Gold Nuggets

I blogged a few days ago how that, in the midst of a week of bad news, God had blessed us by allowing a friend to supply our need for a transport chair for Don for our most recent doctor visit. On Saturday, something even MORE exciting happened.

The end of November, the neurologist wanted to give Don a series of plasma infusions (called IVIG) to fight the disease they thought he had at that time. The procedure was horribly expensive and Medicare wouldn't pre-approve it. So, after much thought and prayer, we decided to go ahead with the procedure, even if it meant losing everything we owned. We didn't feel we had much choice. I proceeded to consult with several financial gurus at the hospital where the procedure would be done as well as Medicare and Blue Cross, crossing all my t's and dotting all my i's, in case we were billed personally for the infusions.

Saturday morning, when I opened my e-mail, I had a message from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois, our secondary insurance carrier, telling me to check our account. When I went into the account, I saw that they had paid our IVIG charges, and I didn't have to file a claim, write a letter or anything! I was thrilled. Their part of the payment was right at $50,000, and they only pay 20%. Someone told me, with all the write-offs insurance companies get, our original bill was probably somewhere in the area of $600.000! What a wonderful blessing to not have to worry about that expense when we already have so much on our plate.

Even though last week was a difficult week in many ways, there were still gold nuggets to be found, assuring us of our Father's love and care. We're still some of His favorite kids!