Good Mail ~ Bad Mail

I got a couple of letters in the mail today ~ two from my insurance company and one from the records department from the hospital where I was detethered. I always get a sick feeling in my stomach when I see letters from the insurance company. They were my giant to slay for so long ~ it's hard for me to have a complete attitude change towards them now that they are supporting me 100%. Actually ~ the last conversation I had with my out of network coordinator was almost comical. I really had to keep myself from laughing out loud on the phone.

I had called to get pre-authorization for numerous MRI's, a CT scan and a neuro-followup appointment in May. Her reaction was comical ~

"Certainly ~ just let me know what you need and I will write up the auths for
you. You know, people who come to us with Chiari (she pronounced it like
'chair-y') ~ we always send them to TCI ~ they offer the
most excellent treatment there!"

For those of you who have been reading my blog since the beginning, you know that it took a year and a half to get approved to go to TCI. I clearly have educated the insurance company and have hopefully paved an easier road for others in their journey to get to TCI. Anyway ~ the letters I got from the insurance company were approved auths for my appointment in May ~ yeah. It's so nice to get pre-authed without the whole red tape drama!

About 3 weeks ago I had sent a letter to the hospital requesting copies of my medical chart so that I would have the medical terminology for the findings during the surgery. Today the letter I received told me that in order for them to release my files I would need to send them payment for $123.55! SERIOUSLY ~ these are MY records ~ do copies and shipping really cost that much! How big is my file?! Anyway ~ maybe I will save some $$$ and see if they will let me read my file while I am in town for my appointment. What a conspiracy!

When I woke up this morning I was rudely reminded that my brain tail is still alive and kicking ~ me in the head! Go figure ~ there's a low pressure front moving in bringing frozen precip and rain tomorrow! Wish I didn't have those friendly reminders ~ I would like to just forget about my Chiari all together! The prospect of brain surgery still weighs heavy on my mind, but truth be known, even if I do have surgery there's no guarantee that I will not have any more headaches. I will have some peace of mind after my follow-up visit at TCI in May. Sigh ~