Hick Can't Catch a Break. Or Breath.

Hick continues his quest for an MRI. You know, the MRI that was ordered by his Nurse Practitioner after she called him on Monday, March 30, saying his x-rays suggested that he had either a partially-collapsed lung, or the beginnings of pneumonia. 

Hick went back to his NP on Wednesday, April 1, because the lab said they couldn't give him an appointment sooner than two weeks. The NP and staff thought they had figured out that it was the hospital lab's misunderstanding about needing insurance approval. Hick said he'd rather change it to the imaging center. The NP said the imaging center would call him on Thursday, April 2.

That was quite a little April Fool's joke, I guess. Nobody called on Thursday. Nobody called on Good Friday. Today (Monday, April 6), Hick called his NP again. She said she would call the imaging center again. 

The imaging center called Hick, and said they could not give him an appointment for his MRI until it was approved by his insurance. So Hick called his NP, slightly irate, I would imagine, over the audacity of the imaging center to require insurance approval when his NP says it isn't necessary.

The NP called the imaging center again, stating that insurance approval was NOT necessary. 

The imaging center called Hick, giving him an appointment for an MRI on Thursday, April 9, at 3:30. 

Hick declared (to me) that he might as well have taken the appointment the hospital had offered him for next Tuesday! Since this had not gotten him an appointment much earlier. He says once they do the MRI, it will take his NP at least two business days before she reads it and contacts him.

Meanwhile, Hick is sounding a bit wheezy. He tries to do his deep breathing like his NP instructed, but that makes him dizzy. He sounds more wheezy to me. He says his upper right lung feels like some fluid is trying to come up when he coughs.

My whole point all along has been that his NP could have given Hick an antibiotic (for the possible pneumonia), and it wouldn't have hurt anything if he turned out to have a partially-collapsed lung. Whereas treating him for a possible partially-collapsed lung might not have been good for pneumonia.

That's how I see it. It's not like Hick is demanding unnecessary antibiotics for a common cold. The NP is the one who suggested pneumonia, after reading his chest x-ray. Dr. Val will step down off her soapbox now. Hopefull not injuring her fragile knees.

The Universe Thumbs Its Nose at Thevictorians

Dang The Universe! After getting our hopes up, with such a quick contract on Bargain House, The Universe is now toying with our semi-livelihood. Remember the "surprise" last-minute appraisal that was scheduled by The Buyer's financial institution on Good Friday? It appears to have become a monkey wrench tossed into this sale.

Saturday evening, I quizzed Hick on his latest communications with Realtor Guy.

"Are we still having the closing on Monday? We kind of need to know. It affects three of us. And we can't just pop in at the last minute. It's a 30-minute drive. Longer, because we have to pick up The Pony. I need to know, so I can plan when to take my morning medicine."

"I don't know Val. I sent him a text on Friday, and I still haven't heard anything back. I'll send him one tonight. But with tomorrow being Easter, I doubt I'll hear from him."

So what do we do? Plan our day like we're going to a closing at 1:00? Or go about our regular business, assuming that it will be rescheduled? Or maybe the deal will fall through because of the appraisal? Even though Realtor Guy had told us The Buyer was approved for a loan $20,000 more than our contract amount.

Sunday at 11:04, I got a text from Hick at his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5).

"Val i got a message from Realtor Guy he says he has not heard anything but we are most likely not closing tomorrow"

Well then. I will go about my normal business of doing nothing most of the day. If the closing for some reason mysteriously gets the go-ahead, that title company will just have to wait to give us a check!

Val Has Shown Remarkable Restraint

I have been sitting on a secret for the past couple of weeks. Not literally sitting, because my ample rumpus would do no favors to my secret. Which I am sure is no longer a secret, because you've seen the thumbnail picture before reading.

I HAVE BEEN HOARDING PEEPS!

Yes. It's the season for PEEPS. I found some new flavors. Of course I had to buy them. They pretty much hopped into my cart on their own, and twisted my arm behind my back to persuade me to take them home. They may THINK they're safe. But they're not. I'm only waiting on The Pony to come out and help with Easter Dinner. Then we'll crack open those PEEPS for a tasting. 

We are having Easter Dinner on Friday, because it's more convenient for Hick's business. So Thursday and Friday, The Pony and I will be PEEPing. Of course we will set some aside for Hick to have later. And a few for me to enjoy at my leisure. I don't want to overdo it. Then The Pony can take the rest home.

Here are my new flavors. In no particular order. I think I bought them over two or three different trips to 10Box, because they had a big bin, and different days there were different flavors.

The cashier said the Cotton Candy flavor is always the first to go. When the first shipment came in, she ran to get her share. Indeed, they were out of this variety on the first day I bought some.

They're not so pretty, but Dr. Pepper might be an interesting flavor. Not sure how The Pony will react. Way back in third grade, for surgery on the first broken elbow, The Pony chose Dr. Pepper scent for the anesthesia mask. Hope this doesn't cause any flashbacks!

Everybody knows Val LOVES a birthday cake flavored treat. I imagine Party Cake is the same thing. Hick may not get some of these!

I bought two of the Rice Krispies version. Not because I think they'll be my favorite, but because I think The Pony will like this flavor best. How could it go wrong? PEEPS are already 99% marshmallow. So the "Rice Krispie" flavor should be simple to add.

Of course I had to get the original basic yellow PEEPS. I'll probably keep them just for me. Everybody knows what an old-school PEEP tastes like.

I only regret that all these PEEPS were the chick shape. I am partial to the bunny shape. I like biting off the ears first. Then their abdomen, then their rumpus. It's harder to dismember the chicks evenly.

Happy Easter to all my PEEPS!

The Universe is Working Overtime

The Universe has been quite busy plotting to derail any plans had by Thevictian family of late. Val had a monkey wrench thrown into her knee joint replacement talks. Hick can't get an MRI scheduled to see what's up with his lung. And we can't get a definite time on the closing for Bargain House that is supposed to be on Monday.

I told Hick he REALLY needed to pin down Realtor Guy for a time. It was already mid-week, and many businesses are closed on Good Friday. How would we know when to show up on Monday for the closing?

Hick called Realtor Guy on Wednesday. He said to plan on around 1:00, he guessed. Which didn't sound very definite to me. It's a 30-minute drive for us. Longer, because we will swing by to pick up The Pony on the way.

THEN, on Thursday evening, Hick got a notice that there was an appraisal scheduled for Bargain House at 11:30 a.m. on Friday!

"That seems to be cutting it close! I'm not sure we can go through with the closing on Monday."

"It's seems pretty odd that the house will be appraised on Good Friday. Unless... they're in a rush to get it done in time for the closing Monday."

"I don't know. Some places are open. I've been thinking, after this one, I'm not sure I want Realtor Guy handling any more of our properties. I don't like all this electronic and email and online stuff. Realtor used to call me and have me come by her office to sign papers. I like the old-fashioned way better."

I said Hick should mention that to Realtor Guy. That we want to stay with him, but only if he will handle our deals like Realtor used to. Then it's up to him if it's worth changing his habits to keep our business. 

Meanwhile, I'm hoping the closing is not postponed. The Buyer is the one who decided on the date anyway. He should have made sure everything was on track to be ready.

Get an MRI, or Die Tryin'!

You may remember that Hick got a call from his Nurse Practitioner on Monday afternoon, telling him he needed an MRI because the x-rays showed that he might have a partially-collapsed lung, or the beginnings of pneumonia. She asked if he wanted a referral to the hospital lab, or the local imaging center. Hick said the hospital. His NP said they would call to make an appointment.

Tuesday passed, with no call. Then Wednesday, the hospital scheduling office called. The gal told Hick that the soonest appointment was two weeks out. This was not acceptable to Hick.

"I need the MRI because my doctor says I have a collapsed lung or pneumonia. I could be dead in two weeks!"

"Sorry, sir, but that is the earliest we can schedule an MRI for you."

Hick stopped by his NP's office to complain ask why it should take so long. His NP said it SHOULDN'T. She and the office gal who does the referral thingies got to looking into it. Somehow the hospital was saying it had to get pre-approval from Hick's insurance. But NP and Office Gal both agreed that it did NOT need pre-approval.

Hick said he was done with the hospital. To get him into the imaging center. NP said they should be calling Hick on Thursday morning. Well. Thursday has passed, and Hick got no call to schedule an appointment.

He's hoping to get a call today. With it being Good Friday, I'm not sure this call will happen until at least Monday. When we are scheduled to close on Bargain House. Or ARE we???

Out of the Fingers of Hick

One little letter can make a big difference in the meaning of a message. I'm fairly adept at deciphering Hick's chicken-scratch notes, and badly-typed texts. But his most recent text gave me a start.

The closing for our sale of Bargain House is scheduled for Monday. You may recall that this buyer has been a bit... um... persnickety, shall we say? Hick's Window Guy has the parts to repair the vapor seal on the three (not four as originally expected) windows. He told Hick this week that if it wasn't Good Friday, he would have been able to get it done then. But because of the holiday, these windows won't be repaired in time for the closing.

Realtor Guy says the Buyer is okay with getting a receipt showing the window work is paid for. I gave Hick a check (already filled out, so it's legible!) to pay the Window Guy on Tuesday. As far as I knew, everything was just fine for the deal. 

Then I got a text from Hick on Tuesday around 1:30.

"I'm in [Bill-Paying Town] waiting to give heck to glass guy"

WHAT??? Had some kind of problem come up? Would the windows cost more? Was Window Guy not able to fix them? What kind of mess were we in now, with the closing so close?

Then I looked at the text again. MAYBE Hick just forgot a letter.

"Check, I hope you mean!"

"Yes check"

Whew! That was a close one.

Turns Out Hick Needs a Breath of Fresh Air

I am a bit concerned about Hick. He is always on the go, taking on new projects all the time. You'd think he would have been all over Lap House by now, as with every other flip house we've bought, ready to get started as soon as he had the keys. But no. Hick has been working on renovating one of the senior apartments. And taking on a side job to put flooring in a woman's house.

In the midst of all this, Hick has some fairly minor surgery scheduled this month. As a condition of that surgery, he needed to complete some tests to see if he is fit for it. Like an EKG, and a chest x-ray. Monday afternoon, he got a call from his regular Nurse Practitioner who has scheduled the tests for him. She was concerned about the chest x-ray.

"She thinks I have a partially collapsed lung, or the beginning of pneumonia. So I have to get an MRI to see what it is, and what they'll do about it."

"You've had this little cold for about a week. Maybe it's because of that. I don't hear you coughing up much stuff. Or if it's a collapsed lung, maybe you hurt something when you fell and busted your lip."

"I don't know. My upper right chest has been hurting a little for a while now. Since before I fell. I thought maybe it was from when I slipped on the ice getting in my truck at Casey's, and laid on the parking lot for a while. I hit hard. I guess I ain't gettin' enough oxygen. Maybe that's why I'm always tired, and I get dizzy."

"Do you feel like you have a fever? Like when I had pneumonia."

"No. I don't think I have a fever. She told me to make sure to take a lot of deep breaths through the day. You know my brother just got out of the hospital in Vegas, after having pneumonia. He was in there a long time, and they sent him home with oxygen. But he felt bad enough that he went to the emergency room."

"Maybe you had a little cold a while back, and it developed into pneumonia. They can fix you up with steroids and antibiotics if they catch it quick enough."

"You'd think she would have noticed that, though, when I went for my appointment last week and she listed to my chest. I don't know about a collapsed lung."

"When I think of a collapsed lung, I think of the show ER, where they'd slice open your side between the ribs, and jam a tube in there to drain out the blood that caused the lung to collapse! But those people definitely knew they couldn't breathe."

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out what it is after the MRI."

No idea how this will affect the upcoming surgery. Let's hope there's an "easy" fix for what ails Hick.