The Story I didn't Finish.........

 So, I was just looking back on some past entries and realized that I never finished the Medtronic story. It sure isn't a good ending but it is an ending. So, my appointment with the final surgeon to put the shocker in my back was coming up. I was excited because I knew that pain-free time was headed my way. Enter my usual luck. Apparently, the gentleman who was paying for my health insurance stopped paying in August without telling or informing me. I had no clue because prescriptions were still being paid for. October 1st rolls around and no more nothing. The Medtronic dream crashed and burned and life suddenly looked painful. The foto above is me as a teen doing what I loved to do. From age 13-18 most of my spare time was spent on the hardwood dreaming of glory. The good old days!

 So, with the dream shattered, the rest of reality caved in like an out of control avalanche. During this 2 month period, the lovely insurance company had  approved the test trial, an MRI on my head and a few other things: with no intention of ever paying them. Suddenly, I was $26k in debt. So lets recap, I take probably $600 a month in prescriptions, along with Dr visits to make adjustments. Gone. Luckily for me, a lot of the drugs had 90 day supplies so all was not lost. Pain meds, no longer available. Dr wont see me cuz I suddenly owe him a ton of money. Wow. Life suddenly looked nasty. I don't even remember how long I have been on the pain meds. It seems forever. Now, they are all gone. I will admit that I have been blessed so far in this disaster. I have not had but 2 or 3 bad nights. For this I am truly thankful. Over the counter stuff does absolutely nothing for me so I really feel good about how my pain has ebbed for whatever reason. Above is one of the sources of my pain. Years ago, I was riding at the dunes in St Anthony and took a wee bit of a flight over the handlebars. Busted my damn tail bone and it still hurts to sit to this day. But I would do it again.

So what comes next, I have no idea. The medical bills keep coming in and all I can do is nothing. Had I made it through the final implant of the device I might have been able to go back to work and enjoy life. For now, I just live day to day hoping that the pain will stay where it has been and allow me to function somewhat. It sure isn't fun. I miss being out in the middle of nowhere exploring what once was. The last foto is one that should cause concern to most people. The red areas represent federally owned land in each state. Nevada and Utah are in the top 3 of land the state or its people do not own. Just a thought to my readers.  Jeep on my friends!