The beginning!

Mar 10, 2011

I decided to have WLS after watch, of all things Divorce Court. There was a lady who had WLS and lost almost 200 (and she looked smoke'n hot) and her husband wanted a divorce because he wanted an overweight wife. I caught my self yelling at the TV...."GET A NEW HUSBAND!"... With in 5 minutes I was researching all about WLS. I called my insurance and checked the policy to make sure it was covered, and it was! When my husband came home I told him I wanted to get WLS and he said (as a supportive hubby would)..."That sounds great, honey. If that is what you want to do."... And it was what I wanted to do. That night I researched surgeons within 3 states. We live in a little town in WY, so I looked in SD and CO, as well. I found my perfect match. He served in the Air Force, did my husband. He has being doing WLS for many years, he helped create WLS protein shakes, which by the way are used ALL over the world, and is an educator for surgeons all over the US on different techniques for WLS. That next day I called and made an apt with my reg doctor and got the thumbs up for him. I called the surgeons office an scheduled an appointment. It was Dec 7 and the soonest appointment was Dec. 30. I was bummed because it was so far away but excited at the same time...... As Dec 30 approached, I got a call to reschedule because he was out of the office that day. I was bummed again, but I did understand. They rescheduled me for Jan 6.... On Jan 4Th I get a call from his office saying he has a surgery and we had to reschedule, again. My heart dropped and the lady on the phone must of heard it and started talking about all the stuff I should be working on to prepare for my visit. She gave a Lindy list of items that needed to be complete and said if I had the done by my first visit, I would be ahead of the game. Jan 20, 2011 was my new appointment date. During the visit he took my weight.... 278. He used a device and hooked it to my arm and leg to measure the fat, water, and muscles weight, but souled get a reading until the next visit. After the visit I knew this is what I wanted to do. He told me I would have to complete a (huge) list of stuff before I could even be scheduled for surgery.

One on the HUGE list was attend the seminar, put on by the surgeon and his RN. He hold them once a month and the next one was Feb 1 at 6PM...... Side bar: We live 153 miles from his office.... On Tuesday Feb. 1, the weather was -35 WITHOUT the windchill, BUT we still decided to attend. The roads we bad and icy, but we made it there NO problem. We we arrived , we were the only ones there, so we got one-on-one time with the surgeon and RN. It was a lot of info, but to be honest, I had researched most of the info already. My next apt was Feb. 17. I did most of the pre-op stuff, like blood work, EKG, etc. I had all of the items completed by my next appointment, so what was left was the surgeon had to write a letter to my insurance company and submit all my records........  I was WAY excited. I called ins company on the 2/23 and they didn't receive the paperwork work yet. I called again on 2/25 and still no paperwork....... I think the hardest part is the waiting. I was told that the ins company usually takes 4-6 weeks for an approval and if there is anything missing, the will deny the claim and the surgeon will appeal, which I guess happened often........ I called on the 2/28 and STILL nothing... UGH!!! Why haven't they sent in the paper work??? My next apt was on 3/8 and I was hopping the ins would have all the paperwork and would be working on it...... I called 3/3 and YES! They had received it on 3/1. I was SOOO excited. They said they are working on it.... I called back on 3/7. It was a Monday and my apt was the next day. I was sure they wouldn't have it completed, but I called anyway..... I asked the lady the status and I was DENIED!..... WHAT? I started crying. I did everything the ins required and I was stunned. They said it was because I didn't have a physic evaluation.... I said (loudly because I was mad) I did that. You even have the paperwork there since it went through my ins. He put me on hold and I waited........and waited...................and waited...... Finally he come on and says he found the problem. The Dr. put it under the wrong code. She put it under obesity and not morbid obesity. I said why does that matter. I STILL did it, per the ins requirements.... I was put on hold AGAIN........ He came back on and said to have that Dr. resubmit the claim.......... and I did....... I was sooo frustrated. That night I prayed that everything would work out in Gods time (which is usually not the same as my time). That morning, as I am driving the 153 miles to his office,  I called the ins to get a ETA of when it might be approved and the lady said I was approved and the letter went out yesterday. I was (almost) speechless. I said I don't understand. She told me again. I said thank you and hung up. I screamed and called my hubby and mom. After telling them the good news, I started to worry. What if that lady on the phone was wrong. So, I called the Ins company back. I was connected to the same man who helped my the day before and I told him what happened earlier and he told me to hold on...... I wait...................and waited.........................and wait.........He came back on and said I was approved!! I screamed in his ear and then said sorry... I was HAPPY!! At the appointment, they scheduled my surgery for the next week because they had a cancellation. Oh My Goodness!!! It took less than a week for ins to approve and a week until my surgery date. The only thing I was thinking about on the way home was LIFE IS GOOD!

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