Whooping Cough Saga

This week, which I can easily say has been one of the NOT happiest of my life, is a lesson: do not ever, ever, ever let your child be without medical insurance!

In some short-sighted belief that people must do without when they are young and just out of college, we let Amalia's medical coverage lapse. She had a job at a Jewish community center for awhile when she moved to LA, but then was lucky enough to get a job at Starbucks, which is an employer that is great in the benefits it offers. (And actually, in the time that Amalia has been sick, her boss at Starbucks has been great in flexibility and understanding as well.)

BUT, the upshot is that until Sept. 1, Amalia is not covered by medical insurance. And that has only added and multiplied to the nightmare of this week...

Last week, Amalia was diagnosed with whooping cough. She was at urgent care over on Ventura Blvd. A really nice doctor there prescribed antibiotics, which cost $87. After four days, she still was not better. She talked to the nice doctor and he asked her to come back in. He sent her to the hospital for tests. They admitted her, with whooping cough and pneumonia. After just 24 hours on intraveneous antibiotics, she was much, much better. Jordan had to guarantee $5,000 over the phone, and the bill might end up being twice that.

I arrived in LA Tuesday night. I had to come. When I arrived, she was just getting released from the hospital. The nurses there told her to make a follow-up appointment with the woman doctor who had seen her in the hospital for all of two minutes. That woman doctor prescribed some more antibiotics. Amalia called and made the follow-up appt.

When we arrived at the woman doctor's office this afternoon, the doctor's nurse said that the doctor would not see her, because Amalia does not have insurance. She also said that the doctor said that she did not need to have a follow-up appt. I was saying "I have cash. I will pay for this appt." but that was to no avail. The doctor's nurse said that Amalia should not go back to work until all the medicine is gone. Amalia said "Oh, I thought I would be able to go back to work on Monday." So the doctor's nurse did a note for Amalia to give to work, saying that she could come back to work Monday.

We walked to Tarzana Med Center next door to pick up Amalia's lab results, because she does not have a doctor to send them to. But we don't know what they mean. It looks like she is OK, but we're not sure.

So, I am at Amalia's house. It is Thursday night. She is still weak and tired. She called to reschedule an acting showcase that she was supposed to do tonight, because she is not in shape to do it. I am supposed to fly home Saturday afternoon. We are going to the urgent care center tomorrow morning so that we can try to have Amalia see the nice guy doctor. We ASSUME that she is no longer contagious, because she has been on antibiotics for a week and because they told her, as she left the hospital, that she didn't have to wear a mask anymore. We don't know how she should expect to feel. We don't know if she should or shouldn't go back to work Monday.

So, I made vegetable soup for her and got yogurts, which are good to eat when one has been on antibiotics. And I am just wondering what else I can do. I guess I feel that I just want some ANSWERS before I leave. I cannot stand to call and hear her sounding weak and out of it (although that was in part due to being on codeine cough medicine last week). And she is no longer whooping, at least.

So I am one bummed-out mama tonight. I'm so glad that I came out, because, as one friend said "Sometimes you just need your mother." But I wish there were more I could do.