# Where's davidm? In the hospital recovering from a medical screwup. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2017, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049 "2017-11-29T12:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/441 "2018-08-30T17:00:27Z")
Now I want to do a fly test. My sister used to swear that keeping a plastic bag full of pennies in her patio would keep flies away. That didn’t work. I don’t know where people get there ideas. I’m glad you’re improving. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/442 "2018-08-30T17:07:05Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Checking in for anyone who’s interested. I’m still on IV fluids. They’re talking about maybe cutting them down from 4 times a week to 3, so that’s progress. > > A nurse comes once a week to change the dressing on my PIC line and take my vitals. She seems very competent at those things but she says some things that I find disconcerting coming from a nurse. > > She usually asks about my diet, which makes sense in my situation, but then she says things that she obviously got from iffy internet sites. She told me that some grated cheeses should be avoided because they contain sawdust, and she said that margarine is “one molecule different from plastic”, and that it’s not real food which is proven by the “fact” that flies won’t land on it. > > Like I said, she’s competent in what she does but I would think that a nurse should be more careful about where she gets her information and should at least understand basic chemistry. WTF does “one molecule different” even mean? I think she means one atom different. I don’t know if that’s true or not but even if it is, why is that necessarily a problem? A change of one atom can make a substance completely different. Agh, she’s confusing cellulose w/ wood pulp b/c it’s extracted from wood pulp. It’s used in cheaper Parmesan blends. Don’t anyone tell her about [glycerol ester of wood rosin](http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v37je02.htm)! I’m sure she means well, and at least she’s concerned for your health. My folks had to grit their teeth and silently bear it when his home hospice workers evangelized at him for weeks on end about where he would go when he died, like it was their main goal to get him to verbally accept Christ before he died. When he chafed at their words at first, their care would not be as good or available so he just kept his mouth shut. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/443 "2018-08-30T17:18:00Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Agh, she’s confusing cellulose w/ wood pulp b/c it’s extracted from wood pulp. It’s used in cheaper Parmesan blends. Don’t anyone tell her about [glycerol ester of wood rosin](http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v37je02.htm)! > I’m sure she means well, and at least she’s concerned for your health. My folks had to grit their teeth and silently bear it when his home hospice workers evangelized at him for weeks on end about where he would go when he died, like it was their main goal to get him to verbally accept Christ before he died. When he chafed at their words at first, their care would not be as good or available so he just kept his mouth shut. Right. The cellulose prevents caking and as far as I know is harmless. What my nurse is doing is harmless enough but the behavior you’re describing is unforgivable and totally unprofessional. If someone who is dying wants to talk about it then they’ll talk about it. Repeatedly forcing the subject on them seems like unnecessary cruelty. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/444 "2018-08-30T17:48:12Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’m wondering if I should try crowdfunding (Gofundme, for example) to raise some money for my medical bills. I have some very mixed feelings. > > I \*\*HATE \*\* the idea of begging for charity. It just feels unseemly. Plus, my problems will become public since, understandably, you can’t do it anonymously. Anyone searching my name would find the campaign. This would include potential employers. > > Thoughts? Ideas? > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Don’t feel bad about Crowdfunding if you need to, I know folks here are very generous. (Just remember to check with the mods first.) Seconded. Don’t have mixed feelings. Glad to hear things are continuing to improve. Best wishes!! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/445 "2018-08-30T21:57:20Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’m wondering if I should try crowdfunding (Gofundme, for example) to raise some money for my medical bills. I have some very mixed feelings. Why isn’t the hospital’s insurance paying for all this? Or your insurance for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/446 "2018-08-30T22:04:13Z")
When I last asked that very question, I was told ‘That’s not how it works in America. You have to pay up. THEN you can sue for your costs.’ Y’know, if the medical malpractice and the stress of a long recovery, deepened by financial need and riddled with ridiculous red tape, doesn’t kill you first! Whenever I read this thread I leave angry and appalled at what David is being put through. Over a hospital’s error. Damn America, how can you stand by and watch this kinda shit happen to your neighbours? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/447 "2018-08-30T23:49:11Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Why isn’t the hospital’s insurance paying for all this? Or your insurance for that matter. My insurance doesn’t cover everything. As far as the hospital paying, hopefully they eventually will but there’s a lot of legal wrangling and possibly court time before that happens. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/448 "2018-08-31T00:17:29Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > When I last asked that very question, I was told ‘That’s not how it works in America. You have to pay up. THEN you can sue for your costs.’ > > Y’know, if the medical malpractice and the stress of a long recovery, deepened by financial need and riddled with ridiculous red tape, doesn’t kill you first! > > Whenever I read this thread I leave angry and appalled at what David is being put through. Over a hospital’s error. > > Damn America, how can you stand by and watch this kinda shit happen to your neighbours? You may have been thinking about [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21109145#post21109145) — one of my rare halfway serious posts. As for your last question: the health insurance situation, like Topsy, “kinda grew” with no coherent plan (if memory serves, health insurance began taking shape during WWII when wages were controlled). It stays the way it is due largely to inertia, helped along by the fact that situations like **davidm** ’s don’t impact the public at large enough to make them sufficiently angry to demand even a semi-intelligent system. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/449 "2018-08-31T10:38:37Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > My insurance doesn’t cover everything. As far as the hospital paying, hopefully they eventually will but there’s a lot of legal wrangling and possibly court time before that happens. Can you not get your insurance company on the case? Or a lawyer to get an interim judgement or something? ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/450 "2018-08-31T10:50:06Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Can you not get your insurance company on the case? Or a lawyer to get an interim judgement or something? It doesn’t really work like that. Generally, if you sue, you don’t get anything until there’s a judgment or a settlement, and you don’t settle until the person’s condition has stabilised so that you know what their long-term financial loss is going to be. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/451 "2018-09-04T17:37:23Z")
I’d rather not beg unless I’m forced to. I have medical expenses as well as living expenses (including expensive health insurance which I can’t do without), so I have to do something. I haven’t been able to work for almost a year. I’m trying to sell t-shirts on Amazon (see the Marketplace forum link in my sig). So far I’ve only sold two. If I could somehow get more exposure for my shirts (and maybe some better design ideas) maybe I could make enough that way. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/452 "2018-09-04T19:07:43Z")
I just got a $3,000 bill from the company that supplies my IV fluids. That’s on top of everything else. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/453 "2018-09-04T22:44:49Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’m trying to sell t-shirts on Amazon (see the Marketplace forum link in my sig). So far I’ve only sold two. If I could somehow get more exposure for my shirts (and maybe some better design ideas) maybe I could make enough that way. The link to Amazon in the marketplace forum thread isn’t working. You’d need to sell a LOT to cover the expenses and bills you’ve mentioned. To get volume, you need something with a wide appeal (kittens, or cars, or something). Even if people agree with your political slogan Ts, they might not be able t0 or brave enough to wear them around, so the limited T-shirt-buying market is even further limited. Do you know anyone who draws who could donate you some artwork to use? Maybe start a thread and ask for submissions? There might be some talent that would be happy to try to help you increase your sales by giving you some “pretty” designs, or something that would appeal to special interest groups (cat lovers, parrot owners, motorbike nuts) that you might market to. I suggested before that you contact the Salvation Army to get a financial advocate. It doesn’t need to be them, it’s just that I know they do it, and it’s an international organisation whereas I don’t know anything about what other services might be available to you in the US. You need to get one to handle the creditors on your behalf. Have you applied for all/any government benefits or assistance that is available to you? Why isn’t your insurer covering the IV bill? If it’s something they should be covering, have you got somebody to liaise with them and send the bills on for you (if you don’t want to be doing that)? I’m sorry if none of this is helpful ☹ ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/454 "2018-09-04T22:49:00Z")
That link works fine for me. The insurer covers the bill just not the entire bill. I’m liable for deductibles and copays. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/455 "2018-09-04T22:55:10Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > That link works fine for me. The link opens, but then it says the search did not match any items and to try other search terms. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/456 "2018-09-04T23:01:44Z")
> [@blob](#): > > The link opens, but then it says the search did not match any items and to try other search terms. It works fine for me and shows the t-shirts. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/457 "2018-09-04T23:05:44Z")
Just because it works for you, **davidm** , it doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. **blob** , what type of machine and browser are you using? Sometimes that makes a difference. It could help with troubleshooting this. You could also try copying the link and pasting it into the URL bar at the top of your browser window. It may work that way. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/458 "2018-09-04T23:21:13Z")
Are you not eligible for SSDI? While I admire your pride, if you’re unable to work, that’s one area to explore. If you’re found eligible, you’ll get benefits back to the date you became eligible, up to a year. That lump sum benefit could help you pay those medical expenses down. How ironic ad despicable that you have to make payments to the very hospital that damaged you! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/459 "2018-09-04T23:35:55Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Just because it works for you, **davidm** , it doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. > > **blob** , what type of machine and browser are you using? Sometimes that makes a difference. It could help with troubleshooting this. > > You could also try copying the link and pasting it into the URL bar at the top of your browser window. It may work that way. I understand that. I’m just saying that I can’t fix something that’s not broken for me. It’s an Amazon generated link and it should work fine. The problem is very likely on **blob’s** end. The link works for every browser I’ve tried on my laptop and my phone. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/460 "2018-09-04T23:41:54Z")
Don’t worry about it, if everyone else can see it, that’s fine. From memory, when I looked at it when it was first put up, they don’t ship to Australia, anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049.md?page=24)