a huge coup for me! I won't believe it until I see it. And if that propane refrig is for real (it is pick up only too, in my state) that would be a DREAM. How rare those are!

So I am excited to some extent!