facebook roundup

(originally posted by Wendi)

First off, due to the generosity of so, so many people, we are covered in the transportation front. Thank you all for your generosity. As always it overwhelms us.

Second, for those of you who do not have Facebook, here is a collection of my posts from the last week (if you have Facebook, there is nothing new here, sorry):

Feb. 26th
I've been asked by a few people how to get in touch with us. Here is the address:
Mark Billington
1907 Holcombe Blvd.
Room 10
Houston, TX 77030

Feb. 27th
So, today is 31 days since Mark's surgery. Treatment should have started today, but Monday was close enough, considering all of the travel and logistics. We made sure all of the insurance stuff was done before we left WA. At least, with oncology. Got a call from Proton Therapy today that they were canceling Mark's treatment on Monday because they hadn't heard from insurance. What?! I personally saw the paperwork on Monday. In oncology. Come to find out Proton Therapy didn't put the request in to our insurance for pre-authorization until the middle of this week, and to our insurance it looked like"could you get to this sometime in the next few weeks?". Frank spends the afternoon on the phone, leaving the ball in Proton's court - all they have to do is tell insurance now that it's a rush authorization. And suddenly our appointments reappear on our portal. All is well, I tell him, so we let it be. 15 minutes after the business office closes here, I get another call from proton therapy: we're sorry, but we haven't received the authorization from your insurance yet, so we are canceling your appointments on Monday. Really? Now that it's too late to call them and figure out if they sent in the rush order? Sigh. I know it's all in God's hands (for those of you who thought I'd forgotten and were going to remind me - lol) but sometimes it is still frustrating!

Mar. 2nd
Quick update: still waiting on insurance. We are currently waiting to see the Endocrinologist, which is on the oncology (i.e. cleared by insurance side of things). Proton therapy felt that it should all be straightened out by this afternoon, however the business office closes in 1hr, and we haven't heard, so we'll see. Spent the day working on school and resting. I have been very, very tired the last few days, so napping in the afternoon has been a must for me. Once Mark's appointments start, that will not be an option, so I'm taking advantage :).

Mar. 3rd, 10:07 AM
The insurance finally came through!!!! We're waiting now for Mark's port to be accessed for the first time. Then labs, oncology appt., chemo, and radiation. It'll be a long day, but it's one step closer to being done and going home :).

Mar. 3rd, 11:40AM
May have spoken too soon. It's out of network, so it got bumped to a different person on this side so that it can be approved again. Sigh. They changed our proton appointment until 6pm, though, so I think they're hopeful it will get resolved today. And that means we get to go home for lunch.

Mar. 4th, 12:39AM
So...the CFO at proton therapy decided that he'd. Never heard of our insurance, therefore there needs to be a contract in place before we proceed. So they sent the contract to our insurance. Around 2 they called to explain the situation and ask if there was any way we could call our case manager at insurance and encourage them to move it along. Frank called and got voicemail. Called again later, case managers voicemail again, but the customer service rep said he could see it "in the queue". Getting used to just waiting. It is all in God's hands anyway. We are going to head in to Challenge with Jim tomorrow so we can meet his class, then head home and do school/wait. I've heard some "horror stories" of what this can mean: treatment delayed for weeks, huge amounts of money required up front. Again, thank you all for your prayers. During this I have met some beautiful women who are mentoring me in the process, so even in that I can see God's hand. His grace is abundant.

Mar 5, 12:09AM
One possible "reason" for God's timing in all of this was made apparent today: Jim had his Challenge II class today. Since we had no appointments for the day we drove him over so we could check out his new class. About five minutes into the first subject of the day, Bella says she feels like she's going to be sick. She managed to throw up in the hallway and another classroom before I found an empty trashcan for her to finish up in. After cleaning up all the messes, emptying the trash cans, and grabbing a bag for the road, we jumped in the car for the thirty minute drive back to RMH. She used her bag well, and since we've gotten home this morning, she has continued to expel everything that goes into her little body, even ice. I've been feeling a bit off as well, and have spent most of the day napping with her or on the phone with proton and insurance attempting to get everyone to speak the same language. Final on that front is it might still be up to three more days before he can start treatment. Everyone says their hands are tied.

That being said, with Jim gone all day (he ended up hanging out with one of the CC families and going to church with them for the evening) attempting to fit in proton and chemo would have been close to impossible. So we will continue to wait on God's timing. Love you all!