I know trouble comes in threes.... but.....

[Zazzy]

Hi All...
Sorry to have been among the missing lately. I have been battling my insurance company and the company that supplies my Gleevec all summer. grrrrrrrrrrrrr Insurance company refused to pay for two months in 2002 so they sent the bill to me. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or have a nervous breakdown when I opened THAT bill... $9,000!! Because of the discrepancy the drug company refused to send my Gleevec to me.... so I had a few scary weeks of not taking it, wondering if I would relapse or not. The gal in my onc's business office has gotten it all straightened out now and we have changed drug companies. Whew!

I started having trouble with my back in mid-June. Problem was finally tracked down to a flattened nerve from a slipped disk. Had surgery last Wednesday and naturally it didn't go as planned. Surgery was supposed to take 1-1/2 hours... took 4 hours. Seems that most disks when they slip go down... mine went up and a long ways. Also the nerve had wrapped around several times. When the neurosurgeon scraped the offending bone off to relieve pressure on the nerve part of a bone above it broke off also. So we don't know quite where we are at this point with that. All I know is... it ain't fun.

The third lovely event was that our plumbing decided to rear its ugly head. After a full day of digging by my husband and sons they found that the builders (may they rot in hell) laid the pipes under the concrete basement. Plumber was called.... will be here tomorrow, along with a backhoe (there goes the yard) to dig up the line to the street. The whole house will need to be replumbed. Because the leak is under the house and not contained in it, our insurance will not pay. grrrrrrrrrrrr

I HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least my heart has been behaving (knock on wood)!

Hope everyone is doing well... will try to read the posts and catch up when I feel a bit better.

Take care,
Zazzy

 

[Ross]

I'm glad to hear from you. You were weighing pretty heavily on my mind last week. Did your ears burn or did you get butterflies?

I just love paying insurance premiums all to watch them wiggle their way out of paying for anything. The stuff they get away with now a days should be just as illegal as cooking the books. They need some real regulation.

Try to stay well. I do think about you often. If you need something, give a yell.

 

[RobThatsMe]

Hi Zazz...

Sound like you have had your annual dose of stress for the year! Hope things get better for you soon.

Seems I am also dealing with the Insurance companies. They switched when we got sold to another company. Sooo.... I have to go through the whole review board battle again to get my supplies approved.

"Here's to a smooch sail though the reast of the year!"

Rob

 

[bvdr]

Hi Zazzy,

I sure hope everything gets straitened out soon. In my opinion you have had more than your share lately!.

I hope you are still in remission. I had some nasty back surgery about 11 years ago but the surgery was nothing compared to the pain I had beforehand. I hope you too are already experiencing relief and that very soon you are better than before.

 

[Les]

Hi Zazzy,
Hope things get better soon! Keep fighting those Insurance B*stards!
_________________
Les AVR '93 / '95

 

[Rain]

Hey Zazzy!

Hey Zazzy!

Give those insurance people h*ll! I?m battling mine right now also. I still have the same insurance all they did was change administrators.... but I?m having to get everything approved all over again. They are refusing to pay for stuff they?ve been paying for the last three years!! Grrrrrrr. It?s like they intentionally make it as difficult as they possibly can for you. I?m sure there are people who actually just give up and pay rather than fight with them.... it really IS criminal!!

You?ve sure had your share of bad luck. There?s gotta be good times coming your way!

Stay in touch.

 

[hensylee]

Zazz - your heart must be in really good condition to go through all this without taking a hike! Wow - talk about your (another) bad years! Thanks for stopping by - we always want to know all is going along, well or not. Love Ann

 

[EVELYN]

Hey Zaz

Wow, between you and Nicole on the Outer Banks, I don't know who has it worse this week!!!. As Nancy's PS says, NEVER GIVE IN AND NEVER GIVE UP" or something along those lines.

I'll be thinking of you, girlfriend!!! EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT, but please don't let it get to you too much!!

Evelyn

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi zazzy!
i'm so glad to see you back again, but, i am so sorry you have to deal with all this!!
i hope that back of yours starts feeling better; i know that can be so painful.
as for the insurance companies and the plumbing.... i wish i could do something to help.
hope it all resolves itself soon.
in the meantime, please take good care of yourself and let us know how you are.
stay well, sylvia

 

[Zazzy]

Thanks guys... I knew I could count on you for a little understanding and cheering ups!

The whole problem really wasn't so much my insurance company as with the drug company, although the insurance company was giving me grief also. They kept sending checks to me... I would send the money to the wrong doc, etc. I finally wrote a note to the insurance company saying that I had enough to deal with in my life... please don't make me figure out who you owe money to too! Seems to have worked!!!

Take care and thanks again,
Zazz

 

[Nancy]

Hi Zazzy-

Gee, what a year you're having! Insurance companies really do need to be regulated, they are out of control. And very short-sighted.

By denying you your medication, they could have caused a cascade of medical problems that would have been very costly for the medical insurance, with hospitalizations and all the attending charges, not to mention out patient stuff and possibly other treatments, BIG BUCKS!

It amazes me, what do they think people will do, anyway? Put a pillow over their heads and give up? No, they're going to find treatment to make up for the missing medication. I think everyone in this country should start to voice some concerns regarding these kinds of situations. It costs everyone of us loads of money. Penny-wise and pound foolish. Where do they get these administrators anyway? Their methods really don't work in the long run.

Plumbing problems are the worst! You have my condolences regarding that deal. We ran into septic problems about 7 years ago, and had to have a new distribution tank installed, The hole was enormous, the yard was destroyed, and it is still healing. But our plumbing works great, at least this week.

 

[cookie]

Wow! You are just one amazing woman! You are like the Energizer Bunny or is it Timex? Takes a licking and keeps on ticking! You go girl!!
As for insurance companies, they should all be strung up by their premiums!! hehehe We pay over $2000 a month in premiums and when we tried to switch plans within the same company she asked if there were pre-existing conditions. When my husband told her I had open heart surgery and was on coumadin she said "enough said"! No way! No one will touch us! This is within the same company! They have us right where they want us! Also got a notice that the premiums will be going up by 5 to 25%!!! What a racket! You cannot afford not to have insurance but you sure can't afford insurance!