Gimme some skin (or not)

Did I say in my last installment to look for a few new blogs soon? Um...sorry. I had the best intentions but pfffft...

I've blogged before about wanting to have a panniculectomy to remove excess skin on my midsection. A panniculectomy is different from a tummy tuck (abdomnioplasty); a tummy tuck tightens the muscle as well as removes excess skin and fat, but a panniculectomy only removes excess skin and fat. The panniculectomy is, from everything I'd read and heard about, the procedure that OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) might cover. A couple of weeks ago, I went to a doctor in London, Ontario, to see about having this surgery. I understand that in most cases, OHIP will not cover the cost of a panniculectomy. But sometimes they do. I had to go find out for myself if I would be a viable candidate. I figured what did I have to lose?

Well, apparently, I had to lose almost two entire days off work, a lot of my sanity and $80.00 (not counting gas money and cell phone charges).

There was a huge mix-up for my first appointment. Long story short: I was told to go to one location, went there and couldn't find the doctor! No one in the building had ever heard of her. No sign, no note, no nothing mentioning her at all. I kept calling her office trying to find out what the deal was. No answer. I left message after message, flagging them as 'urgent' and incurring long-distance roaming charges as there is no nationwide long-distance thing here in Canada. When a very nice lady at the hospital (totally NOT where the doctor told me to go but where her usual office is located) finally reached her, basically the response was "Yes, she had an appointment today. I was there and she wasn't. She needs to re-book."

"But she's come all the way from Kitchener (Kitchener is about 50 miles from London). She and her husband have taken off work. Can you possibly see her today?"

"No. I'm on the way home."

WHAT????? I was more than a little furious. She's in the car and won't turn around for me to come in for 20 fucking minutes so I don't have to do this all over again next week?? When it's HER fault I didn't see her? Seriously??

I was thinking maybe I didn't even want to deal with this doctor. However, she had just performed this surgery on a friend of mine - a fellow gastric bypass patient - who liked her very much. My friend's surgery was covered by OHIP so I knew this doctor knew how to work the system. After having to take my family doctor by the hand and lead her through the gastric-bypass process, that was important to me. Also, this doctor has a specialty in patients who have gone through massive weight loss. So I was going to call the next day and re-book. One more chance. BUT....she better not try to charge me a missed-appointment fee. Then we would fight. LOL!

I was at my desk at work for less than 10 minutes the next morning when her receptionist called me back to re-book. No apology. No nothing. There was a specific suite in the building I needed to go to. No one told me that; I looked over the notes I took when I was on the phone with her before the first appointment - nothing. I'm a pretty good note-taker. When people call me at work requesting changes to their printing designs/jobs, I have to be specific. So I still think she just didn't tell me this very important information.

"You realize," I said, "all of this could've been avoided if I could've simply reached someone at your office by phone." Sill no apology. She just said she wasn't answering the phone in that office, at the hospital, that day. Or returning messages flagged 'urgent', either, I suppose. Whatever. Re-booked for the following Monday.

I went alone this time as I didn't want Erich to have to take off work again. The doctor was indeed very nice (her receptionist leaves a lot to be desired, however, even in person) and I did like her. She was very impressed with my weight loss and said it was among the highest percentages she'd seen. She also told me I had more excess skin than she normally sees. Great! Maybe that would mean my chances of having the surgery covered would be better! Not so much.

"OHIP isn't in the business of covering tummy tucks," she began. Yeah, I know that! Not asking for a tummy tuck. While I do have a lot of excess skin, I haven't had any huge medical issues with it. By that, she said she means something requiring antibiotics or hospital stays. She said she could see I had some issues (which I'll spare you), but it's not enough. Not even worth applying to OHIP about.

That'll be $80.00 please! Cha-ching! At least there was no mention of a missed-appointment fee.

So yeah. I guess that ship has sailed and we're done! I have to learn to love my rolls, even though they aren't filled with anything anymore. LOL!

I did ask her opinion on how much skin there was - if she were to remove it all, how much would it be? Again she said I had more than the average patient, but it's never the magic 30 pounds everyone thinks it is! I can see that for sure. She told me her estimate would be 10-12 pounds. Now that's the removal of the skin everywhere - complete tummy tuck, upper arms, thighs. So I guess that would mean I'd hover around 180-185 without the skin. Still too much for the 'charts'. Maybe I should lose another 10-15 pounds? I dunno. I'm pretty happy the way I am (minus the skin issues). If it comes off, it does. I've lost 250 pounds and I have to take a breath for a minute. Just a minute.

Also a couple of weeks ago, I applied to Oprah for Erich and I to appear on a show about couples makeovers. If I can get some new clothes and style advice then why not? And having Erich do it with me would be really sweet. He is the only one who has been here with me, in person, every day, every step. His support has meant the world to me and if I can share some of the attention with him then I will. Plus, our 10th wedding anniversary is coming up in the spring, when the show would likely air. And this is a man who has "work" t-shirts and "dress" t-shirts. He could use some makeover help, too. LOL! We haven't heard a thing yet and I don't have my hopes up. But we'll see, right? It's like the lottery. If you don't play, your chances of winning are zero instead of just a long-shot.

Here's hoping for a trip to Chicago in the winter. LOL!