Pilot's Log

Sagittarius Horoscope for week of June 27, 2013

"The only thing that we learn from history," said the German philosopher Georg Hegel, "is that we never learn anything from history." I'm urging you to refute that statement in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. I'm pleading with you to search your memory for every possible clue that might help you be brilliant in dealing with your immediate future. What have you done in the past that you shouldn't do now? What haven't you done in the past that you should do now?

I was going to restart taking multivitamin tablets after I'd given them up for a while (since I forget how long it was it must have been a long time)...but they've gotten expensive lately. I have to be careful now because I can't swallow big honkin' horsepills like I did when I was younger.

You may want to skip this entry if you have an aversion to TMI.

When my Mom had to choose a Medicare health plan, she picked Cariten because she didn't want to belong to Humana as she saw Humana being nothing but trouble. Soon after, Humana took over Cariten's business in Tennessee and it has proved to be just as troublesome as she imagined.

When she went through her terminal health emergency she was at a specialty clinic (covered by Humana) that had been prescribed by her surgeon (covered by Humana) who in turn had been referred by her Humana primary care doctor. The doctor in charge of the clinic determined that Mum's condition was so critical that either he or his staff arranged an ambulance to take her to the nearest hospital (also covered by Humana). Neither Dad, nor I, had anything to do with this choice.

Now Humana wants us to pay up for her ambulance ride, with their excuses being 1) the company operating the ambulance was "out of their network" (?!) and 2) her primary care doctor (who wasn't available!) had to approve or endorse the decision to transport her by ambulance.

No matter that Medicare should be covering this transportation, because the circumstances fit the Medicare rules and requirements on the matter.

We're looking at a bill in excess of $500, and paying it would hurt us. Dad's trying to challenge the charge, but the Humana lawyers are giving him the runaround.

Meanwhile, Humana's marketing division is still sending Mum junk mail asking her to expand her coverage to include dental care and other specialty services. What stupidity!

Sagittarius Horoscope for week of May 3, 2012

Seventeenth-century physicians sometimes advised their patients to consume tobacco as a way to alleviate a number of different maladies, from toothaches to arthritis. A few doctors continued recommending cigarettes as health aids into the 1950s. This bit of history may be useful to keep in mind, Sagittarius. You're in a phase when you're likely to have success in hunting down remedies for complaints of both a physical and psychological nature. But you should be cautious about relying on conventional wisdom, just in case some of it resembles the idea that cigarettes are good for you. And always double check to make sure that the cures aren't worse than what they are supposed to fix.

Longtime readers here know I hate tobacco. And that I also hate the mass marketing of prescription drugs. I do see modern medicine through at least a little skepticism, if not cynicism.

I wonder what it would indicate about a person's situational intestinal fortitute if a person has a bowel movement--and the resulting deposits completely fill the commode bowl.

In other words, my emotions through Mom's medical situation are steadier than my actual physical condition, tho' I'm doing what I can.

Her recovery is much like the economic recovery: it could use a lot of help, and while we're seeing progress, it's nowhere near a done deal.

My mother had a medical emergency over the last thirty-six hours; she's in a hospital ICU and will have probably had a CT scan by now. This is related to her recovery from cancer surgery two years ago and subsequent complications.

I had a long day today, I'm looking at a longer day overmorrow, and probably a long lost weekend after that.

I'm now the de facto third member of my parents' marriage...Dad and I arranged for me to have access to their credit union savings and checking accounts. I wasn't really looking forward to this event although I expected this to happen one year or another these days.

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A Snuggly Brown Blanket.