This one has to be filed under utterly ridiculous….I just think it’s gotten way out hand at this point.
So in case you missed it, I was shot at the end of September ’09. Surprising when you consider I’ve been shot at (and never once hit) in some of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. Not so much when you consider the crazy run-up in crime the Atlanta-area has seen in the last 2 months.
This has been quite a stressful ordeal for me, and clearly one of the key things I wanted to leave in 2009, but alas I find myself still paying hospital bills more than 3 months after my shooting.
At time of my incident I couldn’t cover the bills, but found a 3rd party who would. They asked for my police report & medical bills (a whole nother nightmare entirely) to confirm my grievances. After dealing with the aforementioned nightmare of collecting my data, I was more than happy to report a grand total of $1,146 – for 1 gunshot wound…..
….unbefuckinglievable….But hey! Why complain if some else will pay it? Right?
Then, today, I find out that I’m being charged an additional, yes, an additional….wait, don’t even let me finish that; let it marinate. There’s no reason for me to paying an additional anything, I’m the freaking victim here! Worse yet? I’m just finding out about these additional charges, today. I was shot on the 27th of September of LAST YEAR. The added extra? $10,750.88, bringing our wonderful total to, $11,896.88. This of course not counting anything I’ve had to replace or things needed to assist my rehab.
$11,896.88?!?! That’s a new car, a semester at college, every major con of every geek genre possible, funding for an anime convention, a year’s worth of house repairs, more money than I’ve made working in the last 3 years, a trip around all of North America, an IRA contribution, an emergency fund, a comicbook studio, a student loan payment, and in this economy, depending on where you buy, a house, with a tax credit!
….unbefuckinglievable….
Now bare in mind, we’re talking about ONE bullet here. And while that’s all it takes, this shot didn’t put me in a coma, didn’t paralyze me, & [thankfully] didn’t put me through more than a few weeks of rehab. My life might be priceless, but one bullet is not worth $10,000+.
And to add insult to injury, the cops know exactly who assaulted me, but they won’t arrest him, because they want him tried by a grand jury on 8 separate counts of assault from that night (mine included), as opposed to putting the guy away so he can’t hurt anyone else. Let me be crystal, I’m very happy the medical personnel did their jobs, because I almost didn’t make it. I mean, it was almost the end of D-2-da-A; and that would’ve been a sad day for everyone. But if it costs this much to live, the alternative might have been better.
