Called insurance company today with a list of doctors who do LAPEX. Some of them are more world-renowned (says Google) than others. Among two of the less-renowned are Dr. Robbins in Maine and Dr. Dulemba in Texas. What's noteworthy about Dr. R and Dr. D is that they are, out of the 9 practicing physicians still on the list (yes, folks, that's only 9 in North America who do this surgery, and 2 of them are in Canada), they are the only ones contracted with our insurance company.
Big fat sigh. So i can drive 10.5 hours to Texas for surgery and stay in a hotel until i'm feeling well enough to drive the 10.5 hours home, or i can continue to hope and pray that my OB/GYN is willing to call my insurance and convince them to offer out-of-network coverage. i tried explaining that my other alternative is a laparotomy, which i don't particularly want and i don't really believe that they particularly want as i would have to stay in the hospital for a week and the risks of other complications is much higher. Or i can pay out-of-pocket. (Yes, i might really be crying a little on the inside right now).
i was under the impression that the CEC had people on staff to work with insurance companies on authorization issues. But when they called last night, the lady said, "i was calling to schedule your surgery but it says here you don't have any out of network benefits, so i can't do that." i responded that as i understand it, the insurance does make exceptions in some situations and it needs to be pre-authorized and such. She said, "Well, when you get that worked out, give me a call and i can schedule surgery for you." Super. i don't think i've felt so on-my-own since i separated from my ex.
My OB/GYN's nurse returned my call yesterday, and i explained what was going on and that i needed to ask the doctor if she would write a letter (as it turns out a phone call is required) to the insurance company and explain about my options and why they should extend coverage to the CEC for this surgery. She said she'd talk to the doctor, and i'm waiting for someone to call me back there.
Well, whatdyaknow? (Not much, you?)
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Interesting day
Yesterday I had a small tiff with my crazy coworker. Nothing too bad but apparently I wasn’t patient enough with her idiocy and it bothered her. She told me about it directly, which is good, because in the past she has skipped not to our boss, but to our boss’s boss (about me once and about my other coworker many times from what I’ve heard).
So this morning she didn’t say good morning or anything and I thought she must still be mad. Fine. I actually prefer when she’s not speaking to me because there’s less chance of offending her. This is the woman who once flew off the handle because I asked her “how are you doing?” instead of “how are you?” Somehow this equals "have you found another job yet?" But okay, good productive week ahead if I’m getting the silent treatment, so this is actually almost a good thing.
Then pretty early in the morning, our boss goes up to non-crazy coworker and says, “M, I need to see you for a minute.” At this point I think, “Hmmm, interesting. Wonder if he’s going to ask her if she observed what happened yesterday or if she screwed up.” Back to work. M comes back and says to me, “Boss needs to see you in the hallway.” OMG my stomach fell. I was thinking at best it had to do with crazy coworker and the minor incident yesterday, but at worst it was layoffs or something. My knees were shaking, my heart was thumping, my palms were sweating. It didn’t get worse when I got to the hallway and saw the boss was holding official-looking pieces of paper. All I could think was “Are all pink slips actually pink? Because those are white.”
Imagine my surprise when I look down at my piece of paper and discover a dollar figure. A dollar figure for the bonuses we weren’t supposed to get this year. And while not an enormous number, it was still very generous and will go a long way toward our adoption/ivf savings account. Oh my gosh I’m so thrilled! I can’t believe there’s good news 2 days in a row.
There's also a funny story attached to the bonus. Brief history: My department used to be in one division of the company and was traded over to the other (crappier) division. The reason is beyond me as we have nothing to do with what they do. Probably a political decision. This meant that we had to be stuck in one facility while the good division went to the new fancy offices. Anyway, crazy coworker is friends with one of the people who's been in the crappy division for a long time, and who is a bit of a trouble maker. He IM'd her a few weeks ago saying, "Rumor has it you guys are getting bonuses." She laughed and said no, but he persisted. So she told us and we had fun with it, saying things like, "Tell him yes, it's a 26% bonus" or "Yeah, tell him it's $50,000", just stuff totally not believable. Because we had no idea we were actually getting a bonus, so we laughed it off. She ended up telling him that she'd tell him how much if he told her who his "source" was. He was like, "OK, fine, never mind then." Bwahahahaha. We're strictly forbidden from mentioning it, but it would be pretty funny if he did find out.
In other good news, I got an email from an old friend today. ::Waves Hi to Chris:: I guess I’ve known Chris for about 13 or 14 years now, since I was about 20 and he was about 16. Something like that. We worked together at a theme park, and considering that he’s an exceptionally nice guy with good taste in music, we became good friends. We’ve lost touch a few times over the years, but it’s good to have him back now that we live in the same city. Chris and his wife has a beautiful 2 year old daughter together. I’m so happy for him.
Still waiting for the surgery coordinator people to call me about insurance and surgery timing. The nurse from my OB/GYN’s office returned my call today and I asked her about getting the doctor to write a letter to help prove to insurance that it’s A) medically necessary and b) there isn’t an in-network provider who can do it. I’m expecting the doctor to call and tell me I’m an idiot. This could be fun ;).
So this morning she didn’t say good morning or anything and I thought she must still be mad. Fine. I actually prefer when she’s not speaking to me because there’s less chance of offending her. This is the woman who once flew off the handle because I asked her “how are you doing?” instead of “how are you?” Somehow this equals "have you found another job yet?" But okay, good productive week ahead if I’m getting the silent treatment, so this is actually almost a good thing.
Then pretty early in the morning, our boss goes up to non-crazy coworker and says, “M, I need to see you for a minute.” At this point I think, “Hmmm, interesting. Wonder if he’s going to ask her if she observed what happened yesterday or if she screwed up.” Back to work. M comes back and says to me, “Boss needs to see you in the hallway.” OMG my stomach fell. I was thinking at best it had to do with crazy coworker and the minor incident yesterday, but at worst it was layoffs or something. My knees were shaking, my heart was thumping, my palms were sweating. It didn’t get worse when I got to the hallway and saw the boss was holding official-looking pieces of paper. All I could think was “Are all pink slips actually pink? Because those are white.”
Imagine my surprise when I look down at my piece of paper and discover a dollar figure. A dollar figure for the bonuses we weren’t supposed to get this year. And while not an enormous number, it was still very generous and will go a long way toward our adoption/ivf savings account. Oh my gosh I’m so thrilled! I can’t believe there’s good news 2 days in a row.
There's also a funny story attached to the bonus. Brief history: My department used to be in one division of the company and was traded over to the other (crappier) division. The reason is beyond me as we have nothing to do with what they do. Probably a political decision. This meant that we had to be stuck in one facility while the good division went to the new fancy offices. Anyway, crazy coworker is friends with one of the people who's been in the crappy division for a long time, and who is a bit of a trouble maker. He IM'd her a few weeks ago saying, "Rumor has it you guys are getting bonuses." She laughed and said no, but he persisted. So she told us and we had fun with it, saying things like, "Tell him yes, it's a 26% bonus" or "Yeah, tell him it's $50,000", just stuff totally not believable. Because we had no idea we were actually getting a bonus, so we laughed it off. She ended up telling him that she'd tell him how much if he told her who his "source" was. He was like, "OK, fine, never mind then." Bwahahahaha. We're strictly forbidden from mentioning it, but it would be pretty funny if he did find out.
In other good news, I got an email from an old friend today. ::Waves Hi to Chris:: I guess I’ve known Chris for about 13 or 14 years now, since I was about 20 and he was about 16. Something like that. We worked together at a theme park, and considering that he’s an exceptionally nice guy with good taste in music, we became good friends. We’ve lost touch a few times over the years, but it’s good to have him back now that we live in the same city. Chris and his wife has a beautiful 2 year old daughter together. I’m so happy for him.
Still waiting for the surgery coordinator people to call me about insurance and surgery timing. The nurse from my OB/GYN’s office returned my call today and I asked her about getting the doctor to write a letter to help prove to insurance that it’s A) medically necessary and b) there isn’t an in-network provider who can do it. I’m expecting the doctor to call and tell me I’m an idiot. This could be fun ;).
Monday, June 1, 2009
i have HOPE!
The CEC called today (wasn't expecting the call for a few days yet). He said that based on the surgical reports, photos from the last surgery, and other medical records, he believes they they can help me. He said there's about a 95% chance they can return EVERYTHING back to pretty much normal.
First they would free up my organs and get them back where they belong (freeing up my bowel, uterus, tubes, ovaries, etc), then clean up the existing endo. After they do that, they'll take a look at how my tubes look at that point. If they can clean them up and get them back to a relatively normal state (they'll probably never be *totally* normal, but they may be able to get them to have functionality), they will. Otherwise, they'll either block them or remove them as i prefer, giving us a chance at IVF if we decide to do that.
He said there's just about no chance they'll have to open me up. He said the last time the did a laparotomy was 8 years ago, and that was because the patient had previously had 7 laparotomies and there was so much external scarring that they couldn't even get in. He also said he sees no reason to do a hysterectomy at this point. i get to keep my ute! Yay!
Honestly, i keep remembering what my mom always said: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But they are highly recommended, very skilled, and pretty much my last hope. So i'll take it! i keep praying (and i hope you will, gentle readers) that this really does work out. Also, i have an e-friend who's going through similar problems and has also sought help from the CEC, and i am praying that her answer from them is just as good or even better than my own.
The last big hurdle is the insurance company, and getting the surgery to be covered. But, man, i don't know if i've been this happy in a year! Well, maybe the night the toddlers came...
First they would free up my organs and get them back where they belong (freeing up my bowel, uterus, tubes, ovaries, etc), then clean up the existing endo. After they do that, they'll take a look at how my tubes look at that point. If they can clean them up and get them back to a relatively normal state (they'll probably never be *totally* normal, but they may be able to get them to have functionality), they will. Otherwise, they'll either block them or remove them as i prefer, giving us a chance at IVF if we decide to do that.
He said there's just about no chance they'll have to open me up. He said the last time the did a laparotomy was 8 years ago, and that was because the patient had previously had 7 laparotomies and there was so much external scarring that they couldn't even get in. He also said he sees no reason to do a hysterectomy at this point. i get to keep my ute! Yay!
Honestly, i keep remembering what my mom always said: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But they are highly recommended, very skilled, and pretty much my last hope. So i'll take it! i keep praying (and i hope you will, gentle readers) that this really does work out. Also, i have an e-friend who's going through similar problems and has also sought help from the CEC, and i am praying that her answer from them is just as good or even better than my own.
The last big hurdle is the insurance company, and getting the surgery to be covered. But, man, i don't know if i've been this happy in a year! Well, maybe the night the toddlers came...
Friday, May 29, 2009
Worst 2ww Evah!
People familiar with TTC jargon will recognize 2ww as "Two Week Wait", the time period between ovulation and when your period is due. And thus when you wait to find out if you're pregnant or not.
i'm not charting, but it appears i ovulated a few days ago. But that is NOT the 2ww i'm referring to. Also a few days ago, we sent off my stuff to the CEC. And it will be about another week before i hear.
This week-and-a-half wait is more emotionally draining than every 2ww for the last 2 1/2 years all put together!
i'm not charting, but it appears i ovulated a few days ago. But that is NOT the 2ww i'm referring to. Also a few days ago, we sent off my stuff to the CEC. And it will be about another week before i hear.
This week-and-a-half wait is more emotionally draining than every 2ww for the last 2 1/2 years all put together!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Here's the truth
i am NOT okay. i am perhaps just being dramatic or pessimistic, but i have this awful feeling that i'm going to have a hysterectomy sooner or later. And i'm trying to get used to the idea, but i am just NOT ready for this. i'm freaking the fuckingfuckingdamnshithell out, if you must know the truth.
Deeply. So, if you know me in person or online, please give me some extra consideration and stuff. Pretty please?
Deeply. So, if you know me in person or online, please give me some extra consideration and stuff. Pretty please?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Not a whole lot to report today
We sent off my endometriosis related medical files yesterday. My fingers are crossed that they can help me. It appears that my endo pain lasted for 10 full days at full force, then i had 3 days with it slowly waning, and now today it is growing again as i gear up for ovulation. Which is just NOT cool. i NEED to see my horse, for example, but it's just too hard to go on that quarter mile of gravel at the end of their easement. Even walking hurts.
Today my insensitive coworker struck again. (WHEN will i learn not to tell her anything; it's just that she's really good at prying and gets mad if i don't answer her questions...) She asked if i'd had any more calls for foster kids. The answer is yes; in fact, we had 3 last night for a sibling group.
First they called about the sibling group, 2 boys ages 14 and 7 and a girl aged 11. As if that weren't enough of a reason to make them hard-to-place, the 7 year old boy had sexually acted out in school. Which is one of the few behaviors we said we can't deal with. i just don't think i could be a "line of sight" parent 24 hours a day. So we turned it down telling them that we only have one bedroom with only 2 beds. (When i told my coworker, i just said that one of the kids had a behavior that we said we wouldn't be able to handle, no specifics. Not that she'd know them)
About 30 minutes later, he called again saying they were separating the children and asking if we could take the boys. We said no because of the behavior and daycare issues, saying we couldn't take today off work and didn't know how to get a 14 year old in daycare anyway. So he says "What about the girl?" i just said, "i'm sorry, i know these kids are hard to place and i'd like to help, but we can't take this family in at this point. Good luck." He called back in an hour asking if we'd reconsidered. Sigh.
So i relayed this story to my coworker, who couldn't seem to understand why they called so many times. i explained to her that some kids are really tough to place, so they'll call everyone on the list and ask until they find somewhere, even if it means breaking all 3 of them up. She had said she wouldn't take in 3 kids at one time, especially a teenager and an 11 year old, or a child with a difficult behavior issue. So basically she wouldn't take any of them herself. But she said, "Surely there are lots of people who can't have their own kids who would be thrilled to take in 3 kids?" i really, really hate this woman! She wouldn't take them in herself but expects all the infertile people in the world to take them in? Priceless.
Of course this is the same woman who said it was "horrible" for a birthmother to place her child for adoption, paused, and said, "But i guess that's good for people like you who can't have kids." So what should i expect? One of these days i'm just going to sew my mouth shut.
Today my insensitive coworker struck again. (WHEN will i learn not to tell her anything; it's just that she's really good at prying and gets mad if i don't answer her questions...) She asked if i'd had any more calls for foster kids. The answer is yes; in fact, we had 3 last night for a sibling group.
First they called about the sibling group, 2 boys ages 14 and 7 and a girl aged 11. As if that weren't enough of a reason to make them hard-to-place, the 7 year old boy had sexually acted out in school. Which is one of the few behaviors we said we can't deal with. i just don't think i could be a "line of sight" parent 24 hours a day. So we turned it down telling them that we only have one bedroom with only 2 beds. (When i told my coworker, i just said that one of the kids had a behavior that we said we wouldn't be able to handle, no specifics. Not that she'd know them)
About 30 minutes later, he called again saying they were separating the children and asking if we could take the boys. We said no because of the behavior and daycare issues, saying we couldn't take today off work and didn't know how to get a 14 year old in daycare anyway. So he says "What about the girl?" i just said, "i'm sorry, i know these kids are hard to place and i'd like to help, but we can't take this family in at this point. Good luck." He called back in an hour asking if we'd reconsidered. Sigh.
So i relayed this story to my coworker, who couldn't seem to understand why they called so many times. i explained to her that some kids are really tough to place, so they'll call everyone on the list and ask until they find somewhere, even if it means breaking all 3 of them up. She had said she wouldn't take in 3 kids at one time, especially a teenager and an 11 year old, or a child with a difficult behavior issue. So basically she wouldn't take any of them herself. But she said, "Surely there are lots of people who can't have their own kids who would be thrilled to take in 3 kids?" i really, really hate this woman! She wouldn't take them in herself but expects all the infertile people in the world to take them in? Priceless.
Of course this is the same woman who said it was "horrible" for a birthmother to place her child for adoption, paused, and said, "But i guess that's good for people like you who can't have kids." So what should i expect? One of these days i'm just going to sew my mouth shut.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Lotta little things
So i've spent the last couple of days trying to get my medical records together for the CEC to review them.
Today we had off at work as a "mandatory non-working day" (unpaid day off), but i had to work 5 1/2 hours from home running reports. So that's not the most fun ever. i have to do reports on Monday, too, but usually it doesn't take as long. i should get about a day in comp time, so it will work out okay.
In the morning we had a couple of caseworkers from DCS come over to meet us. These are folks in the placement office; they're the ones who call in the middle of the night and ask if you'll take a child/ren. It's so refreshing to meet people who really, truly, deeply care about where they're placing the children and want to get to know the families. Bless them! And they were the bravest folks in DCS because they met our dogs. The dogs thought they were awesome and the people thought the dogs were big lol. But not as big as they expected. Speaking of DCS, we still haven't gotten any board payments for any of the kids we've had. We can't, in fact, because the W-9 we've filled out now 3 separate times is wrong or something, so we have to fill it out a fourth time. We also still haven't heard whether or not L is even okay, and it's been a week since he had court. We *know* he went home, but we don't *officially* know it. There's a very very small chance that he could have been kidnapped at school, or that things didn't go right at court and he ran away before returning to us. Who knows? How can a kid just get "lost" in the system like that? Why is one phone call too much to ask for? The good news is the ladies we met today actually were apalled, and while it wasn't their department, they were going to try to follow up. They were also pretty upset by the story of how long it took us to get approved, etc.
Then in the afternoon i headed downtown to Vanderbilt Hospital to pick up my medical records from my OB/GYN. Only they weren't there. Why? Because my doctor is not in the least affiliated with Vanderbilt Hospital. So why in the world would the doctor's office have transferred me to VUH's central records when i called yesterday? No clue, but i was able to get the records directly from the doctor's office, thank goodness. Now if i can get the quack IVF salesman's records, i'll be all set to send it off to the Center for Endometriosis Care.
Alan checked his insurance info today, and there was no reference to "out of network" coverage at all. The insurance company is closed, so that's no help, but he asked a coworker who knows such things and they told him that there doesn't seem to be any in-network coverage, but certain exceptions are made if there's no in-network provider available. So the question is whether or not Cigna will think that my OB/GYN can't give me the treatment i need and make an exception. Assuming, of course, that the CEC can even help me.
Today we had off at work as a "mandatory non-working day" (unpaid day off), but i had to work 5 1/2 hours from home running reports. So that's not the most fun ever. i have to do reports on Monday, too, but usually it doesn't take as long. i should get about a day in comp time, so it will work out okay.
In the morning we had a couple of caseworkers from DCS come over to meet us. These are folks in the placement office; they're the ones who call in the middle of the night and ask if you'll take a child/ren. It's so refreshing to meet people who really, truly, deeply care about where they're placing the children and want to get to know the families. Bless them! And they were the bravest folks in DCS because they met our dogs. The dogs thought they were awesome and the people thought the dogs were big lol. But not as big as they expected. Speaking of DCS, we still haven't gotten any board payments for any of the kids we've had. We can't, in fact, because the W-9 we've filled out now 3 separate times is wrong or something, so we have to fill it out a fourth time. We also still haven't heard whether or not L is even okay, and it's been a week since he had court. We *know* he went home, but we don't *officially* know it. There's a very very small chance that he could have been kidnapped at school, or that things didn't go right at court and he ran away before returning to us. Who knows? How can a kid just get "lost" in the system like that? Why is one phone call too much to ask for? The good news is the ladies we met today actually were apalled, and while it wasn't their department, they were going to try to follow up. They were also pretty upset by the story of how long it took us to get approved, etc.
Then in the afternoon i headed downtown to Vanderbilt Hospital to pick up my medical records from my OB/GYN. Only they weren't there. Why? Because my doctor is not in the least affiliated with Vanderbilt Hospital. So why in the world would the doctor's office have transferred me to VUH's central records when i called yesterday? No clue, but i was able to get the records directly from the doctor's office, thank goodness. Now if i can get the quack IVF salesman's records, i'll be all set to send it off to the Center for Endometriosis Care.
Alan checked his insurance info today, and there was no reference to "out of network" coverage at all. The insurance company is closed, so that's no help, but he asked a coworker who knows such things and they told him that there doesn't seem to be any in-network coverage, but certain exceptions are made if there's no in-network provider available. So the question is whether or not Cigna will think that my OB/GYN can't give me the treatment i need and make an exception. Assuming, of course, that the CEC can even help me.
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