Due to some serious health issues and multiple surgeries to address them since March 16th, my wife has not been able to drive her 2006 XK8 (or any other vehicle for that matter) for more than two months now. So I have to remember to take her car out for a spin a couple of times per week to keep the fluids moving and the battery refreshed. At 6-foot-7, I have no legroom, headroom (unless the top is down), knee room, or foot room in her car and have never enjoyed driving it as a result....

I sold my 2005 S-Type a couple of weeks ago because I no longer needed it although I still enjoyed it. Now if I sell her XK8 (without telling her of course), we would be down to just two vehicles that rarely need anything other than routine maintenance from me (my trusty 1999 Dodge Ram 5.9-litre pickup and our go-anywhere do-anything 2013 Subaru Outback 3.6R AWD SUV)….

I wonder what the chances are for me to be able to get away with selling her XK8 without her stabbing me in my sleep....

 

 

What makes you think the end would be so quick and painless?

Graham

 

Almost every marriage faces this kind of test, sooner or later. It's important to think long term.

"Happy wife, happy life," they say, and everybody knows that "they" know what they're talking about. Resist the impulse to act impulsively and accidentally generate irreparable, long term resentment and possible repercussion; women today can throw further than Lorena Bobbitt... Put a battery tender on it in between opportunities to drop the top and put it through it's proper paces, and just check the tire pressures and fluid levels in the interim. Your advice to members on other issues is just too valuable and would be missed...

We're all praying for you. And more importantly, for a quick recovery for her...

 

Death Wish in Raleigh!!!
NO NO NO. Let her decide, she just might when she comes out of all the cutting and prodding they have been doing on her lately.
Wayne

 

I'm sorry but no. This is wrong. It is a terrible thing to do as a husband. It is HER car, it is for HER to decide what happens to it. If you don't fit in it, don't drive it. How would YOU FEEL if she sold your trusty Dodge Ram (or anything that is yours) without YOUR CONSENT? Yeah, real shitty. It is a breach of trust, and it is a good way of demonstrating that you don't care about her. And even if you do care about her, she will not perceive it that way and it will definitely be one of the biggest fights of your marriage.

Hell, if my spouse did that, I think I would have my lawyer serve her the divorce papers first thing in the morning. A stabbing might even be more appropriate. Just let it all run its course. It's highly likely that the hospital bill alone will lead her to consider selling the Jag.

 

^^ Some folks are apparently unable to recognize a joke when they read one. Perhaps I came across as a bit too serious!

I have no intention of selling her beloved XK8 out from under her. I was simply blowing off a little excess steam after a very difficult couple of months here in our household. She has the benefit of some highly-skilled surgeons and supporting medical staff, and I expect that she will indeed be driving again within the next few weeks once she regains the strength and stamina required to be safe while doing so....

 

Jon, I for one knew it was a joke and others in the household may have been concerned. Just a little, LOL.
You could never get a restful sleep in that house anymore.
Give our best to Jan and hope for her to be rolling in short order.

 

 

The lining of her right lung began filling with fluid in mid-March. Surgery was performed to drain the lung and look for signs of cancer (she has never smoked). No cancer was found, but the lung began filling with fluid again shortly after surgery, so another surgery was performed to drain it again. The initial diagnosis was some form of viral pneumonia that had cleared on its own. Wrong - the lung once again began filling with fluid, so medical talc was injected into the lining of the lung in an effort to stop the fluid from reoccurring. Her thoracic surgeon was convinced the talc would stop the fluid from coming back. But it did not. There had to be another reason for the cause....

Complete body CT scans were performed in an effort to find out what else may be going on inside her. A large mass was discovered growing outside her uterus, so OB/GYN specialists were called in. Their research pointed to an extremely rare condition called Meigs Syndrome. In a nutshell, the general markers for Meigs Syndrome are a large benign tumor growing on the ovaries or uterus and also causing the lining of the right lung (always the right lung) to fill with fluid. The cure is to surgically remove the tumor....

But first, she had to recover enough from her multiple lung surgeries in order to be able to pull through the anesthesia and removal of that tumor. 20 days after her last lung surgery, she went under the knife again so her OB/GYN surgeon could remove what turned out to be a grapefruit-sized mass as well as her uterus, ovaries, and tubes. The good news is that with Meigs Syndrome, the tumor by definition MUST be benign. It indeed was, and there were no signs of cancer in any of the other tissues that were removed....

Now her challenge is to recover from five different surgeries over a two-month period, and being bedridden either in the hospital or at home for the vast majority of that timeframe. Last night, she slowly walked about 250 yards around our property. We will try that again each night, gradually increasing the distance and pace as her endurance slowly returns. By autumn, we hope she will be back to normal. Time will tell....

While I appreciate the skills of the various members of her medical team, I wish the cause of her condition had been identified and addressed six weeks sooner than it actually was. Her thoracic surgeon was focused solely on her right lung because he had never heard of Meigs Syndrome. Not until the OB/GYN surgeon (a cancer specialist) got involved was the actual cause of her condition identified and confirmed. As a result, the time required to finally resolve her issue was extremely taxing on my wife's overall health, and it also ran up her total medical bills to more than $125,000 thus far (with multiple follow-ups and potentially one more lung-draining surgery to go)....

While Meigs Syndrome is extremely rare, all post-menopausal women should be aware of it. If they are, a tremendous amount of time and money can be saved in diagnosing and resolving the problem....

 

Jon,

What an ordeal. The repeated surgery is sufficiently onerous without the added pressure of the uncertainty for so many weeks.

My best wishes to your wife for a full and speedy recovery.

Kind Regards,
Graham

 

Thanks for the kind words, Graham. Jan is indeed a trooper and while it will take some time, I expect a full recovery by September....

In the meantime, my battle with the insurance company is raging full-scale as they attempt to deny paying for one of the lung-draining surgeries because they claim the thoracic surgeon and the hospital did not follow the proper administrative protocol at least 48 hours prior to it being scheduled and performed. I 100% guarantee you that they will indeed pay for that surgery, and I also 100% guarantee you that the insurance company beancounter who denied that coverage (I have discovered who she is as well as the location of her office) will eventually wish that she had never heard my name or seen me towering over her ....

 

Jon, I'm glad your wife is recovering and that the tumor was benign. The problem with rare conditions such as Meig's Syndrome is precisely their rarity. They barely ever happen and are as such not a health concern for the general public. Thus, it then follows that the USMLE license exams don't test on it. This makes it a low yield disease which means the medical school professors gloss over it, the students ignore it because it is low yield, and the moment a doctor is presented with it, they don't recognize it at all. Save for specialists like her OB/Gyn who are required to know everything about their field. As such, if the doctor who is shooting blanks doesn't make a consultation with the right specialist, the condition may go un-diagnosed for longer than necessary.

Insurance companies are evil. Who else can put a price on someone's life? Only a health insurance company can do such a thing. I am all for capitalism, but health is one of two fields where capitalism should not exist. Capitalism in healthcare kills people. It sucks when someone dies because their health insurance denied them a critical procedure, or when they are stuck with a bill they can't afford because a life-saving procedure was not paid for by the insurance company. It's like a way of punishing people for being poor and sick.

Your wife is truly lucky that the diagnosis was made at all. My best wishes to your wife and may she have a swift recovery. A good threat of a lawsuit should get that health insurance payout solved.

 

No lawsuit necessary at this point. I blasted my way through the corporate office concrete bunker and got to Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina's Chief Medical Officer. He intently listened to what I had to say, took the time to personally review my wife's case, made an executive decision that all of her procedures to date will be 100% covered, gave me his personal cell phone number, and will see that the beancounter who blew the initial no-coverage decision will receive some remedial customer care training. He also profusely apologized for the mental anguish that this sorry incident caused my wife. We shall see if his word is indeed his bond....

Yes, I too despise all insurance companies, but this guy has indeed shown some genuine compassion for the patient (he is a medical doctor, not a beancounter). Time will tell....

 

Jon,


As I recall, you have a history of success with insurers. I don't think the outcome is in any doubt.


Graham

 

I'm 6.72 (205cm, I should be converting it correctly ) and just got an XK8 coupe, that I was driving on some occasions for the past 5 years. At first I was totally - "This is freaking uncomfortable and borderline unusable", but it kinda grew on me (or rather I lost 20-25kg which might have helped ), and now I find it comfortable enough, which is my general state with 90% of the cars on the market, even thou I have a little less than a finger between my head and the roof

Best wishes to your wife and I wish her a quick recovery and soon to be able to drive her car, if you let her have it back

 

Presumably that was a plus. I have a good friend who moved to Raleigh from Phoenix not too long ago. One of her reasons for moving there was the quality of healthcare available there in 'The Triangle' (e.g. Duke University Medical, UNC Health Care).

 

Update:

Never thought it would happen but my wife is actually considering selling her beloved 2006 XK8 Victory Edition convertible and moving to something larger and easier to get in and out of. For the first time since mid-March, she drove her car a couple of days ago and struggled mightily while doing so. Her various surgeries have certainly taken a heavy toll on her body and she realizes that her flexibility and stamina, while still improving in tiny increments, may never return to previous levels. So the search is underway for potential replacement vehicles that are comfortable enough and attractive enough to merit her attention. If any forum members have any interest in potentially acquiring her beloved XK8, PM me with your e-mail address and I will send you the details. I would prefer her car to stay in our forum family rather than being sold to someone who may not truly appreciate it for its uniqueness....

 

I'm sorry to hear about the health issues with your wife Jon.

I've dealt with this more times than I want to talk about.



As men we like to take charge and make decisions, it's in our DNA. But the best decision you can make right now is not to make decisions.



Contrary to popular belief a Jaguar can sit for extended lengths of time without ill effects. You already know what to do. Pump up the tires, plug in the battery maintainer, etc, etc. Mine sits for 6-8 months a year this way.



Your XK8 isn't depreciating, if anything it is increasing in value. Put the minimum insurance on it and wait. If in 6 months or a year your wife still feels the same way then sell it.



Good luck and better health to you and yours.

 

Fulton,

I hear you loud and clear. I continue to attempt to convince her to continue healing and stick with her XK8 for the time being. Whether or not she indeed will do so remains to be seen....