4/2/06
10:20 PM: We've had a good weekend. Sophie is doing quite well, and it's been nice to have a break from so many of her medicines. As much as I want her counts to be back to normal (ANC > 1.0), I wouldn't mind so much if we had another week off from the chemo (but then again, I'm anxious about not having her take chemo for so long--it's what keeps the cancer away). Sophie will go back to day care tomorrow, and I'll go back in to work for the first time in over two weeks. I think Randall's looking forward to having the house to himself again. This has been a difficult couple of weeks for him (for all of us, really, but he seems to have taken it extra hard), and I think getting back to our normal routine will be good for him.
I don't think Randall mentioned it, but last week, we finally made some headway with the billing problems we've been having with our local hospital. We went to that ER five times over a one year period, and they have been billing us for the difference between their contracted rate (which our insurance paid) and their regular rate (which we shouldn't have to pay--that's the purpose of a contracted rate). Our insurance company kept trying to solve the problem by sending letters explaining about the contracted rate, but that wasn't working, and every time Randall called, he had to talk to a different person, who had to be told the whole story from the beginning. This last time Randall called, he insisted that the only thing that was going to resolve the problem was to have one person assigned to it. They finally listened, and a supervisor said she would handle the case, and she would start by having the insurance company pay the disputed amount so that it no longer is our problem. If the insurance company decides to take a loss, they can do that, or they can decide to fight it, but if it's their money instead of ours, they'll be more likely to take it seriously. Finally--a resolution we can live with. And it only took one year!
Update on T'yanna: She started chemo on Friday, and her mom said that Friday night was the first night she started to sleep well. The reduced pressure from the colostomy is starting to make a difference. Melissa said if things continue the way they have been, they plan to train the family how to manage the colostomy bag and the stents, and T'yanna might be able to go home as soon as Thursday. That would be great. Two weeks in the hospital in that small room is a long time.