Wake Up Call....Seriously!
Just received a very sobering phone call from a "Patient Advocate" with a bariatric specialist.
The long and short of it: The doctor (who I will not name) thinks that I am a candidate for a revision surgery.
Basically, I would have to go back into the ER, this time, in San Antonio, and make my stomach pouch even smaller.
Whoa.
Then she gave me the price.
$20,000.
Paid in full, before surgery, with NO financing options.
Seriously.
She said it like it was nothing. Like she was just breathing. Like everyone has $20 K in their back pocket.
Then she tried to reassure me that the surgery would be really simple, only three days tops. Yet I would have to spend at least two weeks recovering at home. I wouldn't need physical therapy or home health care either, she said. But what if I don't recover on that time table? What if there's another complication during surgery? What if I go into ANOTHER COMA?!?
So yeah, I was pretty freaked.
There's also 5 visits for the first year that cost $75 each (in cash), a $280 Pre-Operation kit that includes the two week meals for my diet before surgery, and a dietary consultation with a nutritionist that costs $50. All of it has to be paid in full, in cash, all at once. Yeah.
After I grabbed my heart out of my stomach, I told the advocate that I would have to consider this with my family before I commit to any further treatment from this specialist.
Then I had to make the phone call to Daddy. So tough. But I did it, and I'm glad that I did.
We're not going to be dealing with those vultures. And if I do get a revision, it's going to be from a different doctor. I'm going to pass on this information to my Primary Care Doctor, though, and see what he thinks. And...Dad even wants to go with me to my next appointment with my PCP. So he's really stepping up. It's nice, but I hate that it took surgery for us to get to this point. I won't go into details, but our relationship hasn't been the easiest lately to say the least.
Yesterday evening, I had a therapy session with a counselor whom I've been seeing for years, and it was amazingly refreshing and a total awakening of my sense of self. A lot of revelations were made, and on Valentine's Day, no less! Cool. Because I'm basically in survival mode right now, and I'm not the fittest. If I end up perishing, it will be tragic, but at this point, I've done all I can do. I know this isn't easy for you all to hear, but it's the truth. I'm not going to sugarcoat this stuff. This is my story, warts, bumps, and all.
Peace always,
Vanessa
The long and short of it: The doctor (who I will not name) thinks that I am a candidate for a revision surgery.
Basically, I would have to go back into the ER, this time, in San Antonio, and make my stomach pouch even smaller.
Whoa.
Then she gave me the price.
$20,000.
Paid in full, before surgery, with NO financing options.
Seriously.
She said it like it was nothing. Like she was just breathing. Like everyone has $20 K in their back pocket.
Then she tried to reassure me that the surgery would be really simple, only three days tops. Yet I would have to spend at least two weeks recovering at home. I wouldn't need physical therapy or home health care either, she said. But what if I don't recover on that time table? What if there's another complication during surgery? What if I go into ANOTHER COMA?!?
So yeah, I was pretty freaked.
There's also 5 visits for the first year that cost $75 each (in cash), a $280 Pre-Operation kit that includes the two week meals for my diet before surgery, and a dietary consultation with a nutritionist that costs $50. All of it has to be paid in full, in cash, all at once. Yeah.
After I grabbed my heart out of my stomach, I told the advocate that I would have to consider this with my family before I commit to any further treatment from this specialist.
Then I had to make the phone call to Daddy. So tough. But I did it, and I'm glad that I did.
We're not going to be dealing with those vultures. And if I do get a revision, it's going to be from a different doctor. I'm going to pass on this information to my Primary Care Doctor, though, and see what he thinks. And...Dad even wants to go with me to my next appointment with my PCP. So he's really stepping up. It's nice, but I hate that it took surgery for us to get to this point. I won't go into details, but our relationship hasn't been the easiest lately to say the least.
Yesterday evening, I had a therapy session with a counselor whom I've been seeing for years, and it was amazingly refreshing and a total awakening of my sense of self. A lot of revelations were made, and on Valentine's Day, no less! Cool. Because I'm basically in survival mode right now, and I'm not the fittest. If I end up perishing, it will be tragic, but at this point, I've done all I can do. I know this isn't easy for you all to hear, but it's the truth. I'm not going to sugarcoat this stuff. This is my story, warts, bumps, and all.
Peace always,
Vanessa
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