Thursday, December 22, 2005
The transplant committee approved a bilateral (double) lung transplant for Jim this morning. So the next step is waiting for the insurance company to approve the transpant. After that UCLA will activate him on the waiting list. We’re not sure how long it will take the insurance company to give the okay. It’s a relief [...]
Thursday, December 22, 2005
We’ve called and left messages. Now we’re just waiting to hear back from someone at UCLA. My nerves are frayed, so I’m thinking that some of you might have frayed nerves. Rather than post nothing, I thought I would let you know that we’ll post the minute we know anything.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Jim just got word from UCLA that his test results are back and he is malignancy free. His case will be presented to the transplant committee on Thursday for a vote. We are exceedingly hopeful this morning.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Julie Whitt survived lymphoma when she was nineteen, but the treatment trashed her lungs. She just received her double lung transplant today after being placed on the wait list on November 21. That is less than a month on the wait list. Wow. You can read all about her at her blog. You’ll notice that [...]
Saturday, December 17, 2005
The L.A. Times seems to have its eye on the Southern California transplant centers. This time it is St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles again. That center is still trying to recover from its liver transplant scandal and now questions are being raised about its kidney program. You can read all about it here.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Jim had his PET/CT scan this afternoon and just walked in the door. We won’t know what they have found or have not found until next week, so we’ll be posting again after we talk to the oncologist.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Jim has a PET/CT scan scheduled for Friday at noon. If the oncologist gives him the green light the transplant committee could put him on the list after its Thursday December 22 meeting. Now that would be quite a Christmas present.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Thought I would make a little correction on a rather uninteresting part of Maggie’s last post. The hospital lung transplant biopsy bill was $91,000 (and change) and Jim’s part was just $26,000. That isn’t for any of the doctors or even the lab work. That is just for the hospital and surgery rooms, maybe even [...]
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
The oncologist, Dr. Schiller, examined Jim and asked him lots of questions about his treatment for ALL at Dana Farber in 1997. Then he said that Jim needs a bone marrow biopsy and a full body PET/CT scan to hunt for cancer. We have no reason to believe that they’ll find any cancer, so we’re [...]
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Just heard from Maggie that everything went well at UCLA. They took a little bone marrow from Jim — ouch! Maggie and Jim are off to California Pizza kitchen to have some lunch. Maggie will update more details later.
Monday, December 12, 2005
9:00am Leave for UCLA 10:30am Arrive at Dr. Schiller’s office to fill out new patient forms and produce insurance cards. 11:00am Consultation with Dr. Schiller 11:30ish Go to blood test place and have more blood drawn for more tests. 12:00ish Eat? Sometimes we eat and sometimes we just wait for the doctors. 1:00pm Get second [...]
Saturday, December 10, 2005
I was getting my primary insurance through Media Alliance — an amazing organization that provides professional services for people in the media industry in California. Media Alliance contracts with PacAdvantage who then contracts with a variety of insurance companies. PacAdvantage terminated Media Alliance’s coverage (and that of 1000 of its members) on a completely bogus [...]
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Jim has a hematology consultation scheduled for Tuesday December 13 with Dr. Schiller. Dr. Schiller will look at Jim’s files, maybe order more blood tests and then share his thoughts with Dr. Lynch. After that it’s back to the Lung Transplant Committee.
Thursday, December 1, 2005
As unbelievable as this may seem, UCLA has requested that Jim see a hematologist for more testing before they will put him on the wait list. It has something to do with the odds of him getting cancer again after the transplant. I can’t really explain the details because neither the doctor nor the transplant [...]
Thursday, December 1, 2005
I don’t like to post about Jim’s insurance situation because it is complicated and intimidating to speak publicly about it. He has two insurance policies, so one has been designated as primary and the other as secondary. The two companies pretty much duke it out over every single medical bill. We go through the statement [...]
