Disasters!

December 20th, 2025| Topic: RaMbLeS | 0

Hospitals and doctors currently use a system of about 18,000 codes to describe medical services in bills we send to insurers. Apparently, that’s not enough for administrators. Recently a new federally mandated version was introduced—called ICD-10, for International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision. ICD-10 expanded the number of disease codes from 18,000 to around 140,000—adding codes that describe precisely what the medical condition was and how it was caused.

There are codes for injuries in opera houses, injuries in art galleries, injuries in squash courts, and even codes for injuries in a chicken coop. There are separate codes for “bitten by turtle” and “struck by turtle.” Go figure!

But I wanted to focus on codes that are particularly pertinent to the holidays—Thanksgiving and Christmas.

W60 for Contact with Sharp Leaves: A for initial encounter; D for subsequent encounter
(No, those plant thingies aren’t innocent or safe. Not this time of the year.)
S65.5 for Laceration of Finger
(Maybe caused by sharp leaves, but more likely by carving the turkey or ham.)
W61.43 for Pecked by a Turkey: XA for initial encounter;, XD for subsequent, when you get pecked again
(Buy them frozen, is what I say. I prefer ham.)
K03.81 for Cracked Tooth
(Don’t eat them frozen. Cook them first.)
X10.2 for Contact with Fats and Cooking Oils
(But don’t fry them!)
S00.01X for Bruise/Abrasion of Scalp
(Please don’t fall off a ladder. I hate having to suture scalps!)
W21.01 for Struck by a Football
(Better than falling off a ladder, but don’t let the pigskin get you.)
W54.0 for Bitten by a Dog
(I’m not sure why this is more prevalent during the holidays, but it appears to be.)
Z63.1 for Problems in Relationship with In-Laws
(Stay single!)
Z59.2 for Problems with Neighbors
(Your Christmas lights are toooooo bright.)
T75.3 Motion Sickness
(Stay at home. Yeah, right, from a guy traipsing across Asia this week and the next.)
W00.9 for Fall due to Ice and Snow
(Move south. To Texas. One of these days ….)

Someone somewhere is raking up our precious taxpayer dollars to come up with this stuff. I don’t know.

But this I know: Disasters are everywhere. All kinds of injuries and diseases. Potential death looms. Disasters.are.everywhere!

Thankfully we have a God capable of handling all those disasters. His protection is awesome, as the psalmist declares.

I love You, Yahweh, my strength.
Yahweh is my rock and my steadfastness and the One who saves me,
my God, my cliff, I take refuge in Him;
my shield and the horn of my deliverance, my haven.
…
They encompassed me, the ropes of death,
and the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.
The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;
they confronted me, the snares of death.
In my distress I called upon Yahweh,
and to my God I cried for help.
He heard my voice from His temple,
and my cry for help before Him [His face] came to His ears.
Then the earth shook and quaked;
and the foundations of the mountains trembled,
and were shaken, because He was angry.
Smoke went up from of His nostrils,
and fire from His mouth, it devoured;
coals blazed from it.
…
He sent from on high, He took me;
He pulled me out of many waters.
…
He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He saved me, because He delighted in me.
…
Therefore I will give You thanks among the nations, Yahweh,
and to Your name I will make music.
Psalm 18:1–2, 4–8, 16, 19, 49–50

SOURCE: MedScape