All things Razing Ruth

[lizziesmom]

In all the discussion about hospitals with/without wiFI did you all pick up on Ruth's post that due to her financial situation she is giving up her internet at home and will have limited access for a while? I hope she has taken up the offers of some of the FJers for personal contact because it sounds like she is going to lose her internet support system for a while.

Looking at everything that has happened in the last six weeks -- move, tornado, car windshield issue, no paycheck until July, hostility at work with co workers, and now hospitalization --- her stress level has to be at an all time high.

[Just_Jane]

Hospitals don't keep patients as long, as they used to, after surgeries. My mom had a complete hysterectomy done through the abdomen. she was sent home within a couple of days.

Plus right out of surgery most of us wouldn't be too able to use a computer for the first day or two anyway just due to the surgery itself and due to pain medication. nothing quite like missing the keyboard completely because your eyes can't focus or or brain can't tell the distance.

[church_of_dog]

I had one the year before last and I was only in the hospital one night (regular abdominal incision, took the uterus and one ovary). I spent a second night in a nearby motel since the hospital was 5 hours from my home and I wanted to be sure everything was ok before leaving the area. I'm pretty much an internet addict but I don't recall spending much time online in the first few days or even weekish after I got home -- maybe because my mom was there with me, or maybe because I was pretty zonky. I sure didn't want to prop a laptop on my lap/stomach, nor did I want to sit up properly at a table to work. But I would have gone into online withdrawals if I wasn't online, so I must have worked out a way -- wish I could remember!

[OkToBeTakei]

Good luck Mary-Ruth. I had that twisted ovary thing. 10 days in hospital and loads of Morphine. I must be a total wimp. Cos that wiped me for at least 4 weeks. NHS is my hero. Sorry.

I assume because of your quick recovery it was possibly keyhole. But do not push it. That is still surgery. It still requires the same recovery.

[treemom]

What Florence Hamilton said is correct. Hospital network for staff has to be separate from the wifi or network provides for the patients and public. It isn't "just easy" when you have it for employees already. Hippa and pci make it far more difficult to navigate than that.

[LaLele]

I work in 2 hospitals in Chicago suburbs, neither of which have wi-fi for pt. So it is not unheard of...

[snarkykitty]

What Florence Hamilton said is correct. Hospital network for staff has to be separate from the wifi or network provides for the patients and public. It isn't "just easy" when you have it for employees already. Hippa and pci make it far more difficult to navigate than that.

Patients using hospital wi-fi would have zero way of accessing patient records, so what possible HIPPA problems do you foresee?

If the hospital itself has wi-fi for staff, which means that they have the infrastructure to carry signals throughout the facilities (network machines, routers, repeaters), what would be so difficult to add another level of access?

[rezski44]

I used to work at St Joseph's in Tacoma and they have public Wi-Fi for patients and anyone else in the vicinity. People used to sit in the lobby to use it. Family have been patients at UW hospital and Swedish (Seattle)

where its available as well.

[Trynn]

They thought I had a twisted ovary a few months ago. I asked them if they could just untwist it, and was surprised to learn that it would require surgery.

Turned out not to be my ovaries, but I still needed surgery. Worst. Pain. Ever.

My hospital had free wifi. It's a major research and teaching hospital, so that could be why?

[treemom]

Patients using hospital wi-fi would have zero way of accessing patient records, so what possible HIPPA problems do you foresee?

If the hospital itself has wi-fi for staff, which means that they have the infrastructure to carry signals throughout the facilities (network machines, routers, repeaters), what would be so difficult to add another level of access?

Because both hippa and PCi require separate networks.

I work at a hospital, in IT. I am not commenting on the commonplace wifi or anything else. Simply the fact that it isn't just easy when you have a network set up for staff. And again, it often uses different equipment (although not required). And the cost is often significant because the high demand that patients and families place on wifi streaming, etc. If a hospital has a network setup for staff, the bandwidth doubles or triples when a network is provided to patients and the public.

Again, I am just responding to the "it's easy" comment. It isn't.

[mrs]

I really hope Mary/Ruth meets up with some of the local posters! Being in a new city alone must be hard.

Has anyone had a chance to get together with Mary/Ruth?

[3 ring circus]

I'm sorry for you loss.

[FlorenceHamilton]

Patients using hospital wi-fi would have zero way of accessing patient records, so what possible HIPPA problems do you foresee?

If the hospital itself has wi-fi for staff, which means that they have the infrastructure to carry signals throughout the facilities (network machines, routers, repeaters), what would be so difficult to add another level of access?

The requirements for health records are more than just a firewall. Different levels of access would not be acceptable. It really is a completely separate wifi. In the next year or so, hospitals will be required to provide a patients based Wifi system. For now, it is still optional.

[razingruth]

My boss turned out yo be a great resourse on my billing issues. Her husband has health problems that have made her family unfortunately familiar with the health care system. :( She went with me to discuss my financial situation with billing and they are working with me. Some things were reduced by half. I will be responsible for about $4500.

I cant get Medicaid. No kids and no dependents and no chronic health problems means no free ride. I get it and I don't get it. Feeling better and better everyday. My mood swings seem to have improved since the removal of the bum ovary - which seems like it would be unrelated but who knows. Gotta finish closing up shop and then get home. Goodnight.

[Mama Mia]

Your ovarian cyst could definitely have been contributing to mood swings, exhaustion and other health issues. Often when someone has an ovarian cyst their hormones are going haywire. I had horrible, horrible irritability when I had an undiagnosed ovarian cyst.

[tuckerphez]

I'm so happy your boss was able to help you. Even if the bad ovary was just causing you pain, removing that pain is a great help to your mental health.

[lilah]

My boss turned out yo be a great resourse on my billing issues. Her husband has health problems that have made her family unfortunately familiar with the health care system. :( She went with me to discuss my financial situation with billing and they are working with me. Some things were reduced by half. I will be responsible for about $4500.

I cant get Medicaid. No kids and no dependents and no chronic health problems means no free ride. I get it and I don't get it. Feeling better and better everyday. My mood swings seem to have improved since the removal of the bum ovary - which seems like it would be unrelated but who knows. Gotta finish closing up shop and then get home. Goodnight.

maybe the bad ovary was messing with your hormone levels? also you are settling into your new job and home, figuring out your routines so that might help your emotional health.

sorry you can't get medicaid does your health insurance benefits kick in soon? (i can't remember if you said you got those?)

I kind of want to change this thread name since it's no longer about Ruth's dad but about ruth moving on with her life.

[Coconut Flan]

I'm glad you had help in getting the bill reduced and so glad to hear that your mood swings are improving. I hope and pray that now you are over the move, the first couple weeks of a new job, and now the surgery that you'll have a long calm spell to settle in.

[LadyBlue]

I have a hard time believing that hospital in a major cities do not have internet access-I live is bumfuck no where we offer internet access in our clinic. Also the Kingman Regional and Flagstaff Regional Hospitals offer internet access, these places are not the hotbed of technology.

Our hospitals (the 2 my husband was in, anyway) have internet BUT it's very expensive (so are phone & tv, but not as bad). It's quite easy to have no devices &/or no money for it.

[lilith]

maybe the bad ovary was messing with your hormone levels? also you are settling into your new job and home, figuring out your routines so that might help your emotional health.

sorry you can't get medicaid does your health insurance benefits kick in soon? (i can't remember if you said you got those?)

I kind of want to change this thread name since it's no longer about Ruth's dad but about ruth moving on with her life.

Thread name changed

[gypsygirl22]

Ruth, I'm happy to hear your bill has been reduced. And to have had help from your boss in that...bet you never expected that!

[hywelis]

My boss turned out yo be a great resourse on my billing issues. Her husband has health problems that have made her family unfortunately familiar with the health care system. :( She went with me to discuss my financial situation with billing and they are working with me. Some things were reduced by half. I will be responsible for about $4500.

I cant get Medicaid. No kids and no dependents and no chronic health problems means no free ride. I get it and I don't get it. Feeling better and better everyday. My mood swings seem to have improved since the removal of the bum ovary - which seems like it would be unrelated but who knows. Gotta finish closing up shop and then get home. Goodnight.

I'm so glad that your bill was reduced, adn so glad you're feeling better.

Hywelis

[FlorenceHamilton]

Ruth/Mary, I am so glad you were able to get some of the burden eased. I am also glad that your boss was so willing to help. My guess is that the ovary did contribute to your emotional state, although you had plenty of other stressors at the time as well. You can pay the hospital bill in very small increments for now. After you learn the ropes, you may find you have opportunities to save money or even make extra.

It must be so difficult to face all of this alone with so many negative tapes running in your head from your childhood. There are good people in the world as well as bad. It turns out that the way people view diety is not a useful indicator most of the time. (Although I would be cautious with anyone whose view is overly zealous.) Chicago is very diverse. Enjoy the sights and sounds, the tastes and the smells. This is the celebration of life!

Keep us all up to date. I care about you and can see that many other FJ's do as well.

[August]

Ruth, that is great news all round. I'm especially glad your boss was so helpful.

Cysts are produced in your ovaries every month and they produce hormones as part of your normal cycle. It makes sense that if one grows out of control it would make a mess of your hormones. It also could be that your system was shocked by the extreme trauma and stress of hospital and surgery and your brain is now thinking "huh, no money and bitchy co workers? You have no idea how bad I've seen it!".

I'm going to PM you.

[stacyf]

Ruth/Mary just added a recent post and I am absolutely floored that people have done some of the things she says they have. One woman tracked her down at the campground she stayed at while traveling and another went to her work and demanded to see Ruth after being stood up for a F2F. This is nuts and very stalkerish behavior. Who does things like this?

I am actually frightened for her. People are so obsessed and you never know what they may do or say. Now we all know why she is afraid of reveling her true identity. People suck.