We thought it was great that the doctors finally determined what kind of cancer Casey had and that it had originated from the donor. This meant that his chemo treatments could be started!!! His Oncologist told him he knew of the perfect drug to use on him when he received his chemo. It was something that would target the blood vessels in the tumor and cut off all circulation to it, therfore kill the tumor little by little. Sounds awesome! Let's do it! An appointment was made for the following week. We have waited this long, one more week couldn't hurt him. Well, one more week of waiting turned into another MONTH of waiting!!A couple of days before his chemo appointment, the nurse called Casey to tell him that his insurance had not approved one of the chemo drugs. She was pretty sure it would be approved before his appointment but just in case she said do not plan on showing up unless she calls back to confirm. She did not call back! We called every week and each time we were told that the insurance still had not approved it yet but for sure by the end of the week. We got the same ol' speech every time we called...at least twice a week!! For the next three weeks!!! Come on people!! I hate insurance companies! We called the doctors and we called the insurance but got nowhere!! The insurance assured us the supervisor would make a decision soon and that they knew this was important! Whatever! If they knew that, why are they taking so long to decide on something that will save a man's life?! Some supervisor sitting at a desk was playing God with Casey's life! It was a slap in the face...almost as if they were dangling Casey's life over his head just within reach! Friends and family became very disturbed by all this. Some of them even decided to take matters into their own hands!
One good piece of news was bestowed upon us during this chemo drama! Casey's liver transplant surgeon was so saddened by his situation and felt so bad about transplanting a tainted liver in him that he did everything he could to get him on the agenda for the Tranplant Committee Meeting. Dr. C fought tooth and nail, but the committee agreed to allow Casey to go through evaluation for future re-transplantation. They don't usually do transplants on patients who have liver cancer. Once Casey had undergone at least six chemo treatments, they would take more tests to see if the tumor had shrunk or disappeared...and then they would be able to do another liver transplant!! Hopefully this time it would be a PERFECT liver! If only we could get the stupid insurance to approve the chemo!!
About a month later, after Casey, family, friends, and the doctors raised hell with the insurance company, they FINALLY approved the chemo treatments!!! Hallelujah!! Can I get an AMEN?!
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