Why Friday Sucked with a Happier Look at Things to Come …

Y’all, Friday was not my best day ever. For those of you who don’t know me well, I tend to be positive – really positive – to the point of being annoying. Most of the time when something crappy happens, I just shrug my shoulders and move on to happier thoughts. But not Friday, Friday I cried straight into my mug of Earl Grey.

So why the tears you ask? It all started back in fourth grade when I was an early bloomer with a period and boobs. Big boobs. And they kept getting bigger. I’m now an H-cup (yes, that exists) and since May have been actively taking measures to get a breast reduction.

Medically Necessary Breast Reduction is Not an Easy Feat

There are so many crazy steps for insurance to cover a medically necessary breast reduction. Not to mention, appointments book up months in advance. Through my efforts I called dozens of doctors to find one who would accept my insurance, I lost 35 pounds to meet the insurance company’s weight requirements (major side-eye to this one), and I went to numerous sessions of physical therapy to demonstrate my pain wasn’t going away without surgery.

While still a few pounds away from the insurance company’s limit, I went to my first pre-op appointment in December with a nervous excitement. The doctor made me feel so at ease – he said I’m a great candidate for insurance coverage and knows 2018 is going to be a good year for me! The insurance company can take six weeks to review each case, but he was confident it wouldn’t be an issue.

Fast forward 5 weeks and I’m getting antsy. Especially since it takes another five to six months after getting approved to schedule the surgery itself. I email the doctor’s assistant in charge of working with the insurance company and I ask if there’s any update.

And here it comes …

Less than five minutes later I get a three-sentence email that wipes out 9 months of planning, research, and damn hard work.

Are you fucking kidding me? I just spent 9 months in limbo for you to tell me I was never going to be covered no matter what and that I could have been done with the recovery process already? Why, when you were giving me the 5,000 hoops to jump through, did you not mention this was a possibility and that I should call my insurance company to investigate? Did you even know there are certain procedures that some insurance plans won’t cover regardless of medical necessity? Because I didn’t.

And then I called my mom and I cried. I cried because of back pain and chafing. I cried because I have to wear two sports bras to work out – even for a yoga class. I cried because I had to replace my expensive printer the night before and life seemed to keep piling on.

The insurance company told me my options are minimal. Best case scenario, surgery would be about two years out; worst case, I’m back to where I am today.

The Silver Linings

At the end of the day, through more held back tears, I told my mom I couldn’t keep going like this. I owed it to myself to be happy in my own skin. I called the doctor’s assistant and scheduled this “cosmetic” (eye-roll) surgery for June 20^th. I’ll be paying out of pocket, but I know it will be worth it!

At this point I was feeling sorry for myself, so I started a list of the positives. Yes, I’m a total nerd, but I didn’t want to let this setback consume me.

On The Bright Side …

1. The surgery is on the books! For months I’ve been saying things like “I don’t know if I can do that vacation / half marathon / whatever, yet, until I find out what date my surgery will be.” No more of this!
2. To that end, I’m now planning to do the Chicago Spring Half Marathon to celebrate my coworker’s 30^th birthday. It will be my fourth and final half marathon with boob issues most of you have never even dreamt of.
3. My good friend is getting married in October and with my surgery scheduled, I can wait until post-op to get fitted for my bridesmaid dress, avoiding extensive alterations.
4. As I save money over the next few months, I’ll be forced to make better budgeting habits – maybe these will even carry over post-op …
5. Speaking of money – I’m going to throw the whole thing on a 0% credit card and go on one badass vacation with all the points I earn.
6. Knowing the surgery date gives me some extra motivation to continue my weight loss journey – the closer to my goal weight I am at the time of surgery, the better.

Friday night, I joined a new gym and had a great run to relieve some leftover stress and frustration. Now begs the question – y’all like health and fitness blog posts, right?? 😉