So, today got a bit of a blow... Because of the wonderful thing that is America's 'Free Market' economy, our health insurance here is a joke unless you're making really good money & working at an employer that pays for insurance. Even with that here on campus, they won't pay for bariatric surgery, unless you have diabetes. Yes, seriously, so no matter what co-morbidities (co-morbidities are 'obesity related issues') you have, unless it's diabetes in particular, this insurance won't pay for it. Isn't that just peachy?

So, I was left with no other option than to finance the surgery myself (meaning get a loan) or go without, which at this weight means I may not live to see my dissertation defense, or I may blow out a knee... Yeah, not the best options, I'd say...

So, I decided that I'd take out the loan. After convincing my parents to co-sign (NOT a pleasant process, let me tell you, but that's for another time...) all should be set... almost, but not quite...

So, I hear today that I can't finance the entire procedure, as I was originally told because 'it'll cause an accounting nightmare.' Right... so 'cause they want 3 checks, I should suffer? I think not... So, Monday is still on as planned, but instead of $140 up front for the initial loan fees, it's now $336 for the initial consultation! ($231 for the first consult, $50 for the psych eval & $55 for the nutritionist consult) and, instead of paying at the time like I was told, I now have to pay all up front... yeah, NOT what I was budgeting for!!

Gotta love living in the south, they care more about how much work it is for THEM, and NOT how much help it is for the patient...

So, now we'll see what sort of time frame we're looking at, I'm still pushing for asap ('cause I don't wanna be recovering from surgery over finals!!) but, it's going to necessitate like 2-4 days out of class...

I did realize something else today, though, as I was buying soda. While I'll miss soda, and well I'll need to change my diet drastically, I *can* work things around so that it's really not that huge of a difference! For example, I bought my last Chinese combo meal tonight ('cause I now have HUGE budget restrictions for this month!) and I realized that once I'm cleared for solid foods again, I can't eat rice with Chinese food any more, but I *can* eat chicken on a stick (which I love!) and possibly even boneless BBQ ribs (depending on spices & calories, etc, of course!) Which I thought was huge! It's reinforcing that this *IS* the right decision for me!