Ch. 9 - The Waiting Game

Ch. 9 - The Waiting Game

October 11, 2007

All I can say is that the past week has been a little crazy, why? Well, I guess it is a little more accurate to say that it was full of ups and downs. As far as the insurance coverage, I think it will come through, but since time is of the essence, it is very stressful because we all know that speaking to an actual person rather than leaving a message on voice mail can be very difficult. I did speak with the claims manager finally and she told me what she needed from the doctor in order to present it to the Claims Review Committee to see what they will or won't pay for. I left a message with Dr. Evans office regarding my needs. I also spoke to Nancy in her office who told me not to worry, she would talk to Dr. Evans and then get back with me. This was Monday. On Tuesday, we had not heard anything, but we also had an appointment at the office for Clayton to give them the sperm sample. Let me tell you, that was an unique experience for us. Entering a small room in a doctor's office with a chair for the donor and a television in front of him with a fairly wide selection of porn to choose from to help with the procedure. IN A DOCTOR'S OFFICE!! We were new to this and found it hard to take it seriously at first, but the laughter was what we both needed as well. As we were leaving, we stopped by the finance department and spoke with Nancy personally. She stated that she would call me first thing in the morning with the answer regarding how the procedure would be billed and paid. After we got in the car and drove off, Clayton asked me what we were up against in terms of financial obligation. I told him that nobody had given me a total, he said "$5,000, $50,000, what do you think?" I told him that I was sure it was expensive, but I did not have any idea. Well, we could not take the suspense, so we called the office back and asked more specific questions to Nancy. She told us that normally the procedure is $7,000, anesthesia is $400.00, cryopreservation is $700.00 and the medication are between $3,000 and $5,000. She said that in special cases like mine, they do make price adjustments. She encouraged us to wait until we heard from her, after she had talked to Dr. Evans. We were thankful to finally have numbers given to us, but where do we get the money to cover the procedure? This was the pressing question in the event that my insurance does not cover the cost. Yikes! Overall, Monday was a pretty good day overall.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 started out positive. I received a personal call from Dr. Evans. She stated that she had received the message I left for her in regards to the information the insurance company was requesting, basically a letter of medical necessity with cost estimates to be provided. She said that she would do this, but rather than to postpone my procedure while we wait on insurance to decide what they were going to do, she thought she had a better plan. She told me that the office supported her decision and that she will perform the procedure for free, but that I would have to cover the anesthesia and the cryopreservation costs. I cried. What an angel. I felt that I could finally breathe. The stress surrounding this procedure was overwhelming. Mostly because of so many unknown financial factors and just the scheduling of everything on top of delaying the start of my chemotherapy to preserve my eggs. But with all these special and wonderful people, I am able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Dr. Evans is a wonderful person.

On Wednesday, I received a call from Fertile Hope (www.fertilehope.org). They were completing my application for financial help with the drugs needed for the egg preservation procedure and realized that my application was incomplete. They needed tax forms from last year, the 1040 form. I did not know they needed this, so initially it panic I went into a stated of panic. There was financial criteria that needed to be met in order to be eligible. Would we be eligible? I don't know?!? Secondly, we have been keeping all of our things in our basement (paper and such) while we remodel the fixer-upper in January. Would I be able to locate them in time to meet the deadline for submission and then would we qualify AND then would we be able to accomplish all of this before I get my menstrual cycle in 7-8 days. After breaking down and crying, a lot, just from the overall all stress I think, I pulled myself together. I was able to later locate the tax information, fax it to Fertile Hope, and later receive a phone call from the organization that we were approved!!!!! What a relief. It makes me happy to have financial help, but it makes me prouder to be able to empower myself to face an anxieties and continue to fight for the things that I am entitled to as a cancer patient, at my age, not having any children, etc, etc. Everything was then in order for my retrieval procedure, now we all are just waiting for the first day of my menstrual cycle. I feel like a teenager again. I have not worried so much about staring my period in a long time. For so many years, it was just a natural course that comes each month and goes away just the same, but right now it has achieved a level of utmost significance.

Later, this same day while I was still at work, I received a phone call from the dermatologist's office who removed that "cyst" from my face. It was the nurse who told me that they had received the results and that the doctor, Dr. Kay Martin, wanted to see me in his office to discuss the results. I did not ask many questions because I know that the nurse is not able to give results, and also if it is bad news, this is typically not done over the phone. I was then transferred to the receptionist was gave me an appointment for October 17, 2007. It looks like another period of waiting is in store for me and my husband.

So for now, I have my port-a-cath placement surgery Friday @ 3:30 pm. I will be be put under anesthesia for the procedure and have to arrive at the hospital 2 hours prior. I plan to have a good dinner tonight since I will not be able to eat anything after midnight until I wake up from my surgery. Wish me luck!!