Waiting is the Hardest (W.I.T.H Podcast 🎙)

Ep 5-The fight to get home

• Johnita and Lisa • Season 1 • Episode 5

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Johnita takes her first private jet home to recover and is promptly charged a quarter of a million dollars 😡😳. 

Johnita:

God is moving in ways that I just didn't. I didn't even see. Five years ago, I almost lost my life and my leg. And I told myself that it would be time to tell my story when I could tell it without tears. So after five years, I'm finally ready. Waiting has been the hardest part of this journey hit snapped. Now, if you're sensitive to mature subjects, hit stop now because this story is raw, real, and unfiltered.

Lisa:

Episode five, the fight to get home. I'm Lisa

Johnita:

And I'm, Johnita. Welcome to waiting is the hardest.

Lisa:

Okay, well, we're moving right along in your journey. And as you mentioned, and as the listeners know, this accident happened away from home.

Johnita:

That's right.

Lisa:

So you were in Roanoke at the hospital. They're now needing to get home. You touched on it a little bit more, but let's go into more detail. Uh, what that journey looked like? Well, it was just a fight, um, because the insurance company, I was gonna say, cause you have insurance. Yes. I had lots of insurance. And the, but the insurance did not think that it was, uh, the F me going home was a medical necessity.

Johnita:

They felt like I should be able to rehab in Virginia and, you know, and just, just stay in Virginia and.

Lisa:

No one in the immediate area and anyone and your recovery was supposed to take nine to 12 months and they thought that you needed to stay put?

Johnita:

Yeah. If it were up to them. Um, if it were up to the insurance company, they woulda had me put that rod in my leg, closed it on up with the, you know, with the, uh, With the flap, put a skin graph on it. Let me heal there for having long that took and sent me right on my way, which would have led to me having to have my leg amputated. You know, again, you have to, you have to advocate for yourself and, and that's what I did. And thankfully, um, Dr. Seeman advocated for me, um, he talked about the need for me to get home, the benefit of me being at home based on the length of recovery. Um, He wrote a letter for me, there was also another doctor there. Uh, I cannot remember his name. I've it has something to do with Mike Bivins from, from, uh, new edition. What? Okay. I can not remember, but he was very instrumental in helping me to get home as well. And um, and then luckily my husband's. Um, he worked at the hospital at the time. And so we were able to get some information about the number of beds available because the beds were, the hospital was full at that time. And so we were able to get some information about, you know, pending, um, discharges and, and then we kind of leveraged that information with the insurance company to get an approval to go home. Now, I will say that, uh, You know, that was a, it was a very, very expensive flight cost. Um, a quarter of a million dollars to make the medical, um, air ambulances, what they call those, um, types of jets to get home. It was extremely expensive. They did not cover it all. And they came, they were expecting me to pay for it, um, years later. And as a matter of fact, Last year I was on the rope for, I think they, because what happens is the the air ambulance people are private entities, so they can charge whatever they want. They're unregulated. And so, you know, they charge just like a Delta airlines and United airlines. They charge, you know, comparable amounts for, um, for these trips. And so. Your insurance company is only obligated to pay what's reasonable and customary. And in my case, it was like a drop of the bucket. They paid like$20,000 or something like that. They based it on research. What, you know, flights cover even with overtime because it was the holiday and the rest. And I was on the hook for$225,000. And they wanted to know if I was paying a cash check or credit card, like, you know, I don't have that money, but again, a word about advocacy. You have to advocate for yourself. I wrote my legislatures. I'm consulted with your dad. He helped me look, you know, advise me on a, such some situations. Um, my legislatures, uh, my congression, my Congress, people did not respond. I then took things into my own hand. I purchased LinkedIn premium, found the name of the head of the actual company that was, um, asking for the money, sent him a message. Uh, tweeted out some messages to get some attention. Their council people caught me. We went through some due diligence to try to recover the money and once, um, and once my insurance company held firm and said, no, uh, the company wiped, clean my bill and that just happened last year.

Lisa:

Praises, go up on that. Amen

Johnita:

25,000. Yeah. Wow. They wanted all their money on time and I did not have not one thin dime of it. So, you know, um, again, yeah. Waiting, right. Writing and advocating and, and being relentless, relentless, and not letting things go and not just letting people tell you, yes, you owe this money and you know, like their families are going bankrupt because of this issue. They, these companies are supposed to be doing a little bit better at charging a fair, a fair rate. I don't know what the percentage is and how, you know, things have fared in the last five years since my situation. But, um, but yeah, I, I, there was a story out. In 2018 about, um, this issue and how families were going bankrupt because they, you know, they're in this, they're in this catastrophic situation. They don't really have a choice. They need the kit, they need the service. And then later on they're on the hook for it.

Lisa:

So let me make sure I understand this. You almost lose your leg. You are, uh, just drained all the way around.

Johnita:

Yep.

Lisa:

And here it is, some company is thinking that you as an individual, as a victim, You're supposed to cough up$225,000. And they've worked with, I don't know who your insurance company is, but we're going to say it's a multi-million dollar company that only gave them 10% or less than, but this everyday person who is still struggling, still recovering, it's supposed to. Cough up the rest.

Johnita:

And I had multiple insurances. I had my automobile insurance because Michigan is a third Um, I'm sorry, Michigan. It was a no fault insurance state. So, so they were picking up some of the tab I had and I had two medical insurances and yeah, yeah. I was still on the hook for that amount and they were expecting me to. Come forward, but thank goodness. Um, thank goodness. Um, the, the company, you know, through me, advocating and reaching out to them, they were very, um, fair. And, and I remember last year when I got the call last, last fall, I think it was, I got the call that they were going to go ahead and they were going to, um, you know, relieve my responsibility. It was, it was just the best phone call ever, because it just felt like I was riding around with this monkey on my back for five, four. Well, at that point it was four years and, and I just, you know, I'm like, I don't want to go bankrupt, but I will, if I have to, because I can't give it to you. Right. You know, but thankfully my situation turned out. Um, didn't turned out that I didn't have to do that, but you know, there are a lot of families that aren't as fortunate, but hopefully now that they're listening to this podcast, you know, hopefully they'll share some of those in, uh, in that some of those tips that I've shared about advocacy and, you know, kind of reaching out to folks and taking things into your own hands

Lisa:

and, you know, We thank goodness that, that cape, you know, might be off from time to time stays in the closet. It's sometimes like Clark Kent. She just stepped into that, that booth, that closet, she put on that cake, she come out and do what she got her business, and then she, but here's the thing that's interesting.

Johnita:

So I noticed right away. When I was in Roanoke in the hospital, that my attention was different. My attention span, uh, was not as it wasn't as sharp. All right. I know you all would probably say, nah, it was fine, but I, I noticed a difference. And, um, and so, and even now, like my, um, I was talking to a friend the other day. And I said, you know, certain things are mentally taxing for me, that would not have been mentally taxing for me before. Um, and it's very, there, there, little slight differences, but I noticed so yes, I still have the ability, but the, but the, the, the. The texting that it has on my brain to do those things is very real. Right. And it's, and it's new. It's something that I've come to accept now. But at first it was, it used to really make me mad. Um, but it's different, you know, like I don't watch, I don't watch TV as much. I can't, I can't handle. I can't handle like all of that, all of the noise and stuff from the TV. So I'd rather just listen to music or I'd rather just sit in silence. So, you know yeah. That she, she brings the cape out occasionally, but it's not as crisp as it used to be. It's a little, it's a little worn.It's a little worn down, you know? So, so yeah. Okay.

Lisa:

And that, that that's a whole nother episode. We can talk about some, some worn down capes. We all have our various reasons for shell where some of those capes get a little worn out. Yeah. So we know you made it home. Yep. It the most expensive flight of your life.

Johnita:

Right. So what was it like once you were back in Michigan? Man when I was back in Michigan, I felt like there was a ticker tape parade. There was not a ticker tape parade, but I felt like it, like, I just felt like, oh, like the hero has come home. And, and I, it was just good for me to be on my own in my own state. I was, I was just so excited. I was so excited to be back in the hospital. You know, my husband, where my husband worked, worked at the time. And, and so. It's all the people that I know, just all of his coworkers, his friends, my friends, because from when I used to work there and it just felt like home, it was home. And, um, and I was just very happy. You know, I was very happy to be at home. Now. I will say that the, on the flip side, while I was happy to be home, I was still dealing with that lack of confidence. So I didn't want anybody to see me. I see me. I didn't want to visit her so nothing like that, but I want to talk to anybody, but, but I was happy to be at home and, um, or to be in the hospital rather, but it was, uh, Yeah, it was, it was, uh, it was, it was, um, it was bittersweet.

Lisa:

Right. How did you manage that access? Right? How did, did you one communicated start saying, no, I don't want company, or did you just kind of roll with the punches because you knew people wanted to lay eyes on you. You've been through a lot, you know, blah, blah, blah. How did you handle that? The latter I just, I just had to roll with it. I. I belong to, I belong to a church in Ann Arbor.New hope Baptist Church and I were, and, um, you know, I've been there, I've raised my family. There is my church home and there was no way that I could say no to my church family. Right. And, um, and even though I didn't want it, I did need it as I would, as I would later learn. One of the things about the old me is that because I was so driven and determined and focused, I didn't, I didn't put a lot of, I wasn't really interested in. Other people like all of the little small tech, how you doing? Oh yeah. How your kids doing? I did it because that's what I needed to do. Right. But I didn't enjoy it.

Johnita:

And what I learned from the accident is how to stop and how to appreciate people. And I learned to take, to show grace and kindness. Not that I didn't show kindness before, but a genuine kind of.

Lisa:

Uh, genuine concern. I really, really want to know, how is your family?

Johnita:

How are you doing? Yes. And they're now don't get me wrong. There are times when I'm like, oh my God, I did not feel like I do not feel like doing this. But when, when those, when those times happen, I remember how people. Um, reached out to me and extended concern to me during my time of need. And so I just feel like it's my service and my duty to show the same compassion and concern to another. So, so, you know, it's a roundabout way of answering your question and saying, I didn't want to, but I, but again, God is moving in ways that you just, that I just didn't, I didn't even see. Right or understand at the time. And he was preparing me to be a more concerned and conscientious and thoughtful human. And, and I, I know that I am all of those things now, but then in 2017, Uh, no, I don't. I, no, I did not want to talk to you. I did not want to see you do not be at my door, but then, you know, people are at my door anyway and I'm not going to kick them out. So, you know, so now I did find ways of. Like with phone calls, you know, me and phone call.

Lisa:

Oh, I know

Johnita:

it it's like me and text messages. It's like, yeah, I'm going to get back to I'll text you all day long, but calling, oh my gosh, me and calling have me and phone calls have not been friends in forever. So what I did do, because that was giving me a lot of anxiety with the cost that, that I was receiving. I, um, I left a, I changed my, my phone message and it said, you know, feel free to please leave a message. Although a text messages prefer. And my family thought I was so mean by leaving that. And I'm like, you know, I have to do this. I have to let people know that texting is my preferred mode of communication. And I can't get on the phone and tell you that texting is my preferred mode of communication, because I don't want to talk, I have anxiety with talking. And so that was. That was a big, and as a matter of fact, I just took that message off my phone on last weekend.

Lisa:

Let's see. I would have said that I messaged is still on your phone to this day.

Johnita:

I took it off. My friend was here last weekend and she was like, you know, your message says, you prefer texting. And I was like, oh, I guess it's time to change it. I just changed it five years later. Y'all I just changed it. But. And y'all

Lisa:

let me just say this. I ignore that. So I still call, I still leave a voicemail. She'll call me when she wants to talk, but no, I'm not going to be leaving. No text message. So,

Johnita:

oh, so then I guess I should say something about, uh, opioid prevention and addiction at this point, because. I am very proud of the fact, extremely proud of the fact that I am not an opioid addict after 15 surgeries, especially the severity of surgeries that I went through. And the reason why I'm not an addict is because I recognized the signs of addiction right at the beginning. So I learned. I noticed that when I took opioids, I liked talking on the phone. I kid you not, I kid you not. And when I was recovering, there was a time, you know, cause um, I was trying to get back to work. I was working on rehab to get back to work. And I had attained a super supervisor position and I was going to, when I returned back to work, I was returning to the supervisor position where you have to, you know, make a lot of phone calls and that sort of thing. And I remember saying to myself, oh, if I just take one of these pills before I call somebody, or at the beginning of the day, Or even throughout the day, I'll be able to get through my phone calls. Now it sounds very, it might sound silly, but that was the first time of opioid addiction, because I was, I was finding a way or considering a way to use the pill that was not for its intended purpose, which was for the managing the pain of my injuries. Right, right. And so that was, that was really a warning sign. And, and, and you have, you know, I say that to say, you know, it's important that you know yourself and, and you know, the medication works, but you have to know yourself and you have to be cognizant of those little things that are kind of amiss. And when that happens, you have to say, well, what does. Because once I, once I learned that once I realized that I was like, oh, wait a minute, I need to have a conversation about switching to something else that will manage my pain, but does not, it's not in the, in the opioids. And I was able to do that.

Lisa:

How did your doctors, uh, handle, um, those prescriptions? Did they check in with you? Were they like, Hey, you know, we want to start winning your back or were they involved in trying to keep you from becoming addicted or it was kind of like, we'll give you whatever you need.

Johnita:

No, at that point they were giving me whatever I needed. And I was the one who, from that very beginning of noticing, you know, me saying that I could use this pill for this purpose, the unintended purpose. Then I became very. Um, very focused on making sure that I was pulling back, making sure that we were switching to something else that was not in the same, um, uh, uh, habit forming, uh, category. Right. But that was served the intended purpose. And the other thing that I would do, um, through the, with the procedures, with the surgeries, you know, they give you this medication. And only one person, only one person said to me now, you know, You have to take, you take this medication, but as soon as you are able to not take a dose, don't take a dose stop taking the dose because B, because she, she knew that I was going through a lot of surgeries and she said, what will happen is if you're taking the. And you continue to take it and you don't stop. Then when you go to have another surgery, you'll need even more and then you'll need even more. And then next thing you know, you're on like this huge dose. And so what I would do. Is, I would take the medication, you know, for however long I needed to. But as soon as I felt like, okay, I can drop this down to something else. I dropped it down immediately. And even if that meant, you know, I mean, I wasn't in, it's not like I was forcing myself to be in pain, but I was just. Cognizant of making sure, like listening to my body, listening to my pain. Okay. Wait, you're feeling all right. It's a little bit better Scott taking it. And then I was switched over to something else. And that way, when I had to go into another surgery, I didn't have that tolerance built up. Now. I am not a doctor and I am not, um, I'm not making any recommendations for anyone. I'm just telling you what worked for.

Lisa:

People needed to hear that because you just don't know. And we are so accustomed, especially in the black community to listen to the doctor, you listened to the doctor period, you do exactly what the doctor says. And sometimes that does not put you on the right path. Long-term yeah.

Johnita:

And, and again, we are not suggesting that people just go rogue and not listen to their doctors. What we are saying is that. You know, you ask those questions, doctor, I am concerned about being addicted to this medication, or what are the, what's the percentage of addiction rates with patients who take this drug? And if the percentage is high, you know, you make a plan to get off, you know, to wean yourself off. So we are, we are advocating for. Um, you know, just asking questions and being involved and, um, and making sure that you share your concerns and share your thoughts with your medical practitioner, your medical providers.

Lisa:

Develop a true partnership.

Johnita:

Absolutely. Absolutely. I will say, um, I will say that my doctors in, uh, And at Michigan, my doc, my medical team was top-notch. We were like hand in hand, you know, working together and, um, they're phenomenal. They are, they are phenomenal medical providers to this day, to this.

Lisa:

So what happened once you got home? So you finally get out of that, you have them, you finally ended up back at your home. What was that like?

Johnita:

So at first it was, it was good. I was happy when I got home. And I had, um, IV and antibiotics that I had to take because I did develop like a whole bunch of infections because of that, because of that open wound and being exposed outside and, um, rolling over and all that good stuff. So, um, so I was in, so I was on IV antibiotics, ex fixation. And I had drains coming out of my bag. It was a whole hot mess. So I was set up in the living room and a medical bed and, um, and my husband took off work to take care of me. And he did a phenomenal job. I can't say enough about the care that he took to take care of me. And then

Nurse to Antoine (background):

you're going to do it. So to take care of these broken, you just then squish the liquid down in here. You don't have to squish all the liquid. It doesn't have to be filled up, but you need it about halfway full and then you, but it was differently swirling because my husband and I gently swirling...

Johnita:

We still, like we had like boundaries mirror, like, like boundaries we didn't go into the bathroom together, yes, your time you take your time. I'm going to take my time. Like we didn't, you know, some things, right. So now, you know, you've moved from this. Too. And even though, like you asked in the previous episode about if I was ever like self-conscious or what have you about him seeing the leg? That was fine, but he had to be up close and personal with me. He had to get the, you know, he's bathing me. He's dressing me. He's helping me to use the bathroom. I'm using a bedside commode. It is up close and personal and it is embarrassing and it is frustrating. I don't want you helping me. I don't want you wiping my butt. I don't want any of that at all. I don't want it. I want to do things for myself and I couldn't, I couldn't. And so while I was happy to be home, I was not happy about that. And, um, and I was not happy about the the progress the doctor said, and I mentioned in last episode that the doctor said it was going to be nine to 12 months, nine to 12 months seems like a cakewalk. When you are at the bottom of the mountain, nine to 12 months feels like an awfully long time. It feels like thousands of years when you are uh, maybe a quarter of the way up and your legs are tired and you are fatigued and you're hungry and you're, you know, you're sweaty, funky, and you know, it's, it's a whole nother once you, and so in the journal I wrote about it and, and I said, um, two months later, the weight of his words, the doctor's words, about nine to 12 months, bear down on my shoulder. Taking one step forward only to be pushed back. I feel like I'm going up against a big bully in a playground fight. I land one punch, but nothing. I landed another, he barely moves a third and he lasts menacingly before bam. He strikes me and I punched. Several yards, the wind is knocked out of me. I stumble and try to regain my composure I'm down, but not out. And then slowly I'm back up, filling my lungs with as much accigent as I can before going back for more, not that I'm a glutton for punishment. I'll keep fighting the big bully of recovery until I win. I'll get stronger mentally and physically, but make no mistake. I will win.

Lisa:

Wow. That's powerful. It's honest, but it's powerful.

Johnita:

It was a, it was a lot, it was, yeah, it was, it was really a lot. And then, you know, so then, so I'm feeling that way. And then in addition to that, um, you know, I can't get in the car. Like we, we gotta go to these doctor's appointments, but I can't get in the car. So the ambulance comes to get me and right. So every time they get. Because your leg has to be yet it's in this big old metal, ex fixator thing. So it's, it's big, it's heavy. I can't move it. Right. And, and I'll have to put pictures in the show notes, so you all can see what I'm, what it looks like. It was just a lot going on. And then, um, you know, and I've got, I've got my, my fingers started peeling. So now I'm wearing gloves. It was weird. It was really weird. So every time I have to go to a doctor's appointment, they have to call the ambulance to come and get me to lo is a whole procedure. You know, I got to move over onto the stretcher. They got to put me in the back. They got asked me a bunch of questions, you know, they're doing their job. And then, you know, then, um, so I'm going to the hospital and then I'm being enrolled to my. My appointments on the stretcher with the paramedics and my husband. And, and then, you know, I can't really get clothes on. So I got on like a gown and a jacket, like it's a mess. And then I'm seeing everybody that I know. It was a mess. It was a mess. I just felt, I just felt like an idiot. I just felt, I just felt, I just felt stupid. It was just so bad. It was just so bad. Lisa. And, um, so I hated going to the doctor's appointments. Um, I D I didn't feel. It's a lot for somebody who places a lot of emphasis on their outward appearance, which I was at that time. It was a lot for me to go through.

Lisa:

Um, it sounds like God stripped you completely, completely down to build you back up. At that point. Are you still thankful to have the leg or are you like, I just should have amputated the leg. Where are you in that thought process? Man, that's a good question. Um,

Johnita:

I don't know. Uh, no, I do know. Yeah, at that point, I, I did not want the leg. But I was afraid to admit that I didn't want the leg because I didn't want God to take my leg. So I'm secretly like this leg secretly really be like, oh wait, wait. I mean, it don't take it. I was in conflict. I didn't want the leg to go anywhere, but it was so ugly. It was so terrible. It was awful. It was just. It was just awful. And, and then in addition to that, it was painful. It's ugly to look at. It was painful, painful to feel. I had the skin graphs. Then, then the skin graphs were painful. It was the most painful thing that I've ever experienced. So skin graphs, um, but then a part of my leg, a part of the the graft(flap), um, failed.

Lisa:

Ooh. Ooh.

Johnita:

And when the part of the graph fail to take that's when I started to appreciate the leg, because there was like, uh, um, at that point there was like a seven centimeter size, um, opening left. And, and we had to figure out a plan, you know, what to do with it. And so we, they put a, um, a wound vac on me and a wound vac is like this little, it's a vacuum basically for your body part. And they, they put it on, on the area and they pull, um, they pull bottles. I know I'm not explaining it right, but I'm doing the best that I can. And essentially it was closing, it was making the wound smaller. And so the plan was for me to use this wound vac, keep the, until it to have the wound, that the part of the muscle that was, that had failed to have it shrink down to a considerable size when they could just where they could just take another skin graft and cut.

Lisa:

Got it. Okay.

Johnita:

And that was a very, very, very devastating, um, decision to make. I, um, you know, because again, it wasn't part of the plan, right. It delayed my recovery. Um, it delayed my ability to. Be be done or kind of get to the finish line with, with the surgery. And, um, and I, and I had to make a decision about whether I wanted to go ahead and, um, because I was waiting for, I needed to wait for the, the, the graft to heal before they could put this rod in my leg, which would allow me to bear weight on my leg again. And, and so I had to make this decision. Do you leave. Uh, the seventh centimeter wound open and put the skin graft. I mean, put the rod in and see what happens or do you wait a little bit more and have shrink down the size, put the skin graft on it and then do the rot. And I couldn't make a decision. And my uncle Rob, who was, who has had been with me every step of the way and had not turned me wrong at any route, he was saying he was. You need to wait, you need to put the wound wet wound back on. And I was just like crying, just crying and crying. Cause I didn't, I didn't want to do that. And then my other good friend, Alicia, she was, you know, I remember calling her and I'm like crying uncontrollably and she's like, what? What's wrong? And I'm like, I don't know what to do. Like I'm tired, you know, I'm tired at this point. Right. I've read that portion. I'm tired. And. And so I was talking to my home nurse about it and I was talking to my husband about it. And, um, and I decided to go with my, my uncle's opinion because he hadn't steered me wrong. And as soon as I made the decision to wait, I felt peace and I was. And at that point, I learned a lesson. I learned that one because the risk was, if I put the rod in with that wound open, it could, I could get an infection. Here we go out at all. That progress was for nothing. So what I learned was when you make the right decision, when it is from God, and it is the right decision, there's a peace, there's a peace. That just comes over you automatically. And that was a turning point. And the other turning point was, oh, you don't, you don't want to lose this leg. The thought of going ahead and putting that right in. And the, and, and the possibility of losing the leg is frightening you, so you need to appreciate what you have. And that was a turning point. With me and my injury.

Lisa:

Next time on waiting is the hardest

Johnita:

...What exactly they're looking at. They'll be confused, trying to comprehend what happened to me was I born like this, maybe she was in the military, served in the war, sacrifices body part... The views expressed in this podcast are my own and should not be substituted for those of a trained medical professional.

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