Two years ago, not long after my last post, we discovered that my step daughter would need braces. Not being able to afford both braces and bariatric weight loss surgery in the same year, we I decided to put off weight loss surgery for the benefit of Chickie's teeth. I immediately gained back the 35 pounds I had lost, and then some.
Later that year, my husband received full custody of Chickie. As a result, I left my job to take one closer to home, and with hours more conducive to taking care of a young girl. With the job change also came a change in insurance. Our old insurance covered surgery, our new insurance did not. So, I chalked it up as not meant to be and kept on trucking. And gained some more weight.
Earlier this year we received notification that my husband's (let's call him..."Coach") employer would be changing insurance provider. This brought me new hope that maybe now they would be covering bariatric weight loss surgery. I did the research on this new carrier...and they offered it. I read everything they sent out. Looks like Coach's employer would be offering it. I called the carrier once we got our new cards. They COVERED IT!!!!! I went to an information session with a new surgeon (I still liked the old one, but was no longer in the vicinity of his practice every day, thus the change). I waited patiently for the day my coverage began, reading everything I could find - what was their approval process, how much was I going to have to pay out of pocket, which surgery would I prefer, and so much more. Before my coverage even began, I knew that the carrier, in other states, had a pretty loose approval process - possibly less than 30 days. I knew that I was going to be looking at $300 ($300!!!!) out of pocket for surgery. Much less than the $3,000 I was looking at before. I knew that I was more comfy with vertical sleeve over lap band. I had a plan. And I was gonna work that plan.
Thennnnn....the phone call. I had to call and ask one more question. And guess what. They had just updated their system to show that Coach's employer excluded bariatric weight loss surgery.
Disappointed didn't even begin to cover it. This was over a week ago. I went on vertical sleeve talk.com. I researched some self pay options. I even convinced myself for a while that Mexico was an option. MEXICO!!! Disclaimer: If you are reading this and chose Mexico for WLS, I am not being critical of your decision. I believe that it is a very valid option for many. Just not me.
However, I was considering it. That lasted about 2 days.
In the past year, I've had a huge reason to be very scared for my health. My father, on February 2nd, had a Total Artificial Heart with Freedom Driver implanted, and is currently on the heart transplant list. The condition of his heart can be directly related to weight. And sadly, I have many of the same issues. Overweight. Meat and potatoes kinda girl (guy). Sleep Apnea. The list goes on and on. And I am my father's daughter. I promised my stepmom on February 2nd that I would take better care of myself. And I plan on living up to that promise.
This is where it begins.
Next Up: Goals
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