The Unnoticed Billionaire by Laura E Brown

Author:Laura E Brown [Brown, Laura E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Typewriter Pub
Published: 2022-06-20T05:00:00+00:00

***

I wait until Lucy and Nick leave for work to pay a visit to Administration. Gail refuses to leave, which I am grateful for, wanting to be there when they finally allow us in to see Mom.

I wait for my turn in the long line and slowly approach the lady behind the counter.

“Hi, I’m here to get the bill for a patient, my mom.”

“Is she being discharged? Or is this regarding a past patient?” she asks while she moves a bunch of documents around her desk.

“Actually, she is a current patient.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Bills are not finalized until the patient is discharged. So, once she is given the order, you can sign off on the bills.”

“No, I know. I need an estimate . . .” I look behind me, then turn to her and whisper, “for bankruptcy.”

The nurse nods and adjusts her glasses while putting the last of the folders away,

“What’s her name?”

“Amanda Wilson.”

“There you go.” She grabs a paper that comes out of the printer next to her a minute later. “Okay, let’s see. This right here,” she circles a four-digit number with a blue pen, “is the administration cost. Her Angioplasty is about thirty-six thousand, but it’s not finalized. Here’s a list of other expenses sometimes charged for cases similar to hers. It is not a guarantee, okay?”

Finally, she puts the paper before me. I gulp as I stare down at the cost. A total of seventy-thousand dollars. No co-pays, no insurance, no aids. All out of pocket.

“The doctor mentioned something about the pacemaker cost. Do you have an estimate for that?”

“On average, it usually costs sixty-thousand without insurance. Here’s a list of insurances that might be helpful in this situation. But, most often, they have a one-year waiting period. Give them a call anyway. Explain the situation. Maybe there is a way . . .” She trails off.

I accept the paper with the estimates and thank her.

With my head held low, I round the corner to a more secluded area and lean against the cool white wall. The paper in my hand starts shaking, and, soon, my eyes become too blurry to notice the shake.

When I return to the waiting area, Gail stands up immediately and approaches me hastily,

“They said you can visit her once she is out of CCU,” she says, meeting me in the middle. My eyes widen. I rush past her toward the visitor window.

A lady in the reception checks me and guides me inside to prepare for the visit. She hands me a new set of light green scrubs, sterilized and sealed in a plastic bag before asking me to drop all my belongings in one of the lockers. Suddenly, my hands start shaking, so much so that I can’t even put my arms into the sleeves. In the privacy of the locker room, I brace myself against the cool tiles to gather myself.

Walking into the CCU ward is like walking into a quiet, cold, and empty large corridor. The only sound is coming from the several active machines and equipment in the room.

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