It's so hard to say goodbye--to Remi / they make it worse!

[FJR-RemingtonRider]

Well, news became official today. My insurance company settled on my 04' abs/w 28k miles...for $5900.00 - (500 deductible)...

Never done a total loss, but considering I purchased him 16mos ago for $6500.00 I guess that's okay???

Didn't argue, plus she said I could go and take anything off the bike that I wanted..only a few salvagable farkle's left.

.

Now, there's the broken ankle. Debated about whether or not to do surgery. Bone guy says that at my age of 43, he strongly recommends it,

not having it would lead to pre-mature arthritis and potential pains down the road...not sure, I have never broken a bone before????

Any pro's with some knowledge share it up. Called a open reduction of the medial malleus(??) and maybe ligament damage as well, have to cut to see>>hmmm.

.

Insurance from my healthcare provider is $1500 deductible + 20%.

Our insurance has been rising every year for the past 6yrs....for me+4 that translates from $456.00 to $704.00 mthly (med & dental only).

Now each family member has a $1500.00 deductible.

This surgery is shaping up to cost me about $2700.00 (my cost)....WE ARE TALKING ANKLE HERE!!!...Sticker Shock..

or

perhaps I am pissed that the bulk of my settlement will be utilized for a injury...and not my new steed.

I need another pain pill..

 

[wfooshee]

You're talking using your major medical for the surgery? Do you not have medical coverage with the bike insurance? I guess saving the premium because you have major medical is a consideration, but now we see the balancing act come down with no net.

(I'm not one to talk, I'm doing that myself, and considering changing it with major medical deductibles triple what they were 2 years ago, and still more expensive.)

I haven't broken anything, but my left ankle still isn't right from a pair of sprains 6 months apart, the first of which was almost exactly 3 years ago. If they can fix rather than prop, have them fix it.

 

[Patriot]

Here's what I did or would do...very important to get this right for your physical future (you know that...)

I asked around and now know the best docs are injury guys for pro football teams.

Found out who the New Orleans Saints orthopedic "expert" is and made an appt.

Glad I did...this was for my daughters knee problems from Cheerleading/Trampoline Team injury(s).

I'd do the same again...regardless of cost...

I've lifted a prayer and send best wishes on your situation,

Mike

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Remington,

Man, my heart goes out to you.

Who was cited (if any) for the accident and would there be a chance for your/their auto/cycle insurance pick up this medical costs either on the Medical/UM portion for your injuries?

Just wondering if you explored these possibilities.

All the best with you healing and bike repair/replacement.

 

[Texan]

If a second medical opinion recommends surgery, I would do it. $2700 isn't much if it buys you more years of less painful mobility.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Not to be a hard ass but riding a motorcycle and having no extra medical insurance? Because of the shitty med plans that are so dam expensive with High deductibles that hardly anyone can afford is why I carry a lot of medical coverage for me on my bike policy. Yeah, I do pay more but I hope I never need it.

As far as the ankle goes. Here is my perspective. Let it heel on it's own. Research some natural supplements that may aid in a quicker healing process to get back to normal. I damaged my shoulder 3 months ago and I mean it really hurt. I couldn't move my arm for 3 days. I couldn't raise my arm above my shoulder for a month without a lot of pain. Now it is almost back to normal and I will slowly start exercising again. Yeah it hurt like hell riding the feej and sometime got numb past the pain threshold but i didn't give a dam. I was going to ride no matter what.

Today you have to look at the medical industry as a business. They aren't out to help you! They are out to make the most money they can now. Go to another Doctor and tell you don't have insurance and I will bet you the answer will absolutely be different.

Good luck, sorry to here this.

Dave

 

[ionbeam]

FJR-Rem, I'm an owner of a bionic ankle. Surgery was not an option, I had bones sticking out. One of the important questions is, what are the risks of a surgery vs doing nothing.

If the joint is damaged, if there is a suspicion that there is ligament damage, surgery may be an important option. Ol' beam has had an active past which includes multiple, extensive bone breakage and ligament damage. While in my 20's I laughed it off. Now, approaching -- oh, ouch, don't make me say it, 60, it is beginning to come back and create problems. I opted out of almost all surgery that was optional. In many cases it was the correct decision in spite of the advice of the "SURGEON" who stood to have a reward for the procedure.

Every situation is unique. Understand the risks vs the return. Surgery is not trivial, weigh the returns vs the results. I can't assess your damage, go with the best advice you can get from a second or third source. It was made clear to me that every surgical site contains significant blood vessels and nerves that the surgerin has to plow through often creating more problems than solution.

OMG, best wishes!

Alan

 

[ionbeam]

Kill duplicate post.

 

[RPrice]

Well, news became official today. My insurance company settled on my 04' abs/w 28k miles...for $5900.00 - (500 deductible)...

Never done a total loss, but considering I purchased him 16mos ago for $6500.00 I guess that's okay???

Didn't argue, plus she said I could go and take anything off the bike that I wanted..only a few salvagable farkle's left.

.

Now, there's the broken ankle. Debated about whether or not to do surgery. Bone guy says that at my age of 43, he strongly recommends it,

not having it would lead to pre-mature arthritis and potential pains down the road...not sure, I have never broken a bone before????

Any pro's with some knowledge share it up. Called a open reduction of the medial malleus(??) and maybe ligament damage as well, have to cut to see>>hmmm.

.

Insurance from my healthcare provider is $1500 deductible + 20%.

Our insurance has been rising every year for the past 6yrs....for me+4 that translates from $456.00 to $704.00 mthly (med & dental only).

Now each family member has a $1500.00 deductible.

This surgery is shaping up to cost me about $2700.00 (my cost)....WE ARE TALKING ANKLE HERE!!!...Sticker Shock..

or

perhaps I am pissed that the bulk of my settlement will be utilized for a injury...and not my new steed.

I need another pain pill..

FJR - Rider,

I feel your pain, been there, done that. Broke the F@#k out of my ankle years ago. The local doc (in a very small town)put me in a cast for a couple of weeks, but then I got a call from him saying I needed surgery immediately at a hospital 300 miles away. You see a real orthopedic surgeon visited my small town and took a look at the X rays and said OMG he needs surgery!! I ended up getting a second opinion in another city (240 miles away) with the same verdict, "you need surgery"!! So I did, and it was a long recovery, BUT I recovered fully with no loss of motion, strength, etc.with the help of 5 screws and a plate in my ankle. I am very active, but much older than you (57 years). I've broke bones in every limb, including my lower back. I used to joke the only thing I haven't broke is my neck, but I've had two surgeries on my neck to mitigate the effects of herniated cervical discs! (Screws spacers, plates, etc..) If you live an active life, you'll have some "consequences". Thank goodness modern medicine can mitigate some of the "damage".

Anyway, ankles are complex joints, and if they don't heal right, one can be crippled for life. I'd get another opinion and do what's right for your body, and worry about the bike later. If your ankle doesn't heal correctly, you won't be doing much riding anyway! It will be hard enough getting out of bed!! I have a friend that's in exactly that situation, he didn't get it fixed "right", and now he's screwed.

Good Luck, sorry, in advance, for the lecture,

 

[FJR-RemingtonRider]

Remington,

Man, my heart goes out to you.

Who was cited (if any) for the accident and would there be a chance for your/their auto/cycle insurance pick up this medical costs either on the Medical/UM portion for your injuries?

Just wondering if you explored these possibilities.

All the best with you healing and bike repair/replacement.

OH YEA! Would you believe it. Harris County Deputy mailed me a citation for failure to control speed. This dude, never even spoke to me, and I stood on the freeway 30min waiting for an ambulance. He never made any attempt to assist or assertain my comprehension..(mini rant)...but it will be an easy beat.

No, not taken as lecture guys, I appreciate it. When you haven't been down a road, it's wise to seek counsel of those who have, regardless of the situational differences, it helps. Never thought about upping the insurance on the medical, but it will definitely be written up on the next one....although with this I am sure the rate will climb some. I have decided to let the surgeon have a go at it, he is at a sports clinic, so that's pretty comforting...But with everything else, I will have my 'The King of Surgeons' already working on it.

 

[madmike2]

Remington,

Man, my heart goes out to you.

Who was cited (if any) for the accident and would there be a chance for your/their auto/cycle insurance pick up this medical costs either on the Medical/UM portion for your injuries?

Just wondering if you explored these possibilities.

All the best with you healing and bike repair/replacement.

If you carry underinsured motorist coverage you should ask for the maximum payment to cover your injury before you use your major medical insurance. That should alleviate any out-of-pocket for you and leave the liability insurance to replace your bike.

At least I think that's how it works.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Here's my point. If you can get the citation to point to someone else, you can make a claim (property/medical) on

1-their insurance

2-on Uninsured Property Damage (if they don't)

3- Collision/Medical on your insurance (if you have Collision coverage)

You may have to talk to the County DA to discuss the legitimacy of the citation and see if you can challenge it.

Good Luck... this is no fun especially when you are hurt.

 

[ian]

Remington,

Sorry about the accident. That's over, time to move on and make decisions that will affect you the rest of your life!

The recommendation for a "sport surgeon" is very good. I recommend getting a good orthopod that does a lot of ankle procedures and doing what he recommends. Houston is a good surgery town, at least for heart but they have an NFL team there-check out their orthopedic surgeons.

Check around or go to Mayos in AZ or MN. You don't have to have the surgery done there but a second opinion is good. Don't pay attention to comments like "my shoulder was stiff for 3 days and then got better on its own". Each joint has it's own characteristics and is treated differently.

We think it's hard to get a second opinion but a competent physician will welcome it. I went to Mayos in MN with my Omaha surgeon's blessing and they agreed with him. I went home and had the hip replaced 5 years later as originally suggested-gotta love a surgeon that advises waiting!

Last time I was in AR, I saw, a lady about my age-69, limping and asked when she was going to have her hip replaced. She said she had had it done in Mt Home the year before. Now maybe the guy was good but how many hip replacements are done in town of <10,000. My guy in Omaha does over 100 a year-get experience!!

Ian, Iowa

 

[lfmn16]

Now, there's the broken ankle. Debated about whether or not to do surgery. Bone guy says that at my age of 43, he strongly recommends it,

not having it would lead to pre-mature arthritis and potential pains down the road...not sure, I have never broken a bone before????

Any pro's with some knowledge share it up. Called a open reduction of the medial malleus(??) and maybe ligament damage as well, have to cut to see>>hmmm.

.

I was in an accident three years ago with plenty of broken bones and my ankle dislocated so badly that the blood flow was cut off which caused arthritis. I can tell you that you should do everything you can to prevent or delay arthritis. I'm in pain every single day for most of the day. I can also tell you that if there was any amount of money which could fix that, I'd gladly spend it.

Good luck!

 

[Bulldog9]

Unfortunately, I am the lucky recipient of many joint injuries..... I would get at least 3 opinions, then let the sucker heal, make sure you get and do a good regimen of physical therapy. Too many doctors want to cut too early.

 

[frumby]

Western Medicine = Operate (and prescribe pills for all manner of ailments caused by poor diet and lack of excercise). Sometimes it's going to be the right thing to do, sometimes not. Problem is made worse because the people giving the opinions mostly have skin in the game. Not that most are not professionals, just that they might see things through a certain lense or paradigm. Tough call. Good luck on the surgery though!

 

[Fred W]

I will not offer opinions on how to pay for your injuries as others seem to have that well covered.

But regarding the prospect of "surgery" I will weigh in, as I am employed in the fringes of the medical field and I do get to see a lot of what happens "behind the scenes" (Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!).

Many orthopedic surgeries only occur for one reason, to make the orthopedic surgeon richer. You currently have the option of recording your injuries and then waiting to see what happens when your body tries to heal naturally. Do that! You can always have corrective surgery later if it is actually necessary, and it is highly unlikely it will set you back any more than the one they are proposing now. They can give you success rate info for the surgery they are proposing, but that is contaminated by the number of cases that would have healed naturally. There are also alternatives to surgery, but the American Orthos will not even consider them in most cases because they all make their daily bread by cutting people open. In other fields that would be called a conflict of interests. You decide.

I wish you good luck, my friend. You are a really good guy (I know) and I wish you the best, however you should decide

 

[RPrice]

I will not offer opinions on how to pay for your injuries as others seem to have that well covered.

But regarding the prospect of "surgery" I will weigh in, as I am employed in the fringes of the medical field and I do get to see a lot of what happens "behind the scenes" (Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!).

Many orthopedic surgeries only occur for one reason, to make the orthopedic surgeon richer. You currently have the option of recording your injuries and then waiting to see what happens when your body tries to heal naturally. Do that! You can always have corrective surgery later if it is actually necessary, and it is highly unlikely it will set you back any more than the one they are proposing now. They can give you success rate info for the surgery they are proposing, but that is contaminated by the number of cases that would have healed naturally. There are also alternatives to surgery, but the American Orthos will not even consider them in most cases because they all make their daily bread by cutting people open. In other fields that would be called a conflict of interests. You decide.

I wish you good luck, my friend. You are a really good guy (I know) and I wish you the best, however you should decide

I definitely disagree with most of this advice!!! Waiting for your body to heal naturally is great, but if it doesn't heal naturally, you've potentially got some real problems, and you get to start over healing all over again, after your delayed surgery, as noted in several examples above. You could be talking years here, "to get it right".

For example, I got to have my ankle "re broken" so it could be fixed correctly. FUN!!

Not all "orthos" are "crooks"!

No matter what you decide, good luck!

 

[Fred W]

Obviously, they are not all "crooks", but they all do have a conflict of interests. If the surgery needs to be done is different than if it "might" need to be done.

Sorry you had a bad time. But my advice stands, FWIW.

[edit] The other piece that I did not mention, but was implied, was that complications do develop in any surgery, perhaps inordinately higher in ortho surgeries. A complication for an elective surgery (that was avoidable) is the real hazard, not the monetary expense.

I hope you understand my point