Back from the exam, and I'm still sick!

I am back from the physical that was mentioned in the last post.  It was short and I failed it spectacularly.  Sadly won't be able to return to the workforce at this time.

My suspicions about the test itself were well founded:  this was indeed a test designed to discredit, and the examiner is being asked to provide a lot of subjective input on the test findings.  It was supposed to be lengthy and difficult, but as I was having full body spasms in my wheelchair from the get go they decided it would not be safe to proceed.

And I didn't even have to talk about the "crazy" side of this business.  I guess if you are sick enough they assume that crazy is part of the package.

The folks at the PT place were absolutely awesome, and the PT guy was the first person to ever, ever, EVER read my chart before sitting down with me.  This saved me from the hour and a half recital of my medical history-which I've gotten used to with every new doctor (and some who just forget.)

UPS delivered my chart to my house yesterday for use in the exam, by the way- it was supposed to go to the PT office.  My chart with the insurance folks is about 2 inches thick and weighs close to 10 lbs.  Leigh read it.

important thing: Mysteriously, my pack also contained complete and very sensitive medical information for another patient who lives clear across the country.  I hope he didn't need it for his exam today.  This would be the doing of ECN, the go-between company that is scheduling exams on behalf of the Reed Group.  If anyone with influence in this situation is reading, and I know you are, ECN is screwing up the paperwork in a profound way that exposes several large entities to the possibility of litigation.   I sure hope the other dude didn't get a full copy of my chart too.  Leighanne is burning up the phone lines on this one- even though we're through the exam process we are concerned about the security of sensitive medical information, and believe that this other guy has every right to be angry about this.    

Anyway, I don't expect to have to take an exam again- but the disability folks are cleaning house. With our zeitgeist of  backlash against the 'lazy folks milking the system" we can expect more of this.

Not to say that those folks don't exist.  In the 90s I worked as the Unit Clerk/Bouncer at Edgemont Hospital-  a drug rehab and psych facility conveniently located smack dab on Hollywood Blvd.  If you think the folks wandering the streets of Hollywood are a little off, you should see what we had locked up.  But I digress- we did have a cadre of patients who would get their disability money on the first or so, leave the hospital, spend it all on drugs, then check themselves back in for the remainder of the month.  They are out there, they are homeless, and I don't know what the heck would happen to any of them if they lost their disability.  I don't think they'd suddenly clean up and become lawyers and doctors.  Something has to happen to break this social cycle.  Pulling the money out is a good start, but you'd better give these folks an alternative to crime and give them one honest shot at really cleaning up-we can't afford the cops we'd need to watch this segment of society if they lose their cash.  We'd better be smart about this.

Irrelevant stuff:
OK, now I'm heading back to Lord of the Rings Online.  In a daring move, my hobbit Mowse trekked the miles through hostile enemy territory- stealthing and quietly killing like a Mossad commando- to fully infiltrate the fortress of Dol Guldur(!) and grab screenshots.  For any old Tolkien heads out there, well this was pretty cool.  For hardcore gamers out there- the challenge of doing this was very, very real and I had to be supremely tactical to pull it off, and it wasn't a quest.  Is there anything more fun?

Along the way I looted no less than 50 legendary weapons, all of which sold on the bazaar, but have yet to find a single weapon for myself.  Now that's karma for you.  Hmmm, I suspect a ploy to keep us playing.

Anyway, that's where I am.  For any gamer buds who might read my blog: sorry but we aren't doing the guild thing right now.  Running towns, running guilds, settling petty disputes, officiating at character weddings-- nah. Leigh and I are just playing.  It would be cool to see people though and maybe we would form a loose band of real world friends if they were in here-but we're not building the mega-guild again.  Anyway, we're on Arkenstone if anyone else is playing, or drops in to check the game out.  It's free now, and it's very, very easy.  Loot is falling like candy and prosperity is everywhere.  The game economy is actually working and money is very, very easy to make.