Whitney Eaton

Lisa Bickmore
English 2010
February 15, 2017

Profile Memoir

Well, you wanna go home today? Dr. Mathews asked Ray hours before his
discharge. Youve got your incentive spirometer, nine of 15 broken ribs and
things are just going to take some time to heal. Ray thought on these words
for a moment, and it just didnt feel right. Still, he nodded his head yes. He
had spent the first two days of his new year in Portneuf Medical Center, and
he was ready to go home. At this point we have done everything that we
can. Weve given you the muscle relaxants and pain medications to help you
stay somewhat comfortable as you heal. Quite frankly there is not much of
anything else that we can do for you, Dr. Mathews explained to Jessica and
Ray.

Just two days before that, some of the family had decided to take a weekend
trip up to Pebble Creek Ski Resort near Pocatello, Idaho. It had snowed quite
a bit in the previous few days so Ray, Jessica, their son Isaac and his wife
Katie thought itd be a great weekend get-away. Around 2:30 in the afternoon
as Ray was leading the way through some trees, a stump was hidden amidst
the uncovered shrubbery that caught the tip of one of Rays skies. This
caused him to lose his skies, go head-first into a tree, break nine of his ribs
and lacerate his spleen, liver, and left kidney. Of course there were other
minor cuts and bruises, but those werent to be worried about. At least Ray
had his helmet on!

When Obamacare went into action Jess and Ray thought things were going to
begin looking up for them. However, because they werent a minority, poor,
or unemployed, Obamacare didnt even touch em. Instead insurance just
kept increasing in cost by $2000-$4000 every year without fail. They realized
fairly quickly that it was just a tax on the American people to help those that
were less fortunate, on disability, low income, or without jobs. Unfortunately,
the plan was not going to help them, their family, or their company. Even the
children decided to get on Obamacare because it was cheaper per month
than staying on the family plan through the family business.

This was just a great excuse for the insurance company to not have to pay
for several extra days in the hospital, Jessica, Rays wife, thought. Whether
the Portneuf Hospital was negligent, or the case managers were overly
anxious to discharge Ray, no one knows. We are not in Portneufs network,
so yes we would have to pay 30% of the hospital bill plus copay. We already
have a $1000 deductible and are covering 100% for the 25 employees in our
roofing company. Ray and I have been wondering how we can keep medical
coverage for everyone. Every year seems to be the last that we can continue
to provide benefits, yet we always find a way.

Following the painful ride home on that Thursday afternoon Jessica and Ray
had high hopes of a home health nurse contacting them promptly to assist in
coordinating Rays recovery. Since he wasnt receiving any more breathing
treatments, like he had when he was inpatient, Ray was beginning to
become anxious with extremely low oxygen levels. He was having an
incredible amount of pain with every breath. His abdomen was distended and
firm. This was a very emotional time for everyone, but especially Ray. It was
a realization that his life was on the line and he wasnt ready for it.

A friend of the family, who happened to be a physical therapist, dropped by

to check on him on Friday, almost a week after the accident. Immediately he
said, You need to go get more labs drawn and have a repeat CT scan first
thing in the morning. Early Saturday morning Ray went to Alta View Hospital
for the tests. When results were obtained he was sent directly to the IMC
Hospital in Murray for admission. He received a prompt consultation with the
trauma surgeon. Because of his extremely bloated and firm abdomen, as well
as his lacerated organs and nine fractured ribs, surgery was scheduled for
first thing Sunday morning. During the five-hour ordeal they removed one
liter of bloody fluid from his abdomen and 1.5 liters from his chest. A chest
tube was placed due to his lungs being partially collapsed. In a relatively new
procedure they were able to plate six of the nine rib fractures. The surgery
left him with a JP drain, the chest tube, extensive bruising, and an 18-inch
incision on his left side and upper back. Finally, he could breathe easily and
oxygenate well and his pain was greatly reduced because of the successful
surgery. He can now begin his healing five days after the injury. Granted the
insurance coverage wasnt the best, but it was better than having nothing.

There have still been days when Jessica and Ray just sit at home and express
gratitude that things werent worse. Its a good thing you came home from
Portneuf Medical Center when you did. You would have died there! one of
Rays good friends, Jeff, commented after the whole ordeal. Its true, they
didnt know what to do with me, Ray replied. The people on the ski hill
were hesitant to transport me because they didnt know exactly what they
were dealing with. I had no external bleeding but Isaac could see the
displacement of my ribs. I got to take my first toboggan ride and I will say
that they didnt do too bad of a job. There were a few bumps here and there
but they had four guys leading that sled and we got down ok. You know,
they have to be careful because youre such a liability for them, Jeff replied
having been a ski patroller and instructor for 30 years himself. January 1,
2017 would be a day never to be forgotten. In fact, Live like you were
dying, wasnt all that far off, but Jessica and Ray are grateful to have more
time to live.