Scoliosis

It all started about a month ago when I got a phone call from the school nurse.  She said she was sending home a paper with Andrea (my 13-year-old) that I needed to take very seriously.  The nurse had just completed the normal 7th grade scoliosis screening, and she was seeing some VERY abnormal results.  She would like for us to schedule an appointment with our family doctor to have this checked out.

We got an appointment with our family doctor for the next week, and he said he would be very surprised if it was anything to worry about.  The look on his face when he did the exam told us he was more concerned than originally expected.  He gave us an order for a full-body x-ray and asked us to make the appointment as soon as possible.  Two days later, Andrea got an x-ray that showed from the base of her head to the top of her pelvis.

That week, we went to my brother's wedding, and we were going to call the doctor for the results when we returned on Monday.  The doctor didn't wait for our return, though.  He called us on Thursday evening to let us know that Andrea had severe scoliosis, and he wanted her to be seen by a spine specialist as soon as possible.  A week later, Andrea was being seen by a spine specialist who made the appointment very short. "This is not something I can handle; she needs to see a surgeon, and I would like her to see one sooner rather than later."

The spine specialist called and scheduled an appointment, and it was only two days away.  The surgeon confirmed that Andrea has a case of scoliosis that is severe, and it will continue to get worse at the rate of 1 degree per month until she stops growing, then it will progress at 1-3 degrees per year after that, if surgery is not done to repair the bend.  Andrea actually has three curves- one is 61 degrees, one is around 40 degrees, and the third is around 30 degrees.  Anything over 30 degrees is considered moderate, and anything over 40 degrees is considered severe.  At 70-90 degrees, depending on what research is being looked at, damage to the lungs and heart begins from the rubbing of the bone against the organs.  The surgeon said he would like to do the surgery sooner rather than later.  It was scheduled for the 19th of this month.

Now, however, we have hit a MAJOR snag!  After getting approval for the surgery from our insurance company, they called the surgeon and said they could not actually give approval.  We have a plan that doesn't cover that particular doctor or hospital, even though my husband was told everything was good, as was the doctor's office.  Someone at the insurance company had made a mistake, and they could not approve the surgery.  

We have spent hours today calling the insurance company and various surgeon's offices to find another surgeon.  We are running up against road blocks at every turn.  Everyone is SO frustrated and feeling so out of control.  

I just wish we could get a clear answer from the insurance company and cooperation from a surgeon.  It worked so smoothly with the original referral!  If we don't all keel over from exhaustion today, I will be amazed.