Last friday I went to the Emergency room. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest, I was light-headed and having trouble breathing.

My wife zipped me to the E.R. and we both laughed because just a few hours earlier my new Health Insurance cards had finally arrived. I have been uninsured for a few years now and it was a relief to finally be covered again.

New insurance card in hand, we went into the hospital. It took all of five minutes for them to get an IV in my arm and my vitals on a monitor. My heart rate was jumping all the way up to near 170, and dropping to 115 and back up. Crazy!!!!

I felt rather high, like I couldn't feel my body any more, when a doctor came around and informed us my condiion was called atrial fibrillation. My heart was out of rhythm and if medication didnt fix it, than a nice shock of elecricity would. Either way, I earned a stay in the ICU. I felt high from the oxygen streaming into my nose.

Sunday they shocked my heart, with 1/200 odds of stroke. Success! Its back in Rhythm now. Also I've successfully ( so far) quit smoking cigs and caffeine. I got out on monday! It's great to be alive!

Today they call and tell me my new insurance didn't actually begin until yesterday 08/08, although I received the cards on Friday 08/04.

I now owe thousands & thousands of dollars for a 3 day hospital stay. Wow. I guess it's great to be alive and I wish I were dead at the same time.

Life is great, isn't it? :D

Well, the good news is that you are alive, and for that, I can say, hey, it's nice to know you're still around. As to the rest of it, I don't get why they'd send you insurance, if it wasn't viable yet, and maybe you can wrangle a way to get the ER covered. In the long run, though, it's good you're still around.

Glad to heaar you are ok! Artrial Fibrillation is a serious condition! (what can happen to people who are electrocuted) and i'm sure its better tat you are alive and faced with a bill, than to die and have your family faced with both a hospital bill and a funeral bill ;)

Congatulations for your continued breathing!

Yeah, I'm way more happy to still be kicking it than I am bummed by the debt.

It's just so utterly ironic..... :D

Whew, so glad you're still here to tell us about it! Really bad timing on the insurance, though. But as you said, you're more glad to be here (and I bet your wife is too!). Try not to do it again, eh? But if you do, you're insured. [img]graemlins/angel.gif[/img]

You might talk to the company to see what they can do. However, I'm definitely glad to hear that you're still around [img]smile.gif[/img]

Beats the heck out of the alternatives...

I'd talk to a lawer.I've never had a job were you got the insurance card before you were covered.You had a 3 day stay but they say coverage didn't start till 4th day sounds fishy.If the coverage wasn't there how come the hospital didn't catch it?Unless they sent paperwork saying coverage didn't start untill said date why would you not expect to take said coverage at face value.I'd check all paperwork you got and seek legal advice.Glad you are ok.

[ 08-10-2006, 01:19 AM: Message edited by: sageridder ]

Glad to see you're ok Chewie! Did the doctors give you any reason that it happened - there must be an underlying cause.