Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Why this blog...

Well... honestly I'm doing this blog because it's for my english comp 2 class. I probably wouldn't be doing it otherwise. I'm writing a research paper for my class on gastric bypass and the fact that it should be covered by all insurance companies.

A lil background on this. I had surgery in May of 2007. It honestly was life changing for me. I have lost, well... an entire "healthy" adult. I am extremely grateful for my surgery and the fact that I have basically been given the life that I always wanted. I am 100 times more active and my life is completely different then it would have been had I not had surgery.

For people who can't get surgery because their insurance doesn't cover it, it's one of the most defeating things. They have finally come to the extremely difficult decision to take the step to get surgery only to be shot down by their insurance company. By the time you come to the decision to get surgery you are basically at the end of your rope. I often have equated it to an addict finally hitting "rock bottom". You have no where else to go and you have nothing left to try and this is really what you see as the final option to getting your life back. To get to that point only to be turned away by your insurance is one of the most dissappointing things in the world and honestly it's something that shouldn't even be a worry. The cost of NOT getting the surgery for many people is way higher. There is the potential of developing diabetes, heart conditions, high chlolosterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, the list goes on and on. Most of these conditions are made better if not completely go away for most gastric bypass patients. Why wouldn't an insurance company want to spend $40-60,000 in order to save far more rather then a lifetime of treating all of the complications that come with being morbidly obese.

Anyway... I've now written a practical book and I'm hoping that I can actually deliver on what I'm proposing for my paper. :)