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I got a call from the surgeon's office today.  They told me that they had received all of the info they needed, and could now schedule my consult with the surgeon.  I am so excited to finally be making my way through the excessive red tape.  This process could be so much more efficient if everyone involved would just use common sense and basic logic.  The past couple of weeks have involved a lot of hand holding and numerous calls to make sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to be doing.  I know that it will all be worth it in the end, but in the meantime, I'm going crazy because I have to depend on others to do their jobs.  If only I could do it for them instead. I'd be having surgery tomorrow if that were the case!

6/3/2007:  

Today is the day of Dr. Atkinson's surgical weight loss seminar.  I'm excited about the prospect of taking my first definitive step toward having him perform my surgery.  I had already been to one other weight loss seminar with Dr. Simon a little less than a year ago.  Having already been to one seminar, I thought I knew what to expect.  Boy was I wrong! Dr. Atkinson's seminar was more extensive, more detailed, and much more professional.  There were also a lot more people in attendance.  I was impressed with his presentation and the numerous statistics that he provided.  He also took the time to answer every question that was asked of him regardless of how silly or absurd the question may have been, and regardless of how many times he had already answered the same question.  Dr. Atkinson has amazing credentials as well as an appealing bedside manner.  Another reason that having him as a surgeon appeals to me, is because he also has experience as a trauma surgeon at a level one trauma hospital.  This gives me a boost of confidence knowing that if anything were to go wrong during surgery, he has more experience with the unexpected and with high pressure situations than a lot of other surgeons do.

In terms of specifics, I didn't really learn too much more than what I already knew from my own extensive research and from the information I have gathered from this very site.  But the seminar is the first real step towards my new beginning!

The office staff said they would call in the next week or two so that we could discuss what my next steps should be.

Of course, I really don't just want to sit around doing nothing, I'm too excited!!  But it's Saturday so I can't talk to the Insurance people, and I've already read the information packet about half a dozen times! So now what???  I know: I'll start writing the letter to the insurance company, that way as soon as I talk to the office staff, I can be ready to send the letter to the insurance company.  Well, I start reading through all of the sample letters I can find before I start typing my own, but suddenly I become panic stricken.  What if I say the wrong thing or say too much, or don't say enough?!  Now I'm paralyzed with fear because this is something I don't have complete and utter control over, and I hate that!

Okay, so I had a brief little meltdown, but I'm okay now. I decided to type a preliminary letter for the insurance company, and revise it as necessary according to the advice of Dr. Atkinson's staff.  I'll still call the insurance company on Monday just to see what they have to say about getting a pre-approval.