NOLA in September?
Comments
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Eva - Dr D, or his staff, should give you a letter at your post-op that you can give to TSA, if necessary, explaining your recent surgery and drains. Make sure you ask for one if they don't remember to give it to you.
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Happy Valentine's Day!
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Eva .... LOL .... I got it but ya need to put that in one of your limericks
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Eva... I remember each time going thru security and them asking me to remove my purse... I just told I couldn't ... That they were medical drains... They nodded knowingly, and just had me go through the other scan thing.
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I got the whole pat down body scanner deluxe! Even in a wheel chair. Lots of apologies given. Wadda ya gonna do. (c: I also got front row, nice.
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Had my post-op with Dr. D. I got my dopplers out (hardly felt it at all). Have to wait til tomorrow, but I do get the breast drains out before I go home (yay!) and everything looks fine. He says the nips look good. I got to see Caitlin one more time - fresh out of the OR. It was good to see her and have a goodbye hug. I fly home on Thursday.
To post-op fatigue add jet lag
But I'm ready to zig and to zag
TSA might complain
About all these drains
But they won't fit in my ziplock bag0 -
lol .. there ya go ..... glad to hear the great report
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I am starting to make accommodations for our trip. We were going to stay at the Homewood but it is over $200 per night. They don't give any special rates for us.. My husband also needs a hotel near Fairway for four days. Can anyone tell me about the Hope Lodge? Is it far from St. Charles? Any suggestions would be helpful.
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Cherrie,
My first surgery was at Fairway. We stayed at the courtyard i Covington the night before surgery, very close. After surgery i stayed at Homewood. I called them and asked for the Centers rate and they gave it to me. Even though my first surgery was not at the Center, i figured i was still one of the Doctors patients. They didn't even question me. From what i remember Hope Lodge isn't that close to St. Charles but they other girls may know.
Michelle
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Cherrie,
Katie Steiger at the Center will make all the hotel reservations for you, and she is GOOD!
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Is this Katie at St. Charles? Is she on their website? My surgery is with Dr. Massey. Thanks.
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Katie is with Dr DellaCroce and Sullivan... I think Ashley makes these arrangements for Dr Massey. I would call the HWS and ask for the Center's rate since Dr Massey works at the Center it seems fair. I stayed at the Hope Lodge for a few nights. I personally didn't care for it, but it is free. It is about 25 minutes from the Center.. When you ask if its close to St Charles, do you mean the hospital or the road? It is about 5 minutes from the road, but not close to the hospital. Does Dr Massey provide a car service? If so, that would be ok... and from what I understand, the HL has a shuttle to the store. Will your husband have a car? If so, he could stay at the Hope Lodge for sure. Googlemap a map of NOLA... The Hope Lodge is located by the levy toward Metaire.
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Just to add... if you are coming over the Causeway from Fairway to New Orleans and continue straight all the way to the river (River Rd) and turn left, the Hope Lodge is two blocks up on the left... by Oschner Hospital.
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Hi Cherrie, If you go on the breastcenter.com website and then patient support you will find a travel link. They have the info you need to give to get a discount on the rooms. I booked the Clarion and got a very good rate. Hope this helps.
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My husband asked for the centers rate at the Homewood, but they acted like they had never heard of it. Quoted us at $214 with tax. I thought that was high. I will try Ashley or Katie and see if they can do better. Thanks.
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I paid 135 once and more the next time... depends on the time of year too... but it was 135 in July at the Center's rate.
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Oh.. and when I called they were booked, so then Katie called and they had a room and at a discount... ask for the manager.
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We will definitely look into this. $135 is more reasonable. It is adding up because my husband will need 4 days while I am at Fairway. Any suggestions for him. It just is a place o sleep as he will be with me most of the time.
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Cherrie.. I would have him stay at the Hope Lodge for those 4 days.
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Eva, my suggestion is to wear a big long top when you go to the airport and cover everything completely. I used the ON-Q pain ball holders for my drains (like fanny packs) and they were showing a little and they had to inspect them and I had to remove the drain bulbs and then they had to swab inside of the little holders!!! All this because they were peeking out. AVOID THIS. Also the letter might help. This was before they had scanners though. But I refuse to go through the scanners that have radiation. They have some body scanners that don't have radiation. I go through those.
Good luck! Good to get 2 drains out! I came home with at least 4!
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Cherrie, he might prefer to stay closer to Fairway while you're there. The Courtyard is clean and decent (and about $99 per night), with several restaurants right next door. He can come and go to Fairway in a matter of minutes, and not deal with the causeway drive. If he works out, the Courtyard has a deal with a fitness center across the street--a real benefit to my husband!
When you're discharged, staying in the city might be where you want to be.
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Thanks for all of the suggestions. I got on the Centers travel site and there was a corporate rate and number for the Homewood Suites at $119 per night. We will go for that. We are looking into the Courtyard the night before surgery at Fairway, Hope Lodge possibly for hubby while I am there, and then Homewood when discharged for 4-5 nights. Wow! Getting closer to a plan.
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Well, I heard from Dr Massey's office that once again, my insurance will not cover my stay at the St. Charles Center. I was lucky enough to be able to change my insurance to an open access plan/also a PPO at the last minute before 2012 kicked in. I called in a panic as I had just found out from Ashley that they won't accept an HMO and was so excited that I could change to the recommended PPO. The orchestrator of my employers benefits assured me that both Dr. M. was covered as well as the hospital! I checked the St Charles hospital web site and it states they are contracted w/ Cigna so I figured that wasn't an issue. I checked the Cigna site and it stated that Dr. M. was in network as well. So I attended my second Dr. M. Symposium and made the decision to do surgery-primarily for my lymphedema-- Diep breasts and tummy tuck as a bonus! So now I guess I'm SOL and will fight LE worsening until I can't stand it anymore. Once again I feel like I have been kicked in the gut-I'm beginning to run out of "fight". I hate insurance company's ability to ruin our lives! I am so done with all of this. Thanks for letting me vent here!! Katiejane
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I don't understand... if the hospital is in-network, why is insurance saying they won't cover it?
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Katiejane - this does not make sense. Will they cover fairway? Do not give up. I called you. Do call me back. I will help you formulate letters and do whatever you can to get this covered. This is ridiculous. Please do not despair and do not give up. Sometimes it takes a fight... believe me, I know all about insurance crap. I am up for a while tonight - we can bounce ideas or you can just lean on me. Whichever you want. Hugs, hugs and more hugs.
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katiejane, I don't think it is the matter of not covering in network - only because I just checked cigna's website as well. They should all be in network. I would bet it is a pre-auth issue. I have a girlfriend here that got it covered by arguing that Dr. Massey was one of the only female surgeons that does diep. You may need to go to your state insurance commissioner and file a complaint. But call Ashley tomorrow and find out from her just exactly what the insurance company is wanting from you. Hang in there.
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Good lord, Springtime, they made you remove the drains from the tubes? Is that what you're saying? And they swabbed that? I was told at the hospital that under no circumstances was I to let TSA touch or open the drains. If they insist, I'm supposed to step out of line and have them call the number on the letter. I'll make sure to strip the drains just before I go to the airport so there's little in them but honestly, I'm pretty juicy. They won't be empty no matter what I do. I don't want them touching those - or my chest. I've heard a couple of horror stories, but I can be fierce and my sister is DEFINITELY a tiger. I'm assuming it will be fine, but I want to be prepared.
Cherrie, the Homewood Suites has been a nice place to stay. They serve breakfast every day and dinner (including free beer and wine - not that you can have alcohol after) from Monday through Thursday. They've been great about giving us as many towels and pillows as we need and it's just a few blocks from the French Quarter. My husband stayed in my room with me while I was in the hospital but I was at SCSH. Most hospitals will allow one person to stay in the room with you and provide at least a recliner to sleep in. A thought, anyway.
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Eva... The TSA had me touch the bulbs in my bag and they swabbed my hands. That's all I had to do.
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All I will say is F the TSA. It's all Security Theatre.
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Eva - I got a porter with a wheelchair - not sure if that makes a difference. When I went through she askd me if everyting was ot of my pockets. I just said that I had surgery and they were my drains. They just made me wal through the scanner and I was done.
If by chance they do want to touch you make them go wash their hands and change their gloves
Maybe that will deter them. Katiejane - what exactly will your insurance not cover? Just St. Charles itself or Fairway too?
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