Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Negative is Positive

Last week I had a colonoscopy and blood work done and everything came back negative. It's great to report another exam result as cancer-free. And I was awake during the colonoscopy so I got to watch the screen and see the inside of my large intestine and I also got a little peek into my small intestine. It's amazing what it all looks like. And it was great to not be doped up for the rest of the day following the procedure. There was too much of that too many times. No thank you.

My physical therapy is going well. I continue to make progress. Initially the progress I made was pretty significant. Now I seem to have found my pace and the progress I make is not so significant, but steady. I can still get pretty tired doing anything physical for very long, but I can certainly do more than I could before the physical therapy started.

I was surprised to hear a report from my physical therapist that my disability insurer contacted him and told him they thought I was ready to be off of disability, followed by their asking him if he agreed. He said he responded by asking the representative if they knew I had just had surgery days before they called. The answer was "No." Apparently, the representative suddenly had a change of heart.

I am clear that insurance companies have to keep people in check and not allow funds to wasted, but it seems what's missing is a little common sense when making such decisions or better yet, assumptions. Maybe I was bumped to the new guy's caseload and he didn't bother to read the file. I'm supporting my family on a measly disability income, itching to be healthy enough to get back to work, and they've got the gall to call my physical therapist and tell him, not ask him, but tell him they think I'm ready to return to work. Perhaps if I was claiming back pain and then helping friends move furniture, I could understand why they might tell my physical therapist I'm ready to return to work. But when they don't even know my health status and still try to get me off of disability... Unbelievable.

Okay. I'm done with my rant. Back to what matters. I've passed another round of tests. All results are negative. Happy New Year!!!