Kelly Zimmerman
Hello all! I'm 28 years old and I live in Western PA. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2004 I moved to Pittsburgh for my job. I lost that job and moved back to Ohio. Then I moved back to PA in 2005 because I like it here.
Anyhow, I've been over weight ever since I can remember. I was miserable most of my life and I could see no happiness in sight. I played sports and stayed active but nothing helped control my weight problems. I ended up dropping out of school because of the mental abuse I went through every day. Things got better after school; I have had some decent jobs and positions over the last few years. I have also continuously gained weight over the last decade.
In 1999 I was sitting on the couch, in the afternoon, watching Soap Operas feeling miserable. I saw a commercial for the Bariatric Treatment Center. I called and had them send me the information. I looked over the information and watched the videotape. I knew then that this was something I could commit to, to change my life. My problem since then has been having insurance that could help me pay for the surgery. In 1999 I didn't have a job. The next few years I had jobs but nothing that would include benefits. In 2004 I started with a company whose benefits were so-so. A woman came to our store to sign us up for AFLAC. I wondered if AFLAC would pay me while I was off for WLS. When I was filling out my paperwork, I noticed the lady’s pen had the phone number for St. Vincent Charity Hospital, Cleveland Bariatric Treatment Center, on it. I asked her a few questions and decided to get the ball rolling. The woman had WLS and she invited me to her group. That was all I needed to get me going. Talking to people who had WLS and seeing how much better they felt was all I needed.
I called the Cleveland Center for Bariatric Surgery and they referred me to a seminar and I was excited! Finally, I thought, I could get this done and be happier. I made an appointment with my family doctor and he wrote me a recommendation letter. I wrote a letter of my own and sent everything off the insurance company. I didn't hear anything for a few months so I contacted the insurance company. The insurance company advised me to contact my doctor’s office, stating they had sent a reply letter to them. When I called, the nurse was very rude. She said they received a letter, stating I needed some tests and the doctor didn't feel I needed those tests. So, I was bummed. I knew I would need to be stronger if I really wanted to go through with this.
In the mean time, my job moved me to Pittsburgh. I was back at square one, I thought. I would have to find a family doctor in PA and start all over again. I was working more hours and I had more responsibility at the new location, so I didn't get anything accomplished. I lost my job in May of 2005. That ended all hope, at least for the time being. I wasn't going to do anything stupid, like marry someone with benefits, or find a new job that I would hate, just to be able to have weight loss surgery. I had a lot going on in my life, so the WLS was on the back burner.
I started a new job in September of 2005. I worked there several months and when my benefits kicked in, I found out they’re not so hot. It’s better than nothing but I was pretty sure they wouldn’t cover surgical weight loss. I had an appointment with my family doctor for something (probably an ear infection) and I talked to him about WLS while I was there. He referred me to a program because the one I asked him about, he said he had gotten complaints from the patients he sent to it.
I went to a seminar for the place the doc referred me to. I didn’t care for this place. I felt like I knew more than they did and their numbers were low. What I mean is the number of surgeries they’ve done is low and their mortality rate was higher than I was comfortable with. So, I was bummed yet again. I asked around at work and found out nothing was going to happen until the better benefits kicked in.
I heard a few women at our office had the UPMC benefits and they had WLS. So, I did a little investigating and it turns out that once you’re able to switch benefits, you could have WLS. In December of 2006, I was getting anxious. Our benefits change in January, so in less than a month, I would be changing to UPMC. I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to wait until I had the benefits for a few months, and then get the ball rolling or what. I did some research on the Internet and found the phone number for the Weight Management Center at UPMC. I called, answered some questions. The lady I spoke with told me there was a group starting in January. She said insurance wouldn’t cover the cost, and it’s $120.00. So, I started the program in January. The rest you can read about in my posts…..
