I will fight no more forever….

If only this statement were true. Since returning from Baltimore I have spent the majority of my time fighting with our insurance companies about the new medications and dosages that the doctors at Hopkins prescribed for Max. Today was a prime example, I was at it by 6am our time so that I could talk with the East Coast before their day really started. I went on to spend the rest of the day with my cell phone surgically attached to my ear. In fact my phone got such a workout today that it stopped working. I wonder if United Healthcare has a benefit for cell phones broken at their expense…..

Now I have to admit that the good news is that Max has two medical insurances, our private plan and the state plan for chronically ill children that can both cover his medications. The bad news is that Max has two medical insurances that can both deny his medications. I’m sure some of you just giggled at this but there’s more truth in my description of Max’s medical coverage than you might imagine. Having two separate medical plans just gives me more people to fight with. So instead of convincing one set of Medical Directors, RN Caseworkers and Pharmacists that the doctors at Johns Hopkins (side note: this is the institution voted the #1 hospital in the US for the last decade at least) really know what they’re doing when they write prescriptions for my son I am fortunate enough to have the great pleasure of convincing two sets of these medical morons, woops I mean professionals.

I also must admit that I am not alone in my battles. My army is big, strong and afraid of me! Just kidding, I learned very early on in this process that the most important thing I could do for Max was to be really, really nice to all the nurses in his doctor’s offices. They have all known Max since birth, many cared for him when he was a tiny infant attached to a bazillion machines and they love him – heck I’m even going to venture that they like me! Because of this relationship all of these wonderful ladies take up the fight with me and while the battle is long and grueling we continued to advance in our war against the medical bureaucracy. The one thing most medical insurance professionals need to keep in mind when dealing with us is that they should never, ever give us a phone number, name, or e-mail that they don’t want us to have – we will keep it forever and haunt them until death or retirement whichever comes first. In recognition of all these wonderful doctors and nurses do for Max all year long we went around today to their offices to drop off Christmas gifts, well-deserved tokens of our gratitude for all they do for Mr. Max.

So in keeping with the spirit that this week brings to all of us as we prepare for Christmas I am making a pledge to not argue with anyone else about Max’s medications. Of course my phone is broken now so I should have no problem sticking to my word…..Have a great Tuesday!