Monday, Hank received word that the sleep study definitely showed he still has sleep apnea and clearly needs a CPAP machine. The local hospital's equipment provider couldn't help him because of Medicare requiring the purchase to be made in the 'zone' covering our legal residence (Florida). They recommended a national company (Lincare) with HQ in Clearwater FL, and offices all over the country including one in Ft. Wayne, about 30 miles from Decatur.
On Tuesday Lincare agreed to work with him, but Medicare had a number of additional requirements including an office visit with his care provider during the 90 days preceding the sleep study, and a follow up visit with the care provider between 30 and 90 days after the CPAP device is provided. Hank had seen his doctor while we were in Raleigh in July and we agreed to have a follow up with him in early November. They also needed a copy of an order/prescription with some diagnostic information from a care provider. A call to Hank's doctor in NC provided that after some delay because the doctor doesn't write call in prescription requests until after the day's office visits are over.
On Wednesday, Lincare called and said that Medicare requires a copy of the doctors notes from our July "face to face" appointment - notes to include a discussion of what sleep apnea is and how it is treated with CPAP. (They didn't care that Hank has been on CPAP for over 22 years!). In order to meet this requirement, Hank had to find some care provider to fill that requirement, and Lincare needed that info from the care provider no later than Thursday afternoon in order for them to get their order and paperwork done in time for us to get the new machine on Friday. After some arm twisting, Hank got a couple of suggestions of doctors in the Fort Wayne area that might be willing to give a quick appointment. Luckily one agreed to set us up with an appointment on Thursday morning.
Thursday morning, we went to the doctors office in Fort Wayne to meet with a PA who did an hour long respiratory / cardio physical and consultation of what sleep apnea is and how it is treated (CPAP). We returned to Decatur and that afternoon got word from Lincare that they had the needed report from the appointment earlier today, but now they were having trouble getting it through their system because we were "out of zone" (back to that again). Their system was not accepting the orders and they were having to contact their headquarters to see if/how they could fill the order. In the mean time they gave us a tentative appointment for noon on Friday.
At 8:30 Friday morning we got a call from Lincare that they were still trying to get the order placed but so far had not been successful, and in the mean time they needed yet one more piece of information. They need the NPI (National Provider Identifier) number of either my doctor in Raleigh or the one who saw us Thursday morning. Hank suggested they call the doctor directly, but they may not get word back from Raleigh until late afternoon. Lincare said they would call the Fort Wayne office we had visited Thursday morning. They subsequently called back and said that doctor was out of the office and would not be back until Monday. They then called the doctor in NC and Hank followed up with a personal call to the office explaining the situation and asking them to expedite the information. Lincare soon called back and told us they now had all that was needed but were still struggling with the order,and we shouldn't make the 50 minute trip to their office until we heard from them. At about 11:45 we got a call that they were able to fill the order by assigning us to their Fort Walton Beach office but filling the order in Fort Wayne, so everything was finally in order and we could high tail it up there for our noon appointment. We were out the door in 5 minutes and arrived there at about 12:18 where the receptionist informed us that we were late!, but the tech knew the situation and was much more friendly. We got back to Decatur at about 2:30.
After well over 100 emails and phone calls, numerous delays, and nervous waiting periods in between each step, we finally have the new CPAP machine and it appears to be a very good one (about 3 times the $500+ cost of the one proposed by the hospital). Last night Hank had his first good sleep in a long time!
In the meantime, Little House has been waiting for its turn in the repair bays to get needed repairs (listed below). Monday, we got word that the warranty claim had been approved but an inspector's visit would be necessary, which we expected. We also found out that the most important and most expensive items on the list was no longer available. Tuesday afternoon, the inspection took place, and a final approval for the work arrived on Wednesday. Thursday afternoon, the work began. Friday morning, at 6 A.M., the RV returned to the work bay and all was completed by 2:15 P.M.... or so we thought. Through an oversight on REV's part, they didn't install the new awning motor, so that had to be done this morning.
The items taken care of over the last 12 days included:
- 29 point inspection
- chassis lube
- replace 2 diesel fuel filters
- manufacturer recall - replace/relocate exhaust clamp
- steering components lube
- leak sealed around patio awning and exterior slide out moldings
- locate/replace fuses for patio light and exterior lighted grab bar
- replacement of Electrical Management System control board.
- Toilet flush ball seal replaced
- Wiper seal on rear of driver's side slide out re-secured
- Front roof A/C unit's control unit replaced (this also was the source of a Aqua-Hot problem)
- Patio awning motor replaced
- R-5000 dash unit is no longer available (we've since found a replacement source at much lower cost)
Today is also an important day because it's our 50th wedding anniversary. Tonight we celebrated with a delicious buffet dinner at the Back 40 Junction Restaurant with our friends, Carmen and Jim, who are also here for repairs.
Our life together has been blessed in so many ways, and we are grateful for each and every one.
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