Blockages, surgery, this, that and the other thing.

Remember last time I told you my hubby had to have his thing in his chest flushed every six weeks?  Well, it wouldn't flush, so I had to take him for X-rays to see why.
The first set of X-rays taken here in our home town did not show why there was a problem, so back to the doctor.  The doctor had a new idea- they would put dye in my hubby and take a scan, so in a couple of days after seeing the doctor, I took my husband down to the Hervey Bay hospital where they did the scan.
A couple of days later, he got the results.  They still couldn't work out what was wrong.  They tried again to flush it out but it would not work.  A nurse and a couple of doctors put their heads together and came up with another idea- pump dye directly into the thingy in his chest instead of his arm and that should show what is wrong.
The next day back down to Hervey Bay, only my hubby mistook the instructions where to go and thank goodness we left home with over an hour before the appointment!  Driving around looking for the place, asking people and being told the wrong place, I decided to go to the other X-ray place and ask, my hubby went in to ask and they kindly rang the place they thought it may be and bingo we knew the name of the place and the street but not exactly where in the street.  Up and down and finally found it!
When we got there we were about twenty minutes early; the nurse at the hospital had given my hubby the wrong time!  It's amazing how things work out.
It took about two hours for the procedure, after which we had to go to the hospital to get the results.
Not too good.  It was blocked with a blood clot and had to come out as soon as possible, they would call with the details.
It was almost a week before they called but it could be done here in our hospital so that was something working our way.
We had to be there at 7am and it was very cold in the middle of winter it was about 7 degrees C and we had a whiteout- you could not see the paddocks across  the road.  It was ok when we drove up the road it was much easier to see.
Centerlink were making me report every two weeks so I could get some money from them not too bad but I was to report on the day of my hubbys operation I called the day before but they would not let me report a day early or late, it had to on the day or they would take money off me. I finally convinced them I could not come in that day and they gave me a phone number I could call and report to and I had up to 6pm that was ok.
On the day of the op everything went well I was very tired, stress does that to you, so a family friend took me to the hospital to get my hubby.  It was about 2pm when we collected him, so I came home and called Centerlink so I could get my money; I was still waiting for news about my carers pension so if they said jump I would I could not make waves.
My hubby was asked to make an appointment with his GP in five days time to get his stitches out, this worked out well because we had more paperwork for his GP to fill out for Centerlink about the carers pension, (one of the ladies at centrelink told me to take a copy of my answers to my hubby's appointment so we could be on the same page so to speak).
A couple of days after we sent in the paperwork, I got a letter from Centerlink telling me I had an appointment on the following Tuesday and to call if I could not make it, so I called because that day I had to take my hubby to his doctor at the hospital.  We made another appointment for the following Thursday.  That was good, it gave me time to get my bits together.  The appointment was for me to give reasons why I could not work, I thought "are they for real?  I am trying to get a carers pension, I have a sick husband!"  I was getting my bits together including a letter from my doctor, on the Wednesday the day before my appointment and then I opened the mail there were several letters from Centrelink which, as it happened,  I opened in the wrong order because the first one said "your payment has been cancelled", I dropped the letter and started crying.  Why now?  What have I done?  With shaking hands I opened another of the letters it was reminding me I had an appointment the next day, "ok," I thought, "they still want me to go to the appointment".  The next letter said you will be getting xyz for your payment I was confused, so I opened another letter, this one said we have put xyz in your bank as back payment, still confused I opoened the last letter and it said "congratulations you have been granted a carers pension back dated to when we first applied".  I was shaking like a leaf I dropped the letter and started crying again, happy tears this time.  I could not believe it I had been fighting centerlink for months, and finally a break through.
When I calmed down I had great pleasure in calling centerlink and telling them I would not be coming in the next day for my appointment because I had been given my carers pension.
I can now afford a brand new washing machine.  In almost thirty-six years of marriage, I have never owned a new washing machine.  I am so looking forward to getting it!  I am starting to look around but hope to really look next week.  I am going to get the one I want, not the first one that I see.  There are also a couple of other bits and pieces that I want and won't feel guilty about getting them.
Things were starting to look up; I am not so stressed about paying bills, I am getting pensioner discount on electric and rates and a few other things so it all helps.

Our dear old dog hadn't been well for awhile but on Fathers' Day he had a bad turn.  The next day he seemed to be getting better that was the Monday and on the Tuesday, he had passed away before I got up, my hubby got a friend to help bury him in our yard we have some nice neighbours around here the not so nice ones are slowly leaving the area and lovely people are moving in to the area.
Our dear dog was old and his heart just gave up we miss him very much and the tears are still flowing, just when things were looking up something else had to happen to push us down I keep getting swept away with emotion.  Tuesday 11th September is our 36th Anniversary my hubby and I are going out for a special lunch one at the beginning of the year I thought we might not have.

If tears were money I would be so rich.

I didn't mean to leave it so long since my last post, how time flies when you are NOT having fun.
I have come here many times in the last few weeks only to start writing and then delete the little bit I have written because I can not see what I am writing through my tears, the tears that keep rolling down my face and clouding my eyes.
It was the day before my Birthday, my hubby had an appointment at the hospital to see when he may have his surgery for his other problem. So on 31st May we drove down to the hospital it was going to be a quick appointment no more than an hour, so I dropped my hubby off and went for a coffee and wait for his call. It was quick I just sat down with my coffee and my muffin and he rang. I told him he would have to wait till I ate, that was fine. My hubby waited in the reception area of the hospital. I was as quick as I could be and collected my hubby from the hospital. We get in the car and he tells me "well that was a waste of time, I am going to have surgery sometime they will get back to me", because he is not having chemo any more it will be sooner rather than later was the information he was given. Sometime in the next month or two we will get back to you they said. We are no wiser we still haven't heard anything from the hospital.
Plodding along for a week after the appointment and also celebrating my 55th birthday on 1st June( I had a great birthday by the way), it was 7th June when cetrelink rang and told my husband he would no longer get any payments from them he got a whole two payments why you might ask, he did, the reason he was getting money from his insurance part of super a total of $2,000 a month less tax of $420 our only income apart from what centrelink paid him apparently too much money even though they told him (us) I was there at the time, that he would get paid for three months no matter what.  They also told us to rip up our health care cards we were no longer entitled to them.
You can see why I have been crying, when my husband got off the phone he was stunned to say the least. For two days we were worried and the tears kept flowing then after we ripped up our health care cards new ones came in the mail. About a week after that I got a letter from centrelink telling me they may pay me something to help us, this time I was stunned a few days later reams of paperwork arrived all the same questions and the same answers over and over again. I sent it all away and they told me I could get a payment while they were waiting for an answer to my request for a carers payment once again, they have decided to put me on new start payments at 55 years of age, and haven't had a paid job for 25 years  
new start is the payment they give you while you are looking for work. Remember my hubby is still sick I don't have to look for work while they process my claim once again for a carers payment. After they said they would pay me I got a rejection letter in the mail dated fifth of July but I did not get it until the tenth of July. Reason being I had not returned signed paperwork that they had sent me on the fourth of July by the fifth of July that I only got on the sixth of July which is the date I sent it back to them, please tell me how I can time travel back in time. I called them as soon as I opened the letter and was told to come in first thing the next day ad they would see what they could do. After many tears and problems they helped me, come back on Friday and fill in some more papers and we will pay you about $380 every two weeks I am so rich, well at least I am getting something. I would be so rich if tears were money, because over the last few weeks I could have filled a bucket with them. Paperwork arrived today for an appointment that I had yesterday with centrelink but I told them I did not get paperwork so I filled some in at my appointment yesterday. Some more money will be in my bank again tomorrow.
I have to take my hubby to the hospital for his six week appointment to get his thing in his chest from his chemo flushed out this has to happen for the rest of his life every six weeks or so. I also have to go and pay some bills a bit off all of them I can not pay any in full. I hope to be able to stop crying soon or maybe I'll be swept away in a flood of tears.
I hope to write sooner next time.

Sunday Selections- Fruity Edition

Today I am having some fun and linking up with Kim from Frogpondsrock for Sunday Selections and sharing some photos from my camera which would otherwise never be seen.  I've gone with a theme today, a theme of fruit.

~~~

Our neighbours have a mandarin tree in their back yard but they do not eat them they say they are too sweet and they won't eat them, last year they put bags of them into the rubbish each week.  They were new to our area and did not want to ask if we would like them.  This year they asked us if we ate them and yes they are one of our favourite fruits yum.  We have had several bags of fruit from the one tree so far this season.

Lots of lovely fruit on one small tree.  These photos above were taken after we have picked three large bags full.

This is just one bag of fruit you can see they are fresh from the tree see they still have leaves on them,this can be seen in the photos below.

I already had other fruit in my fruit bowl,so when I added the mandarins my bowl was overflowing! Just as well I have a large bowl! 

The only thing left to do is eat some.

Thank you to our neighbours for growing some lovely sweet fruit yum! yum! yum!

A useless trip and no new information, still waiting.

It was almost two weeks ago my husband had to go to the hospital at the Bay.  It was for a doctor's appointment that they asked him to attend through the mail. 
At the moment my husband is, as I have told you last time, going through chemo withdrawal.  My husband has another problem which cannot be taken care of until he is a lot better than he is now, so he can have surgery for his other problem I won't tell you what, it isn't important and not a matter of life and death like the cancer was. 
Going back to almost two weeks ago hubby was all excited thinking he was going to see his surgeon about working out a date for his operation.  We drove down for his 9:30am appointment, no problems; it was a good trip down, even with roadworks in four places.  I dropped him off and went to get a coffee and have a walk in the park, and if time, a look in some shops.  I was all set for a nice couple of hours, so I thought. A walk in the park first and then a coffee and cake was my plan. 
I had driven down to the carpark to go for my walk but thought I would just rest for a few moments first no problem there, I set a timer for 15minutes, it goes off time for a walk then my coffee and cake.  I was getting my water to take with me, when my phone rang.  It was my hubby.  "Come and get me I'm finished".  Oh bugger! No walk, no coffee and noooo cake!  Like a dutiful wife I started the car and went to get him from the hospital, he was waiting so I didn't have to find a park in a carpark that is usually full.  My hubby gets in and tells me it was all a mistake they had made the appointment for the wrong doctor, this doctor was a surgeon but the one looking after his bowel cancer, and he did not want to see him, the other surgeon who is was to see hasn't got an appointment until the end of the month so we will have to come back then.  Maybe when we go back for his appointment the day before my birthday (my 55th) I will get my walk in the park and my coffee and cake, well fingers crossed. 
On the way home my hubby was very quiet.  His joy had turned to sadness.  Someone had made a mistake and as a result, had burst his bubble. 
We are both hoping that he will get the news he is wanting to hear when he sees the right doctor next week. My hubby is not too well he still has a lot of the side effects from his chemo in fact his energy level is very low he gets puffed just walking up the stairs, he forgets so many things and I am getting tired of telling him the same thing over and over.  They call it chemo brain.  The doctors say it will get better but not for quite a while. 
Centerlink say he is not ill enough for a pension but he can have a sickness allowance.  They believe he can go back to work in a few months, his G P says no, not likely, not while his fingers and toes are numb and he gets puffed walking up the stairs, and then there is chemo brain to get over, I can't see any boss repeating instructions over and over several times a day.
I do not understand where they (centrelink) are coming from no way can he work but they are not with him every day seeing him struggle to get everyday things done without forgetting what it was he was doing in the first place, they just see words on pages of paper they do not care about the man and his problems.  I just want to scream but instead how about I get swept away on a cloud into no problem land oh if only there were such a place, maybe I'll go there in my dreams.

All I wanted was a coffee and a piece of cake

Have you ever felt like going to bed curling up in a ball and sleeping for a week?  Well that is how I feel at the moment.  It is all getting too much. 
Since my last post, my hubby has had two more lots of chemo; one was the Wednesday before Easter, and then two weeks later.  On the Thursday after his chemo before Easter, we had to drive all the way to the hospital so my hubby could see the specialist I had to drive in all the holiday traffic to take him there, I dropped him off and as usual I went to have a coffee at McCafe. 
I could not get into the car park.  People were double parked, and passengers were running in and getting stuff, so I drove around looking for somewhere to have a coffee.
I needed to fill time in and this is a good way.  Too many holiday makers the traffic was at a crawl. 
I had my breakfast earlier, so I did not need coffee, I had one at home, but it helps pass the time. 
My hubby's appointment was at 10:30am and not 7:30am which is his usual chemo time. 
I found a place to get a coffee, but no parking close by, there was a park three blocks away but I believed I did not have time to walk there enjoy a coffee and walk back to the car, so I decided not to have a coffee and instead went back to the hospital. 
I thought my hubby would only be an hour or so. 
I got back to the hospital and drove around the entire car park.  No place to park maybe outside the grounds, not close by anyhow, people were parked all over the place, even on the roundabout outside the hospital, and on every bit of the footpath on both sides of the street!  I wound up parking in a side street a block away. 
I thought my hubby would be ready and waiting by now it was almost noon.  I got to the hospital, no he wasn't waiting.  "Good," I thought, puzzle time and a cool drink of water and air-conditioning.  There I was waiting and waiting over an hour, I started to get worried then my hubby came and sat beside me.  He had just seen the doctor ten minutes ago.  Ten minutes ago, for a 10:30 appointment.  All that way for a ten min appointment to tell him next time will be his last chemo, they are not going to give him twelve but eight lots of chemo, because his blood tests show the cancer almost gone and the side effects are getting too bad and may not go away, so stopping early is the best thing for him. 
He shares this with me and I think "why did we have to come all this way?  Why didn't they just call?"  We then walk back to the car a block away and come home. 
Even though it was Good Friday my hubby still had to get his chemo bottle off on the Friday as usual.  Thankfully it was at our local hospital.  Because of side effects the worst being unable to eat  drink or touch anything cold for up to seven days after chemo, we had a very simple Easter, but the Easter Bunny did come, yum (we all need a treat sometimes). 

We are still battling Centerlink to get financial help. We have got our health care cards now and use them a lot.  There was a mix up with my hubby's sick pay from his work and now we are in limbo we were told there were more days to go but they miscalculated and cut us off without notice.  When you are expecting money and it doesn't come it is a bit of a shock.  I don't mind telling you I cried a lot. 
At the moment my hubby is trying to get money from the insurance side of his super.  There is all sorts of paperwork and red tape he is working hard on this I wish him lots of luck.  Money is tight and the bills do not stop coming. 
My hubby had his last chemo treatment it was the usual routine 7:30 appointment so up at 5:30 am drive down to the Bay fill in five hours with no spending money so I filled in time walking around with my daughter and our cameras and then ate food in the park, and then had our usual nap in the car, then back to the hospital to pick up my hubby after his last chemo treatment, then the bottle off on Friday.  For the last time on the Friday, I sit in the car and wait for him.  I do my puzzles.  He isn't long too long, less than an hour. The thing in his chest has to stay there there and get flushed out every six weeks or so.  It won't be six weeks this time because that date is my 55th Birthday, so it will be seven weeks this time. 
My hubby now has to go through withdrawal eight lots of chemo has to leave his body, he is not well, in fact he is worse.  I just want to hide in my bed all curled up in a ball.  I still have to wash his clothes twice until the chemo is out of his body. 
The money problems are still with us centerlink won't pay us until we are completely broke, never mind that we have thousands of dollars of debt to pay off.  A heap more paperwork came in today's mail, from centerlink.  Most of the questions we have already answered there are a couple of new ones. Please can we just get money to pay our bills and put food on our table without jumping through hoops?

What next? I do need to breathe...

Sorry I am a bit late writing this but I have not been too well, it is all getting a bit much.
I am going slightly crazy waiting for things to come in the mail.
The new paperwork for a different doctor to fill in arrived complete with return addressed envelope; that's good put them aside for next trip to hospital for my husbands chemo, one thing I have been waiting for will be taken care of when we go to the hospital. 
We are still waiting for the health care cards to come in the mail. 
Wednesday arrives, that is chemo day.  I tell my husband make sure he has the paperwork for the doctor to fill out, but don't let them have the return envelope, I want to read what they said before it gets posted.  Yes, the paperwork is in his bag with other bits.  Good. 
When I picked my hubby up on Wednesday after his chemo he hands me back the form not filled out but the envelope is missing.  They lost it at the hospital but they did give me a replacement envelope not addressed but that's ok, they were too busy to do paperwork on Wednesday at the hospital. 
An appointment has been made at our local hospital for Friday two hours before my hubby gets his bottle taken off, good I thought it will all work out one problem sorted. 
It is just over a week since I was told I was getting the health care cards so I thought I would call and see where they were, but that would have to wait until the next day it may come in Thursdays mail and if not I will call then.  Thursday comes and no cards in the mail, so I call to ask two things: where are our cards, and what address do I send the completed form to?  I was bewildered to say the least I spoke to a lovely person (I can not tell you his name or he may hunt me down and kill me or something), he said that yes, our cards were processed on the 12th March the day I rang the first time to see where they were, but he could not understand or tell me why they were only posted on Wednesday, he suggested that I go into Centrelink and get interim cards because they would not get here until the following Tuesday or Wednesday. 
While on the phone I planned to go in on Monday and then I asked again what address do I post the form to?  I was told there were several possibilities, so just bring them in when I come in on Monday, and then he says that the cards were granted but not processed on 23rd February, so we can claim any medical expenses we had to pay which would of been covered by a health care card if we had one from that date.  Good, I had some. 
Friday comes and we go to the appointments at the hospital after the doctor fills in the form he says "tell your wife not to hold her breath waiting for a yes, it isn't likely you are not ill enough", my husband was shocked.  He is getting worse every treatment, the side effects could kill you if the cancer doesn't. 
We got up early on Monday to go and get things sorted at Centrelink, we walk in and join the line.  Yes! Our turn!  We tell the lady at the desk what we are there for, she says sit and wait for your name to be called, and that's what we do.  I get my puzzle book out and start doing the puzzles.  I almost finish a whole puzzle before they call us.  At that moment, my hubby says he needs a toilet, we look around cannot see one (remember he is being treated for bowel cancer).  I ask the lady she says there isn't one, but there is one at the town hall across the road, but if we leave we will have to line up and start over again.  My hubby says he will wait.  We sit get our two-week cards, which are pieces of paper, and hand in the doctor's report.  This all took about three minutes. 
I then go to medicare (they share the one building) to claim the medical expences money back.  The lady smiles and says, "can I help you?" I tell her what I want and she says, "I cannot do that for you today, you do not have the form."  I say "where do I get the form?" expecting her to say over there or some such thing, she says at the chemist where you got the scripts filled, I say ok, as we're going there this afternoon. 
While my hubby had his appointment with his GP, I go across the road to the chemist, simple get the form.  I ask for the form and get told "we do not have any" I tell them about the events of the morning, where I was told to go back to the chemist where I got the scripts, the lovely lady at the chemist was gobsmacked she said we got our original from them and just copied it, she calls medicare for me and they tell her to download the form for me which is what they do when asked for the form what the ! I now have a form going tomorrow to get my money back fingers crossed it all works out. 
One good thing happened today: our cards came in the mail.  Yes, we now have health care cards, three months after we first applied for them as a hardship case, goodness knows how long we would have to wait if our case was not urgent! 

It all comes in the mail, the bills the letters and more.

Three days in a row, I got mail.  Rejected, declined, and rejected again.  I felt like a piece of furniture no body wants, only this time it was the government not wanting to help me.  Carers allowance rejected, emergency help to cover our electrical bill request declined, carers payment rejected. 
Each time I opened my mail with hope, and then tears ran down my face. 
My Mum would always say the word 'no' won't kill you, but my God, it can hurt, especially when you are hoping for a yes. 
So no payments means no bills paid on time no food except the very basics and what we grow, we are using up everything in the cupboard and it is getting space. s I used to have spares of everything.  Not anymore.  I only replace things that are really needed. 
I am starting to dread going to the letter box to check for mail.  I also get the bank statements telling me how much I don't have in the bank, and yes more bills keep coming.  Everyone gets bills, but somehow they seem to be more.  I just get one paid off and then the same bill for the next month arrives and it starts over.
I was told I would have no problems getting the help for the electric payment, so I was relieved something I didn't have to worry about, but it was disallowed.  We did not qualify.  My hubby did not get his disability pension, and not being able to make ends meet or pay all our bills on time without payment plans apparently isn't having a hard time.  As I said earlier carers payment and carers allowance rejected.  It gets harder every day to be positive that everything will be ok. 
A glimmer of hope I rang Centrelink today to find out about our health care cards and while I was on the phone, the lovely lady I was talking to told me she couldn't understand why I was rejected for carers payments, when she checked the computer she found out I had the right number of points but the doctor's report let us down.  The information he put on the forms did not take into consideration that my husband is getting worse with every treatment.  When the doctor filled out the forms my husband had just started his chemo treatment.  It was suggested that we lodge medical forms again filled out by another doctor, one at the hospital was suggested they see him all the time and understand more of what he is going through. 
Husband's energy level is getting lower and he no longer goes for his nightly walk, after every treatment he gets, another side effect pops its head out, so to speak.  When we send in the new doctors report this time I should qualify for the payment a bit of good news so fingers crossed. 
Our health care cards are coming this week and that will help us a lot we will save money on doctors accounts and medications.  Apparently our paperwork should have been marked priority, so on an oversight by the person who gave us the papers, we were put in the queue with all the other people and not given the priority our case deserved.  While I was on the phone our file was pulled and processed straight away.  Yippee! 
So now I should like going to the letter box. 
When you are waiting on good mail to come it makes life a little better, I still leak from the eyes a lot ever day but I am trying not to get too swept away.