Please pray big

To make a long story short, I am asking my warriors to pray for favor tomorrow as I seek one last option to get my Votreint (chemo pill) refilled and to my doorstep by Wednesday of this week.

I will take my last set of pills tomorrow, and as of this evening, BCBS has denied the right to give me more until I receive preauthorization (once again) for the high dollar drug. By the way, they didn’t alert my specialty pharmacy or me that the authorization had expired or the fact authorization takes 7-10 business days! I found that out talking to the third customer service rep today.

I spent almost two hours on the phone today talking with six different people trying to understand why my request to get my Votrient refilled over a week ago has continually been delayed . . . AND every story I heard was different . . . different reasons . . .  different excuses . . .  different suggested plans of action. I have NEVER had issues getting this drug before and now they wait until one hour before “closing time” the day before my last dose to tell me “no.” Actually, my insurance didn’t tell me anything. I heard that from the customer service rep at the specialty pharmacy who has been dealing with my insurance for over a week now to get an explanation. She went above and beyond the call of duty. I decided I needed to call the insurance for myself.

I was so frustrated today hearing, “I understand, but there is nothing I can do.” First of all, “Um . . . no, you don’t understand.” And, two, I thought we paid for insurance so we could get coverage when we needed it. This medicine isn’t for a headache, after all. This is a drug for cancer. Specifically, it is for a thirty-five-year-old mama/wife who has Stage IV cancer and wants to kill the heck out of this stupid, stupid, stupid disease not spend two hours confused and frustrated by how helpless I am in the situation even when I tried to do the right thing over a week ago, even when I followed up several times with the specialty pharmacy and they said it was being taken care of.

The lesson I should’ve learned several months ago with insurance is that you have to be your own advocate. No one cares about your situation like you do because your life depends on it, not theirs. As I cried this evening, I was reminded there is only ONE other who will advocate for me. He promises to do it night and day. He will do it with wisdom and holiness – not the way I handled it at times today.

I am trusting Him to do just that, and I am praying for strength to trust Him with the results tomorrow as well. I plan on starting my phone calls tomorrow at 7:30am to pursue the last option offered me by the kindest of the customer service reps today.

At the end of this, I don’t even know if this chemo pill is helping, but I think it is best to continue taking it until Dr. Benjamin says otherwise. I am praying the Lord will guide my steps and guard my life, even with ridiculous hiccups like this.