My Dad, Anthony Grossi

I'm now back home after a roller-coaster ride of a weekend!

I received a call from my Mother, Anita, on Friday afternoon telling me that my Dad had been admitted to the hospital for severe pain in his right arm and high blood pressure that could not be controlled by medications (like, it was around 260/140).

I immediately made plans to go home for the weekend.

Saturday morning at 7 am, I received a call from my mother telling me that the Doctors at Cortland Hospital suspected that he had lung cancer and that it had metastasised to his right arm and had spread to his bones. Well, as you can imagine, I was distraught at the thought that my father had the same type of cancer that killed two of his siblings within the last 5 or so years.

My sister, Kathy, who works at Crouse Hospital, suggested and made arrangements for my Dad to be moved to a Syracuse Hospital - since all of my Dad's doctors are located in Syracuse. Our hope was that his care would be more immediate and expedited since all of his doctors were already in that area.

Because my Dad's charted stated that he was being removed due to "the family's request", his insurance company refused to pay for the ambulance ride necessary for the transfer. So, this poor, wonderful, beautiful nurse at Cortland Hospital had to come into my Dad's room to tell him that the Ambulance company would not agree to transport him unless they guaranteed them payment when they arrived at the hospital. WOW! I thought my brother Bob was going to have a stroke right there when every vein in his head and neck stood out! We sat in stunned silence. (Okay, we were quite for only a second; it is OUR family after all, and we certainly don't have a problem voicing our feelings and opinions.)

Can you imagine being a nurse for an elderly patient, (who just wants to be taken care of by the doctors he knows and trusts), and having to walk into his room and tell him that he has to come up with $950 on the spot!? This poor nurse felt soooo bad, and quite honestly a bit irate, that she had been put into that spot. Once we figured out how my Dad was going to arrange for payment, she called the ambulance service to let them know that we would pay, and you won't believe what they did next! They asked the nurse at the hospital to get my Dad's credit card number and expiration date so that they could run the charge before they left their ambulance bay!

My Dad's nurse told the person on the telephone that she wasn't a member of their billing department, she was a nurse, and if they wanted my Dad's credit card information then they could send someone over to get it themselves. Can you honestly believe the nerve of that company!?

Have any of you nurses out there ever run into a similar situation? What do you say to a patient in that situation? Or do you make the ambulance company responsible for relaying the information? I'd really love to hear about how you would deal with that.

Well, they payed the ambulance company, and once we got my Dad settled into his new hospital and had his doctors review his films, they assured us that my Dad most likely did NOT have bone cancer, and that his lungs showed no signs of cancer. Phew!

Now, let me ask you, why would 2 doctors come up with 2 completely different diagnosis when looking at the same films? Now, I understand that there could be slightly differing opinions about the degree or seriousness of a condition, but to completely misdiagnose someone? I just don't get it!

My Dad has undergone a battery of tests, and as of today, all tests confirm that there is NO bone cancer and that there is NO lung cancer and he will be able to come home. His doctors are trying to get to the bottom of his condition by the process of elimination - which makes complete sense to me - doesn't it to you? Or do some doctors think that it makes more sense to scare an elderly patient half to death, literally, by delivering a gloom-and-doom diagnosis without being absolutely sure first!? (Oh, by the way, his blood pressure is now somewhat under control.)

Okay, Okay! Enough griping.

I do want to take the time to thank the Doctors and Nursing Staff at his Hospital for taking such good care of my Dad.

I also want to thank my sister Kathy for making sure that our Dad always receives the best care there is available in Syracuse, and for translating all of the "Doctor Lingo" into layman terms for the rest of the family. We love you Kathy and we're so thankful for your talent and love for Dad.

Thank you to my brother Bob for being there for my Mom and Dad ALWAYS. I love you!

And thank you to my sister Sue for all of the free entertainment when she visits! You're a nut Suzie, but we all love you deeply. Thank you for always finding a way to make us smile.

Please, continue to keep my Dad in your prayers as he's still dealing with some severe pain issues. And pray for my Mom, Anita, too please. She's been through an awful lot the last few days. I love you Mom, so please be sure you eat right and get some rest too, okay?!

I love you Dad! You can yell at me all you want Dad, but I know you really love me! I only worry when you're not giving me a hard time. We are all blessed to have you as a Dad!

That's all for today. Until next time.....