Operation Forty Cal

...commences at 0900 Thursday 17 SEP 2020. (Yes, a .40 caliber bullet is about 10 millimetres in diameter.)

Little hiccup, the hospital where I was going to have the operation to remove the 10mm stone, for some reason, apparently was not authorized by my insurance company to use that medical procedure code (and charge for it.) They wanted me to call back in 2 weeks - which, if you are familiar with how long it actually takes to get things accomplished in this country, seemed a tad ambitious. So, I took my business down the road. The place I'm headed to, International Medical Center, looks from the outside more like a palace. (Here's a virtual tour of the place: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=L8BKBzZx2QG) It is obviously newer, cleaner, etc. Dr. Abdou was very helpful, friendly and informative about what would go on. He even pushed to get me added to the Thursday schedule (there was no space on Saturday) and this all on a Tuesday after 7:30 p.m. Doctors keep different hours here apparently. His 'clinic', i.e. office/examination room, was much larger than the one at GNP Hospital at about 9'x12' which included desk, chairs, exam table, sink, cabinets, etc. Got my x-rays, both picture of the stone & pre-op chest picture. The insurance authorization took a bit of time so it was too late to get my labs drawn. Went back today after work to drop off the CD of the CT from GNP and let Dracula get a refill (best needle stick I've gotten in a very long time.) Tomorrow I show up bright and early for the rest of the pre-op festivities and then it will be showtime! Odd thing is that they said I'd be spending one night, maybe two, in the hospital. Aw well, didn't really have any plans for the weekend at any rate. Although I do need a haircut. Stay tuned.

For fun, here's a little something I have been working on for the General...

I was working from a publication (clock-makers don't document everything correctly I've found) but had to model everything in the CAD software I use so the machinist can build it (he's Swiss.) If you are really interested I can provide a 3D PDF file that you can zoom & spin around to view the entire mechanism. Let me know what you think. Next step is to produce the 2D drawings of every piece, that'll keep me busy for a bit.

So, what else ya' got 2020?

 I suppose at my age I should know better than to tempt the Fates. The plague was certainly a biggie, there have been locusts, floods, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, and who knows what all else aplenty worldwide. I lost my best buddy Siggy two and a half weeks ago. Now I've had this little pain in my left side for about a week now. <insert ominous music here> 

I stopped by the dispensary Thursday after work and announced that I have a kidney stone. The nurse was all set to line me up with a consult but we decided to bring the doctor in on this, as a second opinion, and he concurred. So today I got to spend two trips and most of my day at yet another fine medical institution here in the MK. Yippie!

Got in to see the doctor at 10 this morning, he wanted me to go right to a CT scan. Insurance vetoed that (big surprise, not.) So, plan B, ultrasound - yup positive, something there where the little stars are shooting out. Then back up to the doctor's office on the first floor (not ground) again to look at the reading from that and back down to insurance approval for the CT scan & to the lab for a pee cup so the lab has something to stick their noses into (I guess this makes the insurance companies happy.) By this time it is 1 p.m. and the doctor has left - but he's back at 5 p.m. Good, I can make a grocery trip.

I come back at 5 p.m., find out I have to go back to the radiology to get the CT report. I go back there, ask for it, told it's not ready yet and please have a seat in the waiting room. Since I already have enough chairs in the apartment I declined their kind offer. When I started drifting off I decided that it was time to go shake the palm and they did have it done this time. Back to the doctor's office.

The doctor writes up an order for me to get the operation on Tuesday and I head back down to the approval office to get that since the doctor will be there until 8:30 p.m. Well, that doesn't go as planned. First the system kicked the clerk out before she could complete my paperwork so she started over again. Then wait ten minutes. Come back, it's rejected - she put in the wrong code apparently. Wait ten minutes more. Come back, rejected - she's trying to figure it out. Wait ten minutes. Come back, still not working, she has to talk with the doctor tomorrow to get the procedure correctly entered. They are supposed to call me tomorrow. Still in limbo I guess.

Anyway, by Wednesday I should be the proud papa of a 10 MM stone. Yay! Stay tuned.