LadyLuvs2Ride77

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

I started out thinking about surgery in 2005 started tracking diet journal, had/still have, high bp, sleep ap, migraines,stress inconstancy, etc.... I researched surgeon and spoke w/ friends. I seen Dr.Gusky,  in Arlington heights, IL  2006 great bedside, things went well at visit started the whole process. Seen the diet/nut, seen the shrink, had abs ultra sound ( found stones..lol didn't know i had, no biggie said that they would prob. take it out during surgery),etc...had all the visits and tests, labs in order, insurance BC BS approved first time, his office took care of everything, had an apt. to come in and find a date for surgery on May 17 2006 and was laid off my job on May 15, I was devastated, me and 30 others never seen it coming. ANYWAY... I started looking but could not find a job. I am a single mom of 3 boys and after 2 months of no income and no insurance, i went on public aid. I tried to start over with finding a surgeon that would do the surgery with the medicaid. (NOT EASY to do by the way) the first ones i found say i would be on a waiting list just to see the Dr for the first time in 2008, (now mind you this is 2006) i was deviated again, i would have to start all over and i was hoping to be working again and not to be on public aid that long. I found a surgeon in Kankakee, talked to his intake person, she explained that there medicaid patients were on like a lottery system, for every 10 paying surgery's they do they took 1 Medicaid patient, I said OK at least it was a start again and not to many patients in front of me on the lottery, i told her about having everything done already and what had happened and she asked to call me back, i agreed and to my surprise, she said get her all the completed paperwork and we might be able to push this through. You could imagine my relief. So I got here the paperwork and then the hell began, paperwork was lost, told it was sent in to public aid and when i finally got hold of a person at public aid she seen nothing with my name awaiting approval for anything...i then proceeded to play phone tag with this woman for months leaving message after mess. and not getting a phone call in return. then she calls, says they moved there office....and misplaced my file.... OK....(still have not talked to Surgeon or his office staff at this point, just this woman, "bariatric center". now comes Jan. of 2008, she tells me all the paperwork will be OK, just need to do a new phyc. evaluation, old one expired, I would have to pay for it. 600.00 not covered under public aid, ( still no full time job) doing odd jobs to feed the family, 2 paper routes, babysitting, what ever, to make ends meet in this very messed up economy. Anyway, I save and barrow the money, do the evaluation. wait....wait...still wait... cal. call, same routine, I get hold of this woman, she tells me i have to find a doc. in kankakee to be my PCP, or the surgeon will not do the surgery... i cried for days, i live in Chicago area, kankakee an hour away and now i have to see a Dr. there regularly, why not tell me this in the beginning....AAAAHHHHHHH. soooooo, this is it, i finally got hired in July 2008, but still no health insurance. So this is it, i figured one last call and I'm calling it quits, just not meant to be. I call and this other woman answers, I'm a little stunned, she tells me the woman i had been dealing with has been on leave since he husband was in a motorcycle accident...(feeling like a heel for thinking the things i did) to make matters worse its, Oct. and this surgeon will no longer be doing public aid surgery's anymore come the new year 2009, he is over booked with new patients because another surgeon left. So I pleaded with her to get me an apt. with the surgeon so i could at least met the surgeon that i had been trying to meet for the last 2 years. I got an apt. and finally met him. he talked with he staff and agree if the medicaid approved he would still do the surgery. the new girl at the baritric center sent in all my paperwork (after I had a sleep study done) and i was approved...OMG... after all this. so I went to surgeon and we set a date for Jan. 19th 2009, holy cow, finally.......