My New Disease Buddy

So, a funny thing happened a couple of weeks ago i-- I got myself an AD buddy.  Someonme had mentioned to me that there was someone else in the department with health problems, but I never made the connection because I didn't know who she was.  Anyhow, at the graduate student meeting we're all required to go to before classes started, the grad director asked if we had any questions.  I raised my hand and started asking a few pointed questions about the new policy. 

You see, my university switched from UHC to Aetna back on August 1st, and in the transition we don't have any information on our policies.  In fact, I am STILL without an insurance card and it's been about a month.  At the time, we didn't even have a group policy number for insurance purposes, and  I was getting antsy.  So I started trying to get some answers from our grad director, which is usually a mistake anyway, but anyhow...

"So, I was wondering if we have a university-wide group policy number yet," I asked in the meeting, "because I think I can still at least get my prescriptions with that even if we don't have insurance cards yet.  Has anybody heard anything on that yet?"  My grad director stammered a little. 

"Well, no..." he answered.  "I'm not sure..."  A woman behind me and to my right perked up at the question. 

"What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"  I asked as patiently as I could. 

"If you keep your reciepts you can get refunded as soon as the policy gets finalized..." he offered. 

"But my rheumatology appointments are 375 bucks a visit," I said.  "I'll have to just wait.  Do you know how much longer I'll need to?"  The dark-haired woman behind me raised her hand and started answering all my questions, as she had just grilled the insurance rep the day before and found out as much as she could.  After she filled in the entire grad student body on the state of the insurance debacle, she mouthed come talk to me.  We met up in the hallway.  It was "Mary Beth," a grad student who started the year before me. 

"You're seeing a rheumatologist," she said matter-of-factly.  "What's going on?"  So I told her about what was going on for the last year or so, and that's when she told me that she probably had rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, her doctor (Dr. W as it turns out!) wasn't sure which.  And she was on anti-malarials and a few other things right now, and she couldn't get some of her prescriptions filled during the insurance fiasco. 

So, "Mary Beth" is a bit of a pro at all this now-- her sister has RA, and she's been dealing with much more severe symptoms for a couple of years now.  She knows the ropes with my rheumatologist.  She knows the insurance hierarchy at my college better than they know themselves.  And she's developed some good plans for balancing work around her health.  She says she's nearly normal now, and is even back to hiking, which for RA is  a heck of an improvement. 

We had a little weird bonding moment in the hallway when we both found out we were having problems with Raynaud's disease.  "I call it dead-man fingers," she joked.

"My name for it is 'zombie fingers,' I confessed, and we both laughed.  We also both found out we're being treated by Dr. H, which was funny, and we both talked about how cool she is.  So "Mary Beth" and I are going to get together sometime and have a chat. 

I wouldn't wish this crap on my worst enemy.  But I'm so damn glad that I now have someone to talk to who actually gets it.  I didn't realize how much I needed that.