Bart slipped and fell in an icy parking lot last Saturday (Feb 25).

I took him to the ER on Monday (since he needed to get a referral from his Primary Care Physician before he could do anything, and she’s not around on Sundays) – he got Xrayed and nothing was broken, so went to the Orthopaedic doctor on Thursday. Were told that he needs an MRI done on his knee so they can see if he tore anything since the swelling hasn’t gone down hardly at all. He won’t fit in the machine up here so we’ll have to go to Grand Rapids sometime this week. More as the story continues …

The latest news is that he is waiting for the insurance company (HMO) to issue an authorization number so that he may have the MRI done – tomorrow marks a week since his doctor asked for the auth number, and when he called on Wednesday (3/7) they said it can sometimes take up to two weeks. The knee is still swollen.

As of today (3/14/06) – no auth number yet. Bart called his HMO provider and they said they never got a request, and the doctor’s assistant says she submitted it on 3/3.

FINALLY – as of last Friday (3/24/06), all of the referrals and authorizations were taken care of and I am taking Bart to Grand Rapids tomorrow to get his MRI done. He has another appointment with the orthopaedic specialist on Monday April 3, where he will find out what damage has been done, and if he needs surgery, PT, or just more rest for his knee to heal.

Last Update: Bart’s knee appears to have fully recovered, after a month or so of physical therapy to rebuild the muscle that atrophied due to 6 weeks of non-use. He probably could have started walking and using his leg normally after a week or 2, but didn’t because of all the HMO red tape with his doctor and the MRI being delayed so long.