However complications can arise from chronic conditions, and this past weekend being a case in point. The first hint that something serious was up was on Friday evening when I spat out my mouthwash as part of my dental routines it all came out bright red!!!!! I was bleeding in my mouth!!! So I thought, well it should eventually stop. I am on blood thinning meds as part of my heart condition, so my blood takes longer to clot up, but it does so eventually.
So I went out on Friday night as usual..... and came home..... and my mouth was STILL bleeding!! OK this is unusual, but being of Virgoan energies I didn't think to seek medical attention. I was the same during the initial heart attack episode. I woke up with what seemed to be mild chest pains, wasn't a lot of pain, so I went to work with chest pains on my bicycle, worked all day with chest pains, and rode back home again...... only then I thought, well I suppose I better seek help, so I just called the Health Line..... and it was they that called the ambulance, which I thought was overkill, but it turned out not to be so....... We Virgos are fiercely independent creatures and we don't like to seek help.
So I went to bed with the bleeding mouth but didn't get much sleep, cos each time I fell asleep, my mouth would fill with blood which spilled out on my pillow, so a lot of blood on my pillow. So Saturday morning I thought, well probably a good idea to seek some medical attention, but being of Virgoan energies I thought going to ER would be a bit of an overkill. I didn't think it was actually an emergency, but probably could qualify as "urgent". So I went to an "Urgent Care" soon after it opened at 8AM.
I was a little bit worried that I was losing a lot of blood which may result in an early return trip back to Taygeta. But being typical Virgo I was more worried about the financial implications and that my trip to Peru was in danger of being cancelled. The issue hinged on whether this would come under GP or Dental. The Urgent Care clinic has both dental as well as GP, and the GP visit is bulk billed under Medicare, but of course Dental is not covered by Medicare which can only mean big $$$$s as I know dentists are very expensive hence why I never attend dentists. I was freaking that the bleeding in my mouth was a symptom of dental problems thus spending 1000's of $'s in dealing with it at dentists, therefore there be no trips to Peru nor anywhere else anytime soon!!!! That was what worried me more than anything else, nevermind that the non-stop bleeding could have serious consequences for my heart condition with loss of blood!!!!!
So I fronted up at the Urgent Care clinic soon after 8AM and was seen within the hour, not bad for a public practice. So the GP examined me, then said I would have to go to HOSPITAL!!!!! Ekk!!!!! That kinda freaked me!!!! Well I was glad I wasn't referred to any dentistry, that there was actually a wound in my mouth, must have been from crunching into something sharp that pierced the skin, so it didn't come under "dental", it was classified as "medical", which means under Medicare it would be all free, That part I was thankful for, but having to go to a HOSPITAL!!!!!! That did freak me!!!!! I hope I would not have to stay in hospital!!!!! The GP did assure me that the procedure needed was relatively simple and should take only a few minutes, but I somehow knew I was going to be there for more than a few minutes. So I was quite prepared for the prospect of spending the rest of the day at the hospital.
The GP had done a referral for me to hand into ER, so I drove home then I caught public transport to the hospital in the city since parking would cost me a fortune especially if I have to STAY in hospital.
Once I gotten to the hospital around 11AM I was seen almost immediately. Normally one would have to wait for hours at a public ER unit, but having a referral from the doc did help in me getting almost immediate attention, though it's more likely cos I am a heart patient. The tag of "heart disease" is your ticket to almost immediate attention in the public hospital system. Most others have to wait several hours before anyone even peeks at them in ED.
Then this is where the fun began, "fun" being used most advisably. What a GP says will happen in a hospital is a lot different to reality. At the hospital it is the case of try the cheapest easiest option first and progressively work your way up until they hit on the cure.
First they took my vital stats, and again all seems hunky doree, I hadn't lost too much blood, though they were getting worried that I am starting to lose too much blood. Then the battle of the veins began as they tried to take my blood samples. My veins rolling out of the way of the needle, then when he finally gotten the vein, he couldn't draw much blood out of me and had to try again on the opposite hand!!!! Hey not my fault my ET DNA kicks in with its protectionism. Then examined my mouth to try find exactly where the bleeding is happening.
The next few steps took place over several hours as they give time for to see if the remedy was effective. They first tried placing a gauze over the area with a substance added that was supposed to stem the flow of blood. Did not work!!!! So they tried a more potent substance, apparently what Dentists uses after extracting teeth. Still did not work. So they called in the big guns, the specialists!! They tried yet a more potent substance, still did not work.
Then instead of using a gauze they injected some steroids plus numbing agent into the area, saying, HOPEFULLY this will work. Initial results were very promising, so they put in a gauze without any other substances and had me to bite on it. And they said if I passed a series of tests then I can go home!!!! So the last two to three hours were the most nerve wracking!!!! I did NOT want to stay overnight if I can possibly avoid it!!!!
So after an hour they removed the gauze..... no blood!!!! Now to pass the next test. At this stage I was transferred out of the very noisy ER area, after first taken to the initial assessment area, then the "Acute Care" area where you are closely monitored, again cos I am a heart patient, then finally to a transfer area prior to going to a ward. So I was now in a far more peaceful ward where I was to have a meal, albeit a "soft serve" meal. I wasn't hungry despite the fact I hadn't eaten since the previous night, but they wanted to know if my mouth survives eating. Then an hour later they checked my mouth again.... again no blood!!!!! That was my ticket outa there and back home!!!!!! Yeeeeee haaaaaaa!!!!!!
The fallout from this is I had been placed on a particular heart med for too long which effectively made my blood TOO thin. It's the same meds that the Heart Specialist finally took me off it but said to use the last packet. The hospital said, in consultation with their Cardios, to stop using those meds IMMEDIATELY!!!!! Apparently one is supposed to be on those particular meds for only a year, while I was on them for nearly TWO years!!!! No wonder my blood was so thin and it wouldn't stop bleeding from what was a relatively small wound in my mouth!!!!!!
Of course the next few days will be nerve wracking. They told me if the bleeding starts again then go back to ER and tell the triage nurse that I was told to come back!!!!! I am going to be extra extra careful about what I eat, no more cookies or other hard foods for quite a while. There is no way in Hell I want to go through all that shit again!!!!!!!!!
The other major event this past week.......
This relates to the bond fiasco. The landlord now said he intends to take legal action against me. OK I knew this would eventually come to this. I am not worried at all, I know he is on pretty thin ground here......
How this unfolded..... As mentioned a while ago I sent him a letter giving a list of issues that he needs to address before we could go any further. In his reply which came some weeks later, he basically drop his claims for all of the other issues - the walls, kitchen sink, and carpet - my bond would just be used to pay for all these, he given up on claiming any extra money from me for these. However he stuck to his claims in regards to the air conditioner. So the claims outside of the bond dropped from over $3000 down to just $1000 for the alleged replacement of the air conditioner. The temperature control of the air conditioner malfunctioned, so he basically blamed me for it and is therefore claiming for repairs which allegedly involves replacement of the whole unit. Even that is questionable. The air conditioner itself was working perfectly fine, it was just the temperature control that was faulty. So saying you have to replace the whole unit just for that is like saying you need a new car when only the radiator was faulty. Then of course the other issue. That is, tenants are not responsible for the malfunction of appliances unless the tenant had abused or inappropriately used the appliance. So by claiming the cost of the air conditioner against me, he is in effect accusing me of abusing the appliance or using it inappropriately. However the onus is on him to prove it, and well he is going to have a hard time proving it. Basically it's shit happens, appliances DO malfunction even through just normal use, and tenants are not responsible for it.
So while he dropped his claims against me for all of the other issues, he stuck to his claim against me in regards to the air conditioner, and he demanded that I deposit the money into his account within 7 days or else he will take legal action against me.
Well it has now been more than seven days...... and well I am just now waiting for a letter from his lawyer or a summons or whatever else. Again I am not worried. He has to prove his allegations of me using the air conditioner inappropriately. And in Western Australia, the legal procedures regarding tenant-landlord disputes first begins with a mediation session. Only if no compromise can be reached during the mediation session that the court action begins. Hopefully by then the landlord will be given some home truths - that is, tenants are not normally responsible for the malfunction of appliances. Either way I am not going to budge, he is not going to get a single cent from me for the air conditioner. If it means having to take the dispute to our local court, well so be it.
Really I think the landlord is bluffing. Surely he knows that tenants are not normally responsible for the malfunction of appliances just from normal use. Afterall he is a landlord, he should know the rules. I think it is part of is game playing and psychological manipulations. My past liaisons with him is my achilles heel. Being a Virgo I seek to please people, I don't like conflicts, so I often go out of my way to please others for the sake of peace. So in the past I had always sought to please the landlord, and even at the beginning of this whole bond fiasco I was quite prepared to forgo my bond and foot the bills of the repair jobs. It was only when he INCREASED the costs and added MORE issues that I figured I needed to FIGHT this, and again it was only because this will impact on the viability of my Peru trip!!!!!!
So it is a part of his attempted psychological manipulations that he dropped his claims against me for all the other issues, thus reducing the claims against me from a very daunting $3000 down to just "only" $1000. He figured that I be more willing to cough up just the $1000 so to end the dispute. And just to make sure and attempt to instil a bit of fear and panic in me, he added the threat of legal action if I didn't pay the $1000. So it was basically, pay $1000 to end the dispute, or have legal action taken against me. He must have seriously thought that I would just pay the $1000. He was in for a very rude shock!!!!! I wrote back to him basically saying that I am not afraid of legal action, and that I would not be paying him any money whatsoever.
Just waiting for his next response...... and though I am calling him bluff, I am also quite prepared for a letter or summons from the legal profession.
So after such a heavy week...... some of my quirky sense of humor is quite appropriate right now......
When I had problems with my internet connection...... until I moved my wireless broadband unit to another room.........
I guess you could call it the ultimate in "gated communities" ;) ;)
You could learn anything from YouTube videos.... hehe.....
A description of this past week !!!!!! ;)
;) hehe......
Government in Australia.......
Planet Earth views from Taygeta.......
No comments:
Post a Comment