In retrospect, I haven't really had to deal with a lot of medical administrative red tape throughout the past nearly 5 years of my cancer journey (now that's something to be thankful for!). Simply verifying my full legal name and date of birth, seems to be the magic key that unlocks all necessary doors for my varied healthcare needs. (Go ahead and steal my medical identity - it comes with cancer!)
My insurance has remained the same and payments flow smoothly (watch me regret saying THAT out loud). Many of the hospitals in NJ are now aligned on a "MyChart" App which shares all of my results and treatment/drug history (fortunately not as far back as high school or college - wink, wink). And regular or specialty medicine prescriptions are somehow magically generated, exchanged and renewed - with little to no effort on my part (jinx). So when I encountered some recent speed bumps in preparation for an upcoming non-cancer-related surgical procedure, I was reminded just how bureaucratically hassle-free the last few years have been.
Throughout this past week, in preparation for the Friday morning procedure, I have been managing the communications and choreography between my Oncology outfit (still a new team to me), my Orthopaedic surgery squad (same as last time's similar surgery in 7/20), and my General Practitioner's practice (small and hometown-y, but very tech savvy and thorough). LOL - I've reached that point in my life where I have a Rolodex full of different doctors for my many specialty needs (FYI: Rolodex reference for those of you old enough to even know what that is - though I don't technically have one anymore).
My penchant for defaulting to being guardedly (and perhaps foolishly) optimistic that things are all going to work out in the end was validated, and the procedural paper shuffling was appeased. But it has been interesting to navigate the choppy waters of this process; being reminded just how much aggravation I have been avoiding. Perhaps all of this was just life's little smoke screen to distract me from thoughts about the actual surgery (I had it before, two years ago, so I was less uncertain or wary of the procedure). If in fact this aberration was part of life's intricate and grand plan, I appreciate the diversion - though a shiny flash of light or a fleeting squirrel would have been a less burdensome bother. And seemingly, the paperwork (or digital equivalent) did work as required (I mean, they did the surgery after all). Like so many other things that feel unsolvable in the moment and then quickly become a relic of the past, it's all behind me now and it's time to move on to my post-op, paperwork-free, recovery.
