The Week From Hell

This week has been a rough one. I am so glad its over and I can try again.

It all started Monday, when The Hubs and I realized I really lost our only set of keys to our car. We moved furniture, scoured the house... No luck. I didn't even remember getting home the day before - literally had no memory of it - so I couldn't backtrack.

The Hubs managed to use our (free) Roadside Assistance to get our car towed to the dealership, and they made him a (free) key. Still, we had to reschedule JT's appointment to get his tooth capped and Audrey's teeth cleaned for Wednesday.

Wednesday comes. JT has NEVER spit out medicine. So when the hygenist asked if I needed the dentist to administer the conscious sedation (liquid meds) I refused.

Yep, he spit it out - the first 1/2 of it. I managed to get the rest in. They can't redose since they don't know how much *exactly* he swallowed.

So he was only partly sedated. It took 5 people holding him down to get it done... But it is done...We all survived!

Fast forward to Friday. I get a call from surgery scheduling that my insurance company rejected the pre-authorization, and said I wasn't covered until 1/1/2010. They said I had to wait until the start of the next calendar year AFTER my year anniversary (6/1/2009).

I lost it. The Hubs called the insurance company and then HR at Dillard's. Dillard's took over and told us they were sure I did have coverage. After a FULL DAY of going over the contract with the insurance company, they apologized and said it was a mistake. That some person manually sets you back up, and that person has been on vacation.

Riiiiiiiight. So a giant company like Great-West/Cigna has manual updates? And that person that talked to the billing dept knew *exactly* what they were looking at.

Thank God Dillard's went to bat for us. I am sure it would not have had a happy ending otherwise.

Again, thank God its over.

Praying that next week is better!

Here's our schedule:
JT has summer school M-Th 8-11
Tues - Neurology 3pm
Thurs - Cardiology 1:30pm
Fri - preop - 9am

Counting Down...

Days 'til my insurance starts paying for medical costs again... 8.
Days 'til I see my neurologist... 17.
Days 'til I have surgery... 26.

These have been the longest 6 months of my life. And its almost over!

Don't you know the insurance company is going to poop their pants when they see my June totals! Surgery will likely be 6-digits, and my max out of pocket is 7 grand. Eat it and like it Great-West/Cigna!!!!!

Wow!

We're down to five weeks and two days until Bob is gone! (That's 37 days if you're counting like I am). Only four weeks til my neurology appointment, and cardiology is soon after (hey, after my hysterectomy scare, I am making sure I am going to wake up from this one!).

I am still in shock that in our wonderful country, health care is not guaranteed to those who need it. I'm even paying for it, and not getting it. Private health insurance companies are out of control, and we, as Americans need to make sure that it stops.

Here are some crazy thoughts for you:
Your medical tests depend on approval from a non-medical person based solely on their (non-medical school) judgement.
They don't know you, your doctor does, but their opinion determines what you can or can't have done.
In order to get a medical doctor to review a rejection, you have to request it thru the insurance company (and they don't have to do it).
Insurance companies can write anything in their clauses (such as my case - a first year max even though none were pre-existing conditions) and you don't have a damn thing you can do to fight it.
To them, you are a number. It's all about their bottom line. There is no way they can be working for you AND trying to make a profit. It doesn't make sense. They have a HUGE conflict of interest, and you will ALWAYS lose to them making more money. They are a business.

As soon as I am recovered from all my medical drama, I am going to start volunteering for organizations interested in health care (specifically insurance) reform or complete overhaul. It is rediculous that this is what we accept. Did you know that America is one of the only developed countries in the world where health insurance is NOT guaranteed? We lived in England for two years... And we used the health care there. I didn't see a difference. Private health care wants to scare us all into thinking we won't receive care if we turn it over to the government... But of course they do... That's where they make their money!

Anyway... Just thought I'd share some of the rediculous discoveries I've made during my time with Bob. I hope you learned something ;)

Love to all!

Bye, Miss Great Big!

Great Big Nanny came on Wednesday, and left this morning. We were SO sad to see her go...

JT asked for 'cookie' a few times today... And he's referring to her. So, he calls her Cookie, and Audrey calls her Great Big Nanny - or 'Miss Great Big'. If you know my grandmother, you see the humor in this. She's roughly 5'2", and maybe 100 lbs. Seriously, there is nothing great big about her (except her personality)!

So, we're on our own... We will miss her a whole bunch... But I have a feeling she'll be back soon. She left a bag full of shoes and clothes at our house (lol, now I know exactly where I get it from).

As far as the Duzan fam... JT starts school tomorrow! I am going crazy... But I know he will like it. At least for the most part ;) And I need some time alone with my Audrey... She sometimes gets the rough end of the deal being the sister of a high energy autistic boy... But she is so sweet. I just want her to know how loved and important she is (JT, too, but he seems to know that very well lately, lol).

The Hubs's store has been doing some crazy awesome things, and he is loving his job. Dillard's is giving them a little more freedom to help clear old merchandise, and everyone knows that The Hubs loves coming up with 'fun' ideas - and he gets SO excited! It's great to see him so pumped up about work, and I know that helps his employees and the company in general to have someone who really is excited about what he does.

I met with my pastor (Pastor Carol) this week, and really had a great discussion with her. She is such a sweet person... It just solidified my decision that this is the church for us. I can't say enough about Emmanuel Presbyterian - the people are wonderful, the message is kind and helpful, and overall people just want to be better and do better in God's eyes. The best church I have ever attended by far.

I am dealing with Bob better every day... I have realized that in my life, I have faced plenty of challenges. Every time I fall, God catches me. Even when I may not realize it, God is always there. It is SO hard for me to realize I have no control... But truly, in life, we don't have control over - well, hardly anything. I saw a sign on a church on the way here that says 'Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it.' This is SO true. I cannot control Bob, my insurance company, my doctors or anything else. I can control how I react to this situation and what I do with myself. I choose to believe that God is in the details... Somewhere. I have a hard time closing my eyes and waiting for God's safety net... 'Let go and let God' is not easy. But I know I will be okay - it is just going to have to play out the way it's meant to play out.

So, all in all, we are doing fantastic. We are happy, busy and exhausted... A wonderful combination :-)

I hope that everyone is doing well...

Oh man!

Surgery was rescheduled. My insurance company refused payment, so they can't do it.

It's now June 18th.

The neurosurgery scheduler told me "the doctor said you would *probably* be okay until June". Niiiiiice. Great. Very unconvincing.

JT's IEP went terrific. I was really impressed with the teacher (again) and all the therapists. With all the horror stories about IEP's, I feel like we are really lucky. They are trying everything to make sure JT has all the supports he could possibly qualify for.

So, please pray that Bob will behave, and that I will, in fact, be fine in waiting until June. Because I don't have another choice.

Audrey is ADDING! And JT is still just trucking along with his language and counting, the alphabet and colors.

Hope everyone else is doing well...

Love to all!

Wow!

Sorry for the delay in posts... We got rid of our internet connection at home (dial up was costing us $50 a month!!! and that's just rediculous... In the podunks, there is no DSL, and the phone company rips you knowing that dial up is your only option...), so coming to the library is my only chance to update... I will be more consistent now!

Latest news...
I found out I've met my first year max on my insurance. Because we had a 5 month lapse in coverage (between when I resigned and the next 'open enrollment' - insurance costs $260 A WEEK at hubby's job - it's through Great West - which is now Cigna - if anyone wants to barrage them with the rediculousness of the price), my personal max for year 1 was $25,000. Because of my two surgeries and multiple ER and doctor visits, I'm SOL until June 1. So, me and 'Bob' (yes, I gave my tumor a name...) are going to be thisclose. My doctor is working on finding something to help me, since she thinks it needs to be removed before then due to its rapid growth (duh) and nerve involvement. Not only is it growing (which means that something is going on that is not totally benign - although not necessarily cancerous yet), but the bigger it is the more they have to screw with my nerve - and that means more problems both short and long term with function.

I do have an appointment at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center with Dr. Kyle Weaver on February 24. I am looking forward to meeting him - hopefully he will have the experience necessary to do the surgery (even if it is in June, we can set it up and have everything ready to go... I'm paying out of pocket, but c'est la vie...). He might have other resources to help me get the surgery done if he believes it has to be done... Or, I would feel a lot better if he said it could wait in his medical opinion, and he would just set it up for June... Either way, I need to do this appointment. I almost peed my pants when I opened up a letter welcoming me to the Cancer Center, but I'm over it now... Mostly ;-)

JT is talking like CRAZY! I'm about to update his page too (see top right corner), so check it out to see his latest progress. Amazing!

The Hubs is off for the week, but due to the insurance issue (I maxxed the last week of December... So EVERYTHING I've had done with Bob is out of pocket... 3 GP appts, 2 ortho appts, 1 gen surgeon appt, 1 neurosurgeon appt, ultrasound, MRI and blood work) we are staying put... We can't really afford to go anywhere right now.

We found a church we really love. It's fairly close to our house (closer than most things... We don't really live 'close' to anything). I love the pastor, the people, and how informal it is. The people there are wonderful... And for the first time, going to church isn't about making me feel guilty about what I have done... But learning how to be a better person from now on. It's a wonderful experience. Never thought I'd look forward to church, but I honestly do!

That's about it for now.. Audrey is doing fantastic (as usual). Such a sweet little girl. She had a hearing test, and she passed with flying colors. The tech noted that 'when she pays attention' she was awesome. How my daughter got distracted in a soundproof booth is beyond me... But, have I mentioned I have ADD? Yeah, she's probably going to come by that one naturally... At least it's easy to manage - she'll just have to find her own 'The Hubs' to marry later in life to balance her out!

Love to all!