All good thoughts to you and your daughter, fauxmaven. You were smart to head over to Sweden to be with her and I’m betting your support was appreciated.
We are giving her a wedding in DEC, even though in the NL only allows civil marriages. I hope she can make it through this time! She is very excited for her friends to meet her husband.
Fingers crossed…I got my flare in August and I was “all better” by early December which according to my Rheumatologist was alittle longer than “normal”. Here’s hoping for quick resolution.
Let me preface this by saying every single person experiences lupus differently.
However, if she does have lupus, having a long trip and party/wedding in just a few short months is likely going to be extremely difficult. Most lupus meds take 3-6 months to work and most of the time there will be at least a few medicine adjustments.
ETA: My first flare started last November. It started with strep throat and exploded into an inability to get out of bed and talk. It is almost a year later and I still can’t travel. Yes, there are people who can have a short flare and go into remission never to be sick again. These are the minority. I’m at a specialized lupus clinic with a Rheum who has been working with lupus patients for decades. According to him, my improvement has been a little slow but nothing out of the norm.
fauxmaven, I’m so glad you were able to travel to be with your D during this scary time. How fortunate it is that your BIL from NIH was able to communicate with the doctors treating your D; no doubt he will have many resources and connections to help you, going forward.
Wishing all of you well as you all celebrate your D’s marriage and look forward to introducing your new SIL to D’s American friends!
Thank you for keeping us updated.
She moved to the Netherlands 10 days ago, saw a local doctor, got sick 2 days later and was sent to a nice hospital where she is being kept in isolation, and cannot leave room. Doctors are tapering off Prednisone so they can study her symptoms. May sell their farm to pay hospital bill in Sweden, which we don;t know if it will be covered. The first hospital had won an award for best hospital food in Sweden. Told her she could start a sort of Tripadvisor guide to hospitals in Europe. Hopefully on MON she will have results of MRSA test and can start to socialize.
She has insurance there. Her husband is Dutch.
Your poor D. What an ordeal! But it sounds as if she is being well taken care of.
So, how large is the swedish hospital bill?
We haven’t gotten it yet. Someone told me 125 Euros a day ,plus 240 for the emergency room. Day is FLAT RATE so I am hoping it won’t be too bad. At this moment, she is back in a Dutch hospital, fully insured. On WED she is having a full body PET scan. She walked 50 meters yesterday, before she had to get in a wheel chair. She has her MIL there this week, and I will go after that if she is still in hospital.
Euros or Kronar? Sweden isn’t on the Euro. Hopefully she’s being charged in Kronor because the exchange rate is such that 125K would equal about $14.40.
Surely there is a way to make payments on the bill, if they can’t pay it in full? So they don’t have to sell the farm.
Dang, even 125 euros is cheap. You won’t get anywhere near that cheap of a charge at a hospital in the USA.
It’s hard for me to imagine an inusured European having to “sell the farm” to pay for a hospital bill.
An Irish friend of ours had a newborn airlifted by a medical helicopter to a hospital somewhere in Northern Europe for specialized care that took a couple of weeks… all of it was covered by their home insurance. They paid nothing beyond their monthly insurance bill. They did pay (at dramatically reduced rates) for the baby’s medication after he came home.
Well, my daughter was uninsured for a couple of months. The hospital in Leeuwarden said they weren’t letting her go until they know what’s wrong. Fluid has re entered the heart membrane… I am looking to go soon if she isn’t getting better.
Thoughts and prayers for your daughter and for you too, @fauxmaven. I’m so sorry that she is still ill.
My best to you and your daughter, fauxmaven.
That bill is a non-issue, regardless of whether it is $14 or $125/day. Having healthy children is the focus.
Would a doctor tell you the truth if a patient was seriously ill in the NL? Whether the parents should come? In this case the patient? Would they be honest?
I would hope the doctor would tell the husband if it was serious and he in turn would tell you.
I am sorry that you are dealing with this.