Life-Saving Surgery Needed for Hackettstown Native
I'm trying to spread the word for my friends sister. She is suffering from gastroparesis, an illness which paralyzes the stomach to the point that she is unable to eat anything and must use the help of feeding tubes and the illness is now causing further medical complications. She is hoping to get a pacemaker placed in her stomach however her insurance has denied the surgery three times now. Her friends and family are trying to raise money so that she can become healthy again and get back to living the life a vibrant young person should be living. The Boccittos all grew up in Hackettstown and even though they have moved out of town, this town has a place in their hearts. Please find a place in your heart for Katelyn and take a look at the fundraising page and read her story and if you can, donate to help her get this important surgery!
http://www.gofundme.com/helpkatelyn
Thank you!!!
Gpwarrior ...her insurance has denied the surgery three times now ...
but they still expect the premium to be paid the 15th of each month, right?
Andy Loigu Please do not give up hope with the insurance company! DH is a doctor and he goes to battle with insurance companies for his patients in need EVERY single day. He will not stop until he speaks to the ultimate supervising MD overseeing claims, and 95% of the time he gets the doctor to approve a claim because it is medically justified and necessary! Katelyn's family MUST find a doctor who is willing to spend the time to do battle with the insurance company for her! I've heard DH on the phone with the insurance company MD's: "How are you possibly going to sleep tonight if you deny care to my patient who is obviously in need of it?" Etc etc. No joke, I've heard him on the phone for over an hour with the insurance company doctors. I think he is either convincing them of the need for care, or they finally run out of excuses and give up and approve the treatment. $50-70K is not an amount the family should have to bear. Please do not accept denials from "case managers" at insurance companies. They are usually people with no medical training who are simply paid to deny care. Doctor-to-doctor phone conversations must be taking place, and as many as are needed to get the insurance to pay for the surgery.
Rebecka Switch insurance to Aetna, it's covered. The only time it's not covered with Aetna is if it's an initial treatment. And clearly from the story indicated, this is not a first step for her. There is someone in our Crohn's group that has GP, had some kind of surgery that I believe was covered by BC/BS. It may be another option, but I specifically looked up my own provider and they have a full statement saying they cover it.
GC hi, if possible, try to get into sloan kettering in new york, if you cant, there are places like the mayo clinic and others that will do experimental surgery for free, i know that sounds scary but i was in this field, and it really can work, univercity of nebraska is another one
joseph Had a go-round with my Mom where she was recouping at our house but need surgery. They told her to return home, but no facility nearby so take a 1.5 hour bus ride...... Just didn't make sense since here, out of network, we could take the bus ride out of it and the facility was run by the same company. We were denied two or three times in the process which then went to third party arbitration where it was accepted.
Good to know the entire process for escalation. In this case I got lucky since nice case worker explained the process to me so figured we were heading to arbitration anyway and just hustled through the preliminary denials.
Process, process, process.
mistergoogle God bless this woman and her strength. Was this her body's reaction to the weight-loss procedures?
Anyway, I would highly suggest getting media coverage for this, if she is willing. News 12 might do a segment to further spread the awareness and even The Star-Ledger, which now has a health section.
ess Thank you all for your info, I let Katelyn know I posted here and that some of you are giving some great tips regarding insurance and doctors.
ess- Katelyn never had any weight loss procedures that I am aware of. From what I've read, in most cases the cause of this illness is unknown but can sometimes be the result of other illnesses such as Parkinson's or MS, which Katelyn does not have.
For everyone who has donated so far- thank you so much! Today, she hit $5,000 just in 6 days! But this is only 10% of what is needed for the surgery so keep it coming!! Any little bit helps, knowing people are contributing even when they don't have much to give is keeping Katelyns spirits way up!! Thank you!
GC - can you give any info about the Crohn's group? I have a good friend that just spent 2 weeks down in Mtown hospital and she would probably be interested such a group.
Antimony Diabetes can cause gastro paresis also. There is also cycluc vomiting syndrome that is related.
What about Charity Care?
Christine 
Smack Katelyn was in the hospital again today due to pain and feeding tube intolerance but the site is continuing to raise money and today she surpassed the $6,000 mark. Still a long way to so keep spreading the word everyone! And thank you to the 103 individuals who have donated so far!!
http://www.gofundme.com/helpkatelyn
I know two people who've used this attorney. One was in the early 90's. A co-worker was being denied an autologous bone marrow transplant by NJBCBS because the procedure was considered experimental. Skippy Weinstein wrote a letter of appeal and the procedure was covered. I believe now this procedure is common. The other case I know of was just a few years ago, the person was in a terrible auto accident (not his fault) and he used this attorney to negotiate a settlement.
http://sswpa.com/
It may be worth a try?
Chickadee This was posted by Katelyn today on the site. Donations have slowed down a bit so please continue to donate or help by spreading the word!
"Still struggling to do tube feeds. I spoke with my dietitian and she wants me to try and feed as much as I can at nighttime (so I can sleep through the pain it causes). I unfortunately received my last appeal denial for the pacemaker. I am no longer allowed to appeal to the insurance company. Not giving up though! The fight continues, and your support is keeping me going. Love you all!"
http://www.gofundme.com/helpkatelyn
Here is an update from Katelyn if anyone has donated and is interested in her progress. Finally some good news here!
"I met my new surgeon at Temple on Monday. He was so proactive and concerned. Explained everything thoroughly. I explained that my family was doing a fundraiser for the procedure and he said we could probably make it work! He's going to appeal the insurance and do a peer to peer review on my behalf for the actual surgery and hospital stay. He also wants to do the Pyloroplasty (cut the pyloric sphincter) and place a new j tube so I'd have two separate tubes. He had his assistant explain everything to me so I knew exactly what they were doing. I should hear from her soon and I go back in 3 weeks for blood work. I am so grateful for the continued support during my fight. I wouldn't be at this point without all of your help!"
Please keep helping in anyway you can H'Towners!!
http://www.gofundme.com/helpkatelyn
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