One less thing to worry about.

I think we all dread talking to insurance companies.  It never seems to be anything other than a hassle and leaves you feeling like your head is locked in a vice.  I was not looking forward to calling up our insurance company to talk about our coverage.  I was downright scared, knots in my stomach, the whole nine yards.  I even reverted from stress eating to not eating at all.

My first sigh of relief came when the person on the other end of the line spoke clearly with no trace of a foreign accent.  The last couple of times I've had to contact anyone in customer service, their accent was so thick I could barely understand a word they were saying.  Thankfully Vincent from upstate New York was pleasant and supremely helpful.

To make a long story short, once Al reaches his "Out of Pocket" maximum (which he has after all the appointments he's had already), everything is covered 100%!  Aside from any co-pays we might have from office visits or prescriptions, all his other stuff will be covered.  Any radiation, chemo, lab work, radiology work, anything he needs from this point forward will be covered by insurance.  I can't tell you what a HUGE relief that was to hear.

At first it seemed selfish  to be worrying about the expense of cancer but it's a very real and tangible thing.  You constantly see benefits and telethons and charity auctions to help raise money for families going through different types of cancer.  Al and I each have our own charities that we donate to, Al's being the Jimmy Fund and mine being St. Jude's.  We know that the costs are astronomical.  So with the prospect of Al being out of work for an extended period of time, our house still under construction and me starting school in October, I was really starting to worry.

Well, thankfully, that one worry was put to rest after a very pleasant phone call with Vincent.  In the words of Forrest Gump, "And that's good.  One less thing."