He is 23!

We had a great time at dinner with Christopher's friends!  Lots of people came and we didn't even have to promise a free meal!  :)  Mom and I were by far the oldest!  It is scary that my siblings are all in their twenties now!  And every year Chris gets older just means my birthday is a little over a month behind.........plus a couple of years!  Thanks to all of Chris' friends for a great turnout!

About 35 of Christopher's friends showed up to eat with him
Saturday night!  Every table you see here and some you can't
see were filled with his friends.

Chris' Birthday Arriving Soon!

Just wanted to give you all an update.  Christopher's next MRI is in October.  Please continue to pray that the results will show no growth!!!  In the meantime, he is doing very well!  Working hard and having fun!  I also wanted to let you know he is turning 23 on September 11th! 

I also posted a new picture.  Well, its not really new.  It was taken January 2009 in Jackson Hole, WY.  Christopher's favorite thing to do is snowboard.  Christopher, Nathan, and Jessica and I were all snowboarding this time.  Not sure if I will do that again!

Back from Houston

Christopher, Mom, Big Chris and Jessica all returned safely from Houston.  Their check-in time for registration  at MD Anderson was 8:30am Tuesday morning.  Then, they were supposed to meet with the doctor(s) at 9:30.  I believe they had to wait an hour and a half in the patient room to see the doctor, but he did arrive after seeing 2 other new patients.  Mom was very impressed with the doctor and not as much with the customer service of the hospital. 

All of the family was anxious for a second opinion on what had been done so far and what to do next.  The MD Anderson doctor said that Christopher's surgery looked great.  It also looked to him that most of the tumor had been removed.  He suggested the same standard care of treatment that the Emory doctors had suggested.  This includes 6 weeks radiation (which Christopher has already completed) and an MRI every 2-3 months.

Overall, the trip was a success.  Everything had happened so quickly when we found out about Christopher's tumor, so this trip put to rest any doubts that more could have been or should have been done.   

Doctors Appt & John Oxendine

You may wonder what on earth the 2 subjects have in common.  Well here goes.  Last night, my mom went to bed feeling defeated; she felt she had failed herself and Christopher.  MD Anderson was refusing to see Christopher unless he agreed to be self-pay even though he had insurance .  Mom kept trying to explain to the women there the preexisting clause was no longer an issue on this disease.  Nothing was getting done because Christopher's case required a little more effort by the MD Anderson staff scheduling his consultation.  I personally believe they didn't want to be bothered by any extra work.  I wonder how those same women would feel if their 22 year old son who was recently diagnosed with Stage III Brain Cancer (which there are only IV stages) was told by a paper pusher in another state he could not be seen because they have never heard of a certain form?  

So, this morning Mom is up and at'em again trying to manage both her self-owned real estate business and Christopher's future.  All of the sudden, she gets a three way call from BCBS and Christopher's dad whom we call Big Chris.   Not only had BCBS called to say MD Anderson was In-Network which we had previously been told otherwise, but also to say they contacted MD Anderson again to say Christopher is free of any preexisting condition clause regarding this specific diagnosis. 

What had happened over night???

Big Chris, Christopher's father, had been on the phone all day yesterday and first thing this morning with John Oxendine's office.  Oxendine is the Insurance Commissioner of GA and was running for GA Governor.  I haven't talked to Big Chris, so I don't know all the details.  But what I do know, is that once Big Chris informed the Insurance Commissioner's Office what was going on, they immediately got on it and contacted BCBS of GA.  BCBS of GA contacted BCBS of TX and they contacted MD Anderson to say Christopher's insurance is fine and he can be seen without risk of the preexisting clause.   

Mom immediately got on the phone with MD Anderson and spoke with the same woman she has been dealing with this whole time.  Mom in tears says, "I just got off the phone with BCBS and they said a fax should be on your colleague's desk as we speak." The paper pusher says, "Okay her desk is beside mine, so I will check and call you later."  I am in the room listening to this conversation on speakerphone.  Mom says, "No, I want you to check now and send me an email stating you will see Christopher and will take his insurance."  Sure enough the fax is on the desk.


The reason for going to MD Anderson is to get a 2nd opinion on what to do next.  He has already been given 6 weeks of radiation by Emory.  The doctors there suggest waiting and fighting the tumor when it returns.  My mom and our family want to be more aggressive.  His appointment was originally scheduled for tomorrow, the 29th at 7:30am.  Now, it has been rescheduled for Tuesday, August 3rd at 7:30am.  Mom, Christopher and his father will leave this Sunday and make the 12 hour journey to Houston.  Please pray for safe travels and to give them doctors there certainty on what course of action to do next.  We will all rest easier tonight!

On another note, I lived in Oklahoma most of 2009 and then moved to TN in March 2010. Honestly, I don't know much any more about politics in GA. What I do know is John Oxendine, the GA Insurance Commissioner, seems to be a really great man and seems to run a well-oiled machine. I do not believe he is in the run-off for the governor's race and even so his office had this issue worked out in less than a day. I would highly suggest researching him and supporting him in the future!


I would also like to say that Christopher is very happy and feeling great! He doesn't have any hair at the moment, but he is cute as ever!  This circumstance has not broken him down for a second!  He is much stronger than I believe I would be.

This is a picture of us kids taken July 3rd, 2010.
L to R: Me (Britney) 27, Christopher 22, Elizabeth 26, and Jessica 20

A Failed Trip to MD Anderson

This picture was taken 3-25-10 at Emory University Hospital the night before Christopher's surgery.  Our sister, Jessica, is also in the picture.



Tuesday, March 23rd, started as any other day would with me in town visiting the family.  I was staying in Cartersville at my mom's house trying to help her with some work.  I will go into more detail in later posts, but my mom ran into my room that night at 1:30am scared to death.  After jumping up and seeing Chris on the floor in the den, I knew something wasn't quite right.  After calling 911, we came to the conclusion Chris had had a seizure.  With skipping many details that I will write about later, Mom ended up at Cartersville Hospital.  It was now Wednesday morning and by Friday afternoon, Chris was having a tumor removed from his brain.   Again skipping many, many details, Christopher finished radiation received at Emory and the plan was to get a second opinion on what to do next from MD Anderson located in Houston.       

 Mom and Christopher were supposed to leave Monday, July 26th, for an appointment schedule for many weeks out in Houston.  Last Friday, Mom gets a call from MD Anderson stating they (the hospital) are not willing to take the risk of having Christopher as a patient unless he agrees to be self-pay.  He has insurance!  Yes, he is out of network, but BCBS of GA has to cover his treatments.  However, since Christopher was not on his current insurance policy for exactly a year, there is a preexisting clause that worries the hospital. 

Let me back up for a moment.  Chris was on insurance, BCBS, for a year. He took a new position, and to save money, cancelled the policy in November 2009. I aggravated him to death until he finally purchased the same policy again in February 2010. Early morning, Wednesday, March 24th, is when the seizure happened. Medical bills starting being filed rapidly and BCBS became suspicious as expected. So, BCBS conducted a review to make sure Christopher had no preexisting conditions. Christopher had not even been to the doctor in over 2 years since his wisdom teeth had been removed. BCBS closed the review and has been paying all the medical bills.

There is a clause in his policy that states, if claims are filed less than one year from the insurance start date, BCBS could automatically demand any funds be returned that have been paid toward Christopher's treatments if they find this illness is preexisting. As mentioned earlier, BCBS has already performed their review and found no preexisting conditions.  However, just because the clause is in the policy, MD Anderson will not take the risk unless BCBS releases this clause which BCBS will not.  Apparently, its written in all their Tonik policies.  With that being said, MD Anderson will not take his insurance or Christopher unless he agrees to self pay. 

The initial consultation is $17,700.  If you didn't catch that number, it is seventeen thousand and seven hundred US dollars.  That's what they would bill the insurance if they were willing to take Chris'!  But, they told Mom yesterday, if you agree to selfpay, we will knock it down to $1588!  That much inflation from selfpay to insurance.  No wonder our insurance is so expensive!!!  Are you kidding?!  Needless to say, Mom and Christopher have taken all of this as a sign they need to go somewhere else. 

I know this post makes this all seem so simple.  But, it is not.  My mom has had to battle hospitals and the insurance company since Christopher got sick.  It has been extremely difficult to get any help or answers from anyone.  Something is not right!