Some of you already know, but last March we found out that my cancer had returned and found it's way into my lung. For a thousand and one reasons, we tried very hard to keep it on the down low. Partly because it kept some of my life insulated from the disease. Partly because I wanted people to still see me as "Vicki" and not "Vicki with cancer". Partly because I just thought we would quickly kick it and would move on with our lives again. But mostly because I know I'm SICK AND TIRED of talking/hearing about it, so everyone else probably is too.
But today is not about the cancer, today is about NEVER giving up. Not ever. Not one single time. See, we started in March with different treatments and drugs and I tried to do everything the doctors said. Unfortunately nothing was working. It actually was just getting worse. The doctor recommended a special type of radiation but we needed pre-approval from insurance. And they denied. We appealed. And they denied. We appealed. And they denied again. My doctor decided that if they wouldn't approve this radiation, the other option was surgery to remove the infected lung. Of course we needed pre-approval. And it was denied. We appealed and they denied. We appealed again and they denied again. The doctor thought that if we gave insurance the option, they would choose the radiation since it would be far less expensive so we went back and tried that one more time. DENIED.
I talked to my doctor and asked what our other option was and he very nicely told me there was no other option. We had tried every possible chemo and drug possible. We were at a dead end. If we didn't get one of these options approved, well....your mind can take it from there. I went through a ton of different emotions that day and will be honest that I did want to give up. I was tired of the drugs, treatments, doctor visits, side effects, emotional roller coaster and mostly of the fight. I just wanted to throw up my hands and surrender to the disease. I was done. I didn't have any idea what else to do next.
But God knew better. He knew that I had nothing left in the tank and stepped in. During that sleepless night, he started building up my mental strength. He gave me the steps to take to fight with the insurance company (also my employer). The next morning at 8:00 am I started calling everyone I knew that could help me. I wanted to be able to speak directly to the person making these decisions. God gave me back the fight and I wouldn't be deterred. I pushed it just as far as I could without losing my job. And each person got me one step closer until I was FINALLY speaking ON THE PHONE to a claims manager. God bless that man because he truly listened to my whole story. He really cared - I could hear it in his voice. And for that I was so incredibly thankful.
During our conversation, I learned that there are three stages of appeals at United Healthcare. Each appeal SHOULD (notice that word in big, bold letters) have gone from level one to level two and then level three. However, that never happened. Each time we appealed, it went to level one and never went up any higher. And that is why we kept receiving denials - because the system was showing we'd already appealed at level one and this caused an automatic kick back. Not one of our appeals had EVER made it through the proper channels. This was on one hand infuriating because of all the hell we'd been through as we sat waiting and waiting and waiting. On the other hand, we had hope again because we knew what was going on.
Once we knew what the hold up was, the claims manager was able to personally move my appeal to the highest level. And this morning at approximately 7:46 a.m., I received a call from my doctor that he finally got the pre-approval for the radiation. To say I am relieved is the biggest understatement. Now we just need to get it scheduled and pray that it works. But today I am just SOOOOO thankful for God pushing me in the right direction and showing me exactly what I needed to do.
And that is why I am writing this blog today and finally sharing what has been going on in our family. I thought it was important to share with you all the importance of never giving up. If I had given into those fears, doubts, worries and total exhaustion, I would never have received today's good news. But please don't mistake me - none of the credit is mine. If it was up to me that day, I wouldn't have had the strength to move forward. All the glory goes to my Father in Heaven. He gave me the tools, He gave me the strength, He gave me the drive and He gave me the determination. I am so thankful that I got out of His way and allowed Him to be the driving force behind this solution.
Thank you in advance for your prayers that this treatment will work. Love to you all.
