Insurance

January 10, 2002

I was looking forward to my upcoming bariatric surgery so that I could begin to loose my access wieght and begin to live normal life again. If you have read my jouranls it is easy to see why I have been so unhappy with my wieght.

I can not remember the exact time but it was in the morning. I got a phone message at work. It was Linda the PAT nurse from Bariatric Treatment Centers she had asked me to call her back. She said that she had something very important that she needed to discuss with me. When I did call her back I was told that the surgery that I had been scheduled for had been postponed. I asked her for how long. I was told that it would be indefinite. When I asked why I was told about a condition that I have which I already knew existed. My heart condition made my heart function at below BTC standards. Please note that the previous sentence exactly how it was explained to me "below BTC standards". Linda recommended that I go to see a cardiologist (which I have been doing ever since I found out I was sick) and try to get back on the schedule once my condition improves.We discussed this a bit further and in the end I was told the BTC does not have an Intensive Care Unit and could not accomedate me.

I see one BIG problem wih this. If BTC does not have an ICU what would happen if something were to go wrong, not just with me but with anybody? Does anybody really want to take that risk?

In looking at this from the outside I am glad that my surgery was postponed, and I was given this information about a lack of an ICU. It helped me to come to the conclusion that I DO NOT want to have BTC perform my sugery. If I would have been notified of this I would have never agreed to have my surgery done there. My only wish is that they would have let me know about this during my first consultation. I have a life threatening codition and I don't have that much time fool around with this. I could have been using this time in a more productive manner. I am very disappointed in BTC.

Another issue has is that my heart condition is a direct result of my weight and hypertention. The goal in getting the surgery was to eliminate the hyper tention so that my heart condition would improve. If it worked the other way around there would be no dire need for the surgery. These standards that I was held to should have also been made known to me. Another doctor even told me that once you are indefinitlly postponed with BTC there is little chance of you ever being put back on the schedule because you are an insurance risk.

The fact of the matter is that there are many other alot of other places out there that can perform the same surgery that have an ICU and will work with you to help you truelly resolve you health issues. In the weeks to come I am going to be talking with several other doctors and in the end I will find a more suitable place to have my surgery done. I will keep the BTC link on my page but I recommend finding another oraganiztion if you are considering the surgery.