<rant>
This morning, the doctor's office called me to remind me of my appointment tomorrow and also remind me not to eat anything after dinner tonight and not to drink anything after 6am tomorrow morning.
Roger that.
Later this morning, someone else from the doctor's office called to remind me that I'm meeting with the physical therapist tomorrow.
Roger that.
This afternoon, someone besides the first two people called to tell me that my insurance company had declined authorization of the procedure so my appointment was cancelled.
Lovely.
Of course, I immediately called my wife because she's The Fixer.
I was declined for two reasons.
1. The doctor's office doesn't have the test results from my MRI. If you haven't been following this blog long, you might want to check out the back story to fully appreciate this rant (and long time readers might want to glance at it as a refresher).
The short version goes something like this: When I initially tried to make an appointment with this doctor, they said that I wasn't allowed to until they got the test results from my primary physician. I had to put my wife on that job too but she made it happen and I was able to make an appointment. I've been there twice now and this would have been my third visit.
All of that to say, they have the damn test results or at least they did at one point. My primary doctor has my test results. My neurosurgeon has a copy of the test results. I have a copy of my test results. *You* could probably google "Success Warrior + MRI test results" and get them, for hell's sake.
2. The second reason that they are denying it is because the first treatment wasn't at least 50% effective.
Hellooooooo?
The reason that I'm letting the doctors stab me in the neck again is because the first time didn't work. That's the point. This is a different procedure that is supposed to do what the first procedure didn't do.
But apparently my insurance company knows more about neuroscience than my plethora of doctors.
So, if they don't authorize this treatment and things don't change for the better by magic, I'll be taking my handfuls of pills until my liver craps out on me. I wonder if the insurance company covers that.
</rant>
On a super cool note, I received a phone call today that made my day. When I was a cop, there was this kid that was kind of taken under the whole department's wing. We let him hang out at the PD and took him for rides in the cars. Well, he grew up, lost his brain, and has decided to become a cop. He found me on the Internets (Thanks Al Gore!) and asked for some help preparing for the physical test he's going to have to take to be accepted into the police academy.
So, I worked up a plan for him and he started it a little over a week ago. He's supposed to email me, at the very least, every Sunday to let me know how things are going so I can tweak the plan and keep him on track. Sunday came and went and I didn't hear from him. Monday, I sent him an email reminding him that he's supposed to keep me in the loop (part of my job in these situations is being the kick in the ass guy to make sure people are moving forward). Still nothing.
Today, he called to tell me that his email won't send for some reason (Damn you Al Gore!) so he was calling with the update.
He lost 6 pounds in the first week, says he feels better in general, and said that he's sleeping better too. Bonus!
Here's the thing about Utah's police test. It's designed for lean people. Our job here is to make him stronger and faster than he currently is but much smaller. Every single one of the tests is easier, the lighter you are and the smaller your gut is. Stronger can't come at the price of bigger muscles, just stronger muscles.
We have under 3 months to turn him into a lean, mean, PT machine.
His phone call was the bright spot in the middle of all the other phone calls. He's doing great. I made it clear that I would design a plan for him but it was up to him to do the work. It sounds like he's doing the work and that's great.
So, back to the toe socks.
I warned you guys that I was going to be buying them so don't act shocked. Remember, I have the cold weather Vibrams, the VFF Flow. Also remember that while they do keep my feet warm, they don't keep my ankles warm. So, I bought one pair of Injinji Toesox to see how they would perform being worn inside my VFFs. I'll keep you updated, of course. I'm really hoping that they are comfortable so that I can wear my VFFs in the cold.
Yes, I know Rick. I'm a puss when it comes to the cold. I have accepted it.
Update: You knew this was going to happen. My appointment for tomorrow is back on. My wife just called me to let me know. I told her that I fully expected that outcome with her on the case. She said it wasn't really that difficult this time. Whatever.
So, I'll be making some dinner soon and that will be my last meal until dinner tomorrow night.
Think of me and wish me well while you are eating breakfast tomorrow.
***
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