As mentioned a few days ago, when I couldn’t get my two blood pressure medications filled at CVS Clinic since there were no records or tests for medical care for me in Minnesota’s health records system. I left empty-handed, wondering what to do. As mentioned in that post, I knew if I went to another cardiologist or primary care doctor, they’d put me through a litany of tests, all of which I’ll be having in August when we go to the Cleveland Clinic.
Sure, my Medicare plan and supplement would cover the cost of those tests, but there was no way I wanted Medicare to be billed for tests that would be redundant in a few months. Also, I had a cardiac ultrasound at a cardiologist’s office in Las Vegas on March 27, when I needed to confirm the report from the cardiologist in Ecuador. The results were the same.
I contacted ProgressiveRX, sending them a not-so-clear copy I had of the prescriptions Doc Theo had written for me 13 months ago before we left South Africa. Once ProgressiveRX, located in Singapore, received the copy, they explained it wasn’t clear enough for them to read. Could I get a clearer copy?
This morning after breakfast, I asked the hotel general manager, Wade, whom we’ve come to know quite well based on the number of times we’ve stayed here, if he could produce a clearer copy on his printer. He did a perfect job. A short time later, I received a clearer copy from Wade in my email, which was perfect.
Immediately, I forwarded it to Vimala at ProgressiveRX, receiving a confirmation only moments later that the new clearer copy worked perfectly for their needs. My meds will go out today, and I will receive them in about three weeks. After scouring through the “pill bag,” I stumbled across enough of the two meds to last until I received the new batch. I had put them in a small ziplock bag as an emergency supply. Good thing. Now, I can relax knowing I’ll have enough meds to get me to the CC in 3½ months since ProgressiveRX is sending me 184 pills, plenty for my current needs. Whew! What a relief!
This morning, we headed downstairs (we’re on the 6th floor) for breakfast. There was nothing there I could eat except the hard-boiled eggs. I’ve tried to find the ingredients in those processed scrambled eggs they serve, but the results were all over the place. Thus, I’ve decided not to eat them, knowing full well there would be lots of preservatives.
After breakfast, I went to the fitness center to do the workout on the bike. A few days ago, I started at five minutes; today, I could do 12 minutes for two miles. I will continue at this pace until I get to a full 30 minutes; then, I will increase the difficulty level while maintaining the same period of time.
I check my pulse while biking to avoid getting too high. However, based on the Afib drug I am on, it prevents my heart rate from going too high, but I still need to monitor it throughout the process. Gosh, I am hoping to maintain my current state of being to last the next 3½ months without getting too many new symptoms requiring emergency medical care.
Friday is Happy Hour for Tom’s family, starting at 3:30 at Billy’s Bar & Grill in Anoka, a 45-minute drive from here. We never know who will be there, but most often, it’s four of Tom’s sisters, BIL Eugene, and occasionally some nieces and nephews. Last week, Tom’s daughter Tammy, partner Tracy, and grandson Vincent joined us, which was great. We’ll see who will join today.
That’s it for today, folks. We’ll be back tomorrow with more.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, May 17, 2014:
