It has been months since I did a TGIF post. This week ended up being a little nutty as I found out on Monday morning that I needed to go to St. Louis on Thursday to cover a meeting for my boss. It was such a short trip that I got prompted to check into my return flight before boarding my flight to STL on Wednesday afternoon! In general, it feels like there is a lot going on in my life right now. Here's how the week shaped up.
The book I read this week was The Book of Lost Friends which was set in the post-antebellum South; it was about former slaves trying to reunite with their families. It was heartbreaking to read and was based upon a column that sought to reunite separated families. Now I am reading "The Rachel Incident" which is a new release coming of age story that I've heard great things about! I’m about half through and am liking it!
The high of my week was hmmmm... some weeks don't have highs, right? This one didn't. It was a stressful one as I did a lunch event on Tuesday, but a week before the event the sales person who set up the event resigned! So another guy took it over and we did a planning call with the other 2 presenters at 8 am - on the day of the event! It was fine but I am a planner and don't like things feeling last minute. And then there was this last minute trip to St. Louis. And then some things have been happening at daycare related to turnover and senior leadership that is leading us to think we need to change programs for Will. Gah. And I am in the process of making an offer to a candidate which has been stressful and it’s just a lot. So no highs for the week. I’m kind of ‘in the weeds’ right now. Is that a regional phrase or commonly used?
The low of my week was dealing with insurance to get the copay on my very expensive RA meds ($3,300/syringe!) covered. It took 6 different phone calls and 1.5 hours of my time on Monday. Long story sort of shortened, I ended up talking to the drug-company-associated co-pay assistance team, my insurance, the insurance that coves prescription meds, twice I talked to the specialty pharmacy that fills my prescription and the final call was with a billing department of one of the entities - the specialty pharmacy? The insurance-related co-pay assistance company? The woman was nice but basically said the co-pay assistance wouldn't kick in until I had reached my deductible - which I have. And isn't it odd that this is all happening in the middle of the freaking year? I fill this rx monthly and had no issues for the last several months, although in March I went through a similar process although it did not require so many phone calls and I didn't pay anything out of pocket to get it resolved. You guys, I was LIVID when I got off the phone. Not at the people I talked to, but at the process! I eventually called uncle, forked over my HSA credit card info and just paid the remaining $250 they claimed I needed to pay to meet my $3,200 deductible because I need this prescription to get filled. And then they called again 2 days later, saying I needed to pay my remaining deductible so I gave them my my HSA credit card info - again. And then - THEY CALLED AGAIN the next freaking day saying the same thing as the day before. It was really really hard to stay calm when talking to the person because at this point I had spent over 2 hours trying to get this stupid medication delivered. This person was super nice and said she'd make sure the payment went through so I wouldn't have to go through this again. My doctor has been switching my meds around to try to find a combo that works because the next option is in-clinic infusions which take 4-6 hours and cost $10k. I can't imagine what the insurance process would be like to get that approved so hopefully it doesn't come to that.
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| I took the boys to a church with a small park on Thursday while Phil did swim club. And yes Taco is wearing socks with sandals. The sandals hurt his feet so he wears socks to avoid owies (too late in the season to buy new sandals). |
Do you use the phrase ‘in the weeds’? Did your week have a high? I’m so glad we have a week vacation at the lake at the end of the month. I am feeling very burned out and overwhelmed. So a quiet week by the water with super helpful grandparents to help out is just what I need.
Lisa! This sounds SO STRESSFUL. Like, any ONE of these things would be the max tipping point for me, and here you are doing a work event on the fly, suddenly LEAVING TOWN AND YOUR SMALL CHILDREN mid week, dealing with insurance AND medical issues, worried about daycare-- ALL OF IT-- and with grace and humor, too. I am so happy you have a vacation coming up too!
ReplyDelete"In the weeds" in my circle is like you are talking about your subject matter expertise in a discipline-centric, jargon-y way to a non subject matter expert crowd.
Lisa responding, stupid google doesn’t recognize me. Now that I think about it, that is probably the correct usage of in the weeds! My overtired brain is probably using the wrong idiom!
DeleteLisa, I think "in the weeds" is not only national, but I am fairly certain it may be multi-national. And even if it's not the same, I bet other languages have the same kind of idiom. On that line, did you know that "the grass is always greener" in Portuguese is "a galinha do vizinho sempre é mais gordaj" which means "the neighbor's chicken is always fatter?" Isn't that cute? I am sure the Portuguese also have an "in the weeds" equivalent!
ReplyDeleteThis week I did not work out at all (I am having trouble with motivation lately) and the worst thing that happened was that my car got broken into last night and they attempted to steal (hotwire) it but luckily were unsuccessful. However, I then learned that there is a big thing with stealing Hyundais right now (seriously, Google it, it is the newest craze. Who knew!?) as I guess they are easy to hotwire, and so parts are really hard to get so it could take a while to get fixed. I have to call the mechanic later today to find out, but I am leaving for Tahoe in about an hour for the weekend so it was not the best timing (as if it ever is!!)
I'm so sorry Lisa. This is just...a lot. You DO need a vacation and I also really hope that all these loose ends get sorted quickly. The insurance debacle sounds like an absolute headache - so incredibly stressful and frustrating - not to mention all the moving parts at work AND with the daycare situation AND travel.
ReplyDeleteI hope the upcoming lake vacation is a nice respite and that the kids sleep well and have a wonderful time with their grandparents.
I feel like my week started SO well, but I'm really limping to the finish line now. Stress with renovations - seriously, will this never end?! - and just feeling overwhelmed with all the things that need doing and I've not been sleeping well so that compounds everything.
BUT, it's the weekend, I fit in a lot of fun things and...onward and upward, right?
That is SO FRUSTRATING about the meds! What in the world is wrong with our system? Why do these things cost so much, anyway? I feel like the whole thing is a huge insurance scam, and people who really need the meds are caught in the middle. Anyway... I hope it's resolved now.
ReplyDeleteYou got in a lot of workouts this week! i totally remember those days, where the only way to get in a workout was to get out of the house. I still feel that way, sometimes! If I'm home the cats are meowing, and someone always needs something. Better to be at the gym where it's more peaceful : )
i hope you have a good weekend!
Oh LISA. What a stressful, busy week! I hope the weekend goes smoothly. It will hopefully be nice to have your parents around.
ReplyDeleteThe insurance issue makes me SO ANGRY. The health insurance system seems dead set against helping ANYONE. And all the back and forth between different entities, when the process should have worked the way it was intended to work from the start, is so infuriating. I hope that this is the last issue you have with it.
Good for you, getting in all those workouts despite how busy things have been! I have managed to do only one measly strength training routine this week, although I did walk four out of five days so that's SOMETHING at least. My eating has been terrible, too. I know that eating better and exercising will make me feel better and will actually help with the stress, but sometimes it's so hard to get my mind/body to cooperate.
I think your high is that there are baby birds! That's very cool stuff.
ReplyDeleteI first heard the expression "in the weeds" in a memoir from a chef, so I think it's pretty common in the restaurant industry, as well as other fast-paced settings, including YOUR LIFE. You have so much going on and I'm super annoyed at the insurance company for giving you the run around! SO FRUSTRATING.
I had a pretty good high this week, 2 things actually. First we paid the tuition bill for Ella's first semester of college, 1 down 7 more to go! 2nd, I published my first book! Look on amazon for "hard work for easy money", it's about personal finance but I covered lots of equity and bond stuff in there too, and tons of real estate info. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but of course found a few misspellings the day it was released haha.
ReplyDeleteI have heard the expression "in the weeds" (I love learning and using idioms) and think it's not a regional thing (or if it is, it's also used in CA). It sounds like you have a lot going on and I am glad you're getting a break at the lake soon.
ReplyDeleteI am so frustrated for you about the health insurance situation... and I can relate because I've spent so many hours on the phone with insurance (even though you think that shouldn't be necessary), but if you're not on top of it yourself, the insurance surely isn't. I hope you got it all sorted out.
so sorry about the insurance mess. just reading about it gave me stress. It's amazing how complicated is the system and how unautomatic it is. It adds to the stress to know that you'll probably have to deal with it again.
ReplyDeleteit amazes me that the health system in the US is so messed up and so hard to fix it. LIving outside of US is such a bless in term of health care as we pay 20% out of pocket for most things except routine check up. Reimbursements are automatic most of the time so I don't have to call the insurance so often.
Omg that insurance debacle is SO FRUSTRATING. And I hate that the onus is on the patient to get this all sorted out. I really hope you won't have to do in-clinic infusions - adding something like that to your already hectic life can't be good for your RA!
ReplyDeleteBABY BIRDS - I love them!!
I have heard the term "in the weeds"!
Your insurance situation is maddening. I hope that they figure out that you have already met your deductible and you get a rebate, I’ve had that happen more than once.
ReplyDeleteThe baby birds are SO CUTE.
Regarding ‘The Bear’, we are late to watching that, but we are LOVING it. Just watched the flashback episode in season 2 with Jaimie Lee Curtis. AMAZING. I won’t say more in case you haven’t watched yet.
I am so very sorry about the headache with dealing with insurance!!!! That is such a nightmare!!! It’s so insane to have to go through all of that!!!! I use in the weeds, it was a restaurant term I picked up. That is so exciting about Wild Krafts!!! I had a really fun week last week! I need to sit down and write a recap!
ReplyDeleteLori
WHY is insurance such a nightmare?? Glad it all worked out, eventually, but holy moley. This is what is wrong with US "healthcare".
ReplyDeleteI hope that you had a calm weekend after a crazy, crazy week, and that the daycare issues, especially, get worked out. You've sounded so positive about them over the years, and it must be difficult to have something like this come up.