On to our second opinion for the big leftie at a large prestigious hospital in Baltimore. Can you guess where we went yesterday?
Yep, Big Rig and the big guy filled the BPmom-mobile and pointed the car south to discuss treatment options with another specialist. Why? Well, we want to be assured that his neurologist, Dr. B is the expert the world proclaims him to be. And so, equipped with nothing but a bottle of water, we hit the road. It was a no-Skittles trip. Got to lose some summer weight.....
When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, I got a familiar feeling...like...we do this an awful lot for such a young man. After all, if you remember from baseball days, he needed four opinions from all over the east coast to figure out how to treat his shoulder. Now we seek a way to regain his old life, vitality, strength, and spirit.
Looking at this enormous institution, I felt that we were going to get lost, sit in an uncomfortable chair for hours on end, and finally be seen next Wednesday. Yet, that was not the case. In fact, we checked in, got a visitor bracelet, and took the elevator to the 5th floor. After waking down the hall, there were kiosks that looked that ATM machines in which we had to register. After signing in and getting a number, we sat down in a room that reminded me of the DMV. You know the place that you go to to renew your drivers license.....So, we sat with the rest of the neuro patients and families, again with the thought that we were going to spend Thanksgiving there, when they called his number, and walked us into another waiting room, where we sat again and made small talk....like....so....what do you think about the Yankees' chances? Do you really like Devil Dogs better than Yodels? And finally debated on the merits of a leaf blower versus using a rake to get rid of the dead leaves on the lawn.
Then she appeared....yep....there she was...the doctor....she looked my age....you know, like she was celebrating her 29th birthday for the last thirty years and proceeded to ask him question after question. She was so thorough, I think she was also able to procure his debit card pin number.
After 30 minutes, she concurred with Dr. B and his plan of treatment. She did offer a few important pieces of advice such as "Do not....repeat.....DO NOT CHANGE INSURANCE COMPANIES!"
Why do I bring this up? Welllll....
Fade to black....
My place of employment is switching health care insurance to another less expensive, cheaper, crappier, stinky insurance carrier. Why? Of course it is about money, but now that the big leftie has a preexisting condition, he may be un-insurable. OK, not un-insurable, BUT our current plan has covered almost every bill except the medication that will put him in remission. As such, we sent an appeal with data to support he will benefit from the medication and not have to have the three days 8-hour infusions once a month. Makes sense, right? Well, not to the insurance company.
And so, my coverage changes in two weeks as we wait for the appeal to be resolved. IF he moves to the new, not-so-good plan, his bills will not be covered like they are with our current plan.
Soooooo, he has to stay on it and not move which means, we pay out of pocket for it....
Cha-Ching......
Cha-Ching
Cha-Ching
Look, I'm OK with this. It's only his life that I am trying to save, not a stubbed toe or hang nail. He needs this medicine and by-jingo, he is going to get it.
Fast forward to today, he called Dr. B's office to see if the insurance company accepted the appeal and the nurse told his that he would have to wait two more weeks, which means that he will be on the new insurance plan that we are buying. Following this?
The issue is....once he changes insurances, the MD may have to re-write the appeal which according to our new doctor is a bear, beast, a lot of work, and crappy, all at the same time. She also said that it was not fair to the doctors to have to redo the appeal....
OK, I nodded, he will stay on this plan if I have to eat cereal for the rest of my life....with skim milk, of course......
Then I had another thought....hey, it's not fair for the doctors to have to write another appeal. Ok, I get it. Not fair to the docs....uh huhh.......
Then I hit the roof of my SUV as we drove north on I-95....not fair to the doctors! Hey, what about my kid? What is fair about what is happening to him? How about the insurance company denying medication that will lead to remission? Is that fair?
How about the rest of the masses in the waiting room as they patiently waited to be seen as some idiot with a violin played Danny Boy? Yeah, that's right, when we left the examine room, there was a string quartet playing Danny Boy to the neuro patients who were waiting with awful diseases and illnesses...you know Danny Boy......
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
You'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!"
Is there no self awareness with some of our do-gooders? Why not play a Johnny Cash song? How about Frank Sinatra? Beetles? Elton John? Metallica? Danny BOY???! Sheesh, talk about depressing!
Ok, back to the SUV traveling north. After I spewed nastiness about insurance companies, doctors whining about having to do extra work to write compelling appeals, I settled down and made a phone call to Blue Cross. Yep, we are going with the Gold Plan and if this does not work, then BP mom is headed into the city equipped with my appeal and lawyer. My boy is going to get that medication if I have to buy it on the black market, like they did in MASH. Remember when Hawkeye and Trapper went to Tokyo to buy medicine from the black market and landed up giving them Henry Blake's antique desk for the medicine? No? Well, they did.
I will give the black market my desk, laptop, cell phone, lucky Villanova basketball, class ring, and SUV. They are just things. I am working to save my son.
More later!
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