Round 2

Joey arrived at Jefferson University Hospital around 8pm on December 12, 2008. He had to go a by ambulance and I was unable to go with him. I remember it was snowing hard out that night and I was so nervous for him to be going that night. He called me as soon as he got there and said he was fine. He told me was ready to fight this. So, round 2 began. They did one surgery about  the week before Christmas and then sent him home for the holidays. I was very grateful to have him home but also know that typically insurance is not ok with just transporting someone so they could be home for the holiday. I talked with the nurse directly who stated she talked with our insurance company and they agreed to send him home and pick him up via ambulance to return him to the hospital in Philly. The reason it was so important is because they took all of the hardware out of Joey's back and he was not able to sit up more then 15 degrees. There would be no way for us to transport him and we do not have the money to pay for an ambulance transport. On January 2, 2009 The ambulance did come to pick him up, however; there was a $1000.00 charge for it. Upon his return to the hospital they complete the rest of the surgeries and sent him back to the same rehab facility in Allentown. The same things were he had to re-learn just months before he was learning again. They only kept him in the rehab facility for about a month this time. Joey came home at the end of February. This time we were more hopeful that he would maintain a stable spine and we could move on with our life. We had nurses coming in a few times a week to keep an eye on his surgical wound. Joey had a small spot at the bottom of his back that just would not close. The surgeons ordered blood work and test. On September 28, 2009, the day after our 6th wedding anniversary we learned Joey would need another round of surgeries.