peregrinerose

Is it reprogrammable fairly easily as med history/meds change? Some older patients are changing med history almost every 5 minutes I personally wouldn't want it, it's none of anyone's freaking business what my health history is. If I'm in an accident, shit happens. Medical professionals tend to be pretty careful about blood types used and meds given. Hershey med is experimenting with a non-blood material that can be used in place of additional blood in the field until blood type can be assessed. They are actively using it in our area. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Our hands are always calloused and molting, fingernails get ripped off occasionally, skin at the base of the nails splits and bleeds. But it's a good workout, nothing like busting ass all day to make a few bucks... it makes a good cold beer taste even better

My husband and I pack part time... we could not afford to jump nearly as much as we do if it wasn't for packing. It pays for jumps, a new canopy, riggers' course, coaches course, etc, and still some left over. We have weekday jobs for paying normal bills. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Talk to the riggers at you DZ... they found good beginner gear for both my husband and I... perfect too for when we both downsized a little bit (still only a hair over 1:1 for us both), he could have my canopy which still had only 300ish jumps and I could get a new one. Saved us a nice chunk of money and the rigger told us from the beginning it would be a good option 100 jumps down the road. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I had a similar issue at our DZ... not with another jumper, but a person who will remain incognito for purposes of this post. I had to work with him every weekend. He did something that royally pissed me off, I fumed and festered about it. He thought I was mad about something entirely different, he was pissy with me. My husband got caught in the middle, the DZO was getting fed up with the shit. He was told basically to fix it or they would get involved. He took me aside, asked me to chat with him one night after jumping was done over a couple of beers. Turned out that several months of being at each other's throats every second was more miscommunication than actual intentions. I don't know about him, but I felt really stupid raising a stink for that long over nothing. I still work with him every weekend, we still give each other a hard time, but in that good amiable kind of sense. He's one of my favorite people at the DZ. There are 2 sides to every story. Don't let this linger. Basically, be more mature than I was in a similar situation Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

My mother in law. She's the most amazing, kind, courageous, intelligent woman that I know. She is who I would pick to be my mother (though that would make my marriage quite odd, wouldn't it?) or to emulate as a mother. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Griff the Porn Monkey!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, he qualifies. I was in bed with him once. He has a nice bare ass too (sorry, no pictures... didn't have the camera with me). Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I could not agree more

I don't have the holes taped in my goggles. Neither do most of the other jumpers with CLs at the DZ I'm at. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'm an eye doc, plus a lot of the folks at the DZ have been patients. None have lost a contact. If your contact is falling out, it isn't the contact for you. Time to try something new. There are some good ones now that tend to not dry out, have higher oxygen transmission, and are healthier options than the older ones.... Purevision, Oasys, Optix, Focus Dailies are probably the 4 I fit most frequently. Of them Oasys is probably the best for dryness issues (which would cause a contact to fall out). I only lost one... foot fell off the plane, hung on by one arm and hit my goggles. Lost my right contact. Landed with one eye... I'm also a -4.25, so made for an interesting landing. I didn't even try to stay with the group I was jumping with.. not safe for anyone that way. Oh, it wasn't one of the above contacts, and I do try them all to see what they are like. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Many people just don't give a damn about preventative or other health care. I just got off the phone with a lady with advanced diabetic retinopathy that will literally go blind without care. She has insurance, she is intelligent and working, but still refuses to get the medical care. It amazes me how many people chose to not seek treatment. Free treatment is actually quite easy to receive. I don't know of a single doc that will flat out refuse care to someone who can't pay. We will set up payment plans, even if it is only $5 a month, regardless of the bill. Some docs, even surgeons that I know, don't even have a collections agency to turn people in to. If patients don't ask, they can't receive services. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

With the tandem, it's kind of a 'buy one get one free' deal on the parachutes. You have a main parachute, if that one has an issue, the instructor gets rid of it and uses his spare parachute. Everyone else had good words of wisdom. Best thing is head to the DZ, hang out, ask questions, watch parachutes getting packed and used, listen in on some of the instructor/student situations if possible. The more you learn, the more comfortable you will be with the idea. Warning... skydiving is addicting. You may end up getting him more than just one tandem if he gets hooked Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'd be pretty damn glad I'm a low vision rehab doc and can do anything blind I can do sighted. And then I'd call Dan Rossi and Blind John to figure out a blind 3 way. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Yep, that's how a lot of docs do it. I don't take many insurances, only ones that make it worth my time. Patients all get 30-60 minutes of doctor time depending on what they are there for, and I try to make no one wait more than 15 minutes.. if so, they get a big apology from me personally and offer to reschedule if it is more convenient for them. Patient time is just as important as mine is... I'm on patient payroll, not the other way around. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

There is no medical malpractice involved.. you are obviously alive and unharmed. Meds that are sent home with you from the ER (I don't know if they gave you samples or anything) are still billed to insurance.. it doesn't mean that the meds were actually taken while in the ER. Again, I wasn't there, I'm not justifying or not justifying the actual treatment, just hoping you will understand that there is a possibility you are not being screwed. Like everyone else said, do the leg work, get the charts, talk with the hospital billing people (not the docs... it isn't their job to bill, only to provide the services). Don't plan on this being resolved overnight. You have no idea how much a PITA billing and insurance companies are to deal with. I hate them, patients hate them, there is no good way to deal with them. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

People gripe because the media screws up skydiving stories, then expects them to get other stories right? The actual charge is exactly the same for ins. vs. non ins. patients. If I bill the ins company $100 and they pay me $25, I have to accept that as full payment under the terms of the insurance company contract. I am not permitted to bill the patient for the differenct. Insurances get more people in the practice because people go where their insurances cover, and that is why we take insurances to begin with... to retain and care for our patients. The same patient without insurance is still billed the $100. There is no contract obligating me to accept what the patient choses to pay as it isn't the same as insurance. So the actual bill is identical, the payment received is what is different. No one likes the system at all except the insurance companies that make a fortune on premiums and pay very little to the docs that provide the services. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Doctors are rarely the ones that do the coding for things like meds given. Medical billing typically takes care of that. Again, I don't know what meds you were or were not given or not given, so not going down that road. It is not about what docs 'think' we are worth. If my overhead on running a practice (rent, equipment, staff, meds, utilities, malpractice insurance, property insurance, etc) works out to $150/hr, how is it possible for me to afford to take $32 for that same hour? No, additional testing that was not done can not be billed, this is illegal. But be sure that you know exactly what was in the chart before jumping to conclusions and assuming that insurance fraud is being performed. You stated in your first post that you were a bit out of it at the time. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Not necessarily. Most insurance policies state that the patient can not be billed for the difference between the facility's bill and what the insurance pays the facility. Lisa, double check on your insurance coverage to see if that is the case or not. You may not actually be responsible for the difference in fees. This is why it ends up being the facility that is screwed, not you. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

This is illegal. We charge the same fees to private pay as to insurance companies. Insurance companies pay us whatever the hell they feel like giving. I can spend an hour with a patient, bill the insurance company $200 for a full hour of face to face doctor time. Know what they say my time is worth? $32. It doesn't matter that in real life overhead alone is far more than $32, that's what the insurance will pay, so that's what I have to take (which is why I don't participate with that particular insurance company). Do you really think the docs are out to screw you? You have no idea just what we have to accept as 'full pay' from the insurance company. Or how many fees we have written off for those who can not afford the care they need. I don't know what was/wasn't done in the ER and how the billing was done and what codes were and were not appropriate. But what an insurance company says are 'standard fees' only reflects what they want to pay, not what an actual procedure is worth in equipment and time. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'm with you. It just isn't in me to believe in Christianity. I couldn't force myself to love the God of Christianity or Jesus than I could force myself to love anyone/thing else. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

On another thread when I started jumping, someone recommended going to a mall and riding the escalator to help learn to judge height from a moving object. It wasn't a bad idea. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

When I was at the height I was about 4 feet higher than being able to kick my husband in the head (He was usually on the ground before me), it was time to flare He still doesn't know I used that to figure out flare heights. Want to borrow my husband? I have just under 200 jumps... so what I think doesn't mean shit. That's just what worked for me. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Spaghetti. Any other kind of pasta is just fine. Not Spaghetti though. It was the only meal my mother could make. Good thing I learned to cook young, but still can't stomach spaghetti. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Funny this thread is here now. I got a story last night that royally pissed me off. I did a home visit (eye exam) for a quadriplegic due to deer vs. motorcycle. He crushed his spine from C6 to T10. He layed on the side of the road for over an hour watching people go by, slow down to stare at him, and keep driving before someone even picked up a phone to call 911. People that heartless truly disgust me. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

That is Sawyer, hell yeah, he's hot. A friend of mine lives in Hawaii, where they film lost. According to her, both Sawyer and Sayid are even finer in person than on TV. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda