TEMPORARY SETBACK

Things have been going along pretty well and I have worked hard to maintain a good and positive attitude about everything. Yesterday - everything crashed and burned and I was ready to throw in the towel and go home.

I got a call from the business office of MD Anderson informing me that Presbyterian in Albuquerque had notified them that my radiation treatments and chemotherapy had not been approved for reimbursement and they would not pay for these treatments. At this point I had already had 5 radiation treatments and 5 chemotherapy treatments.

I called Presbyterian in Albuquerque and was told by the nurse in charge of approving referrals that I had been approved to come to MD Anderson for a second opinion only and for surgery. I pointed out that I had already made trips over to Houston during the month of May for examinations and consultations and I had already started the Radiation and Chemo treatments. Her position was that all of this could have been done in Albuquerque so they were not going to pay for it.

The truth of the matter is that I called Presbyterian as soon as they approved the referral and told them that it was great they approved the referral and asked what my cost was going to be. They said my total cost would be $200 for co-pay for the surgery. Later I got a bill from Presbyterian for some lab studies in Houston and called them on that and was told that was a mistake and they would cover it. On this phone call I specifically asked if the Chemotherapy and Radiation would be covered and they said it would. MDA also called and got referral approved for all the other tests, or they wouldn't have done them.

I pointed out to the Pres. people that we had already incurred personal expense of somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 to get to this point, I had missed a couple of months of work and my wife and son, Scott, had missed work and my other two sons were going to miss work and have expenses related to this. I was not willing to change the course now.

It was a tough night for me. My blood sugar reading shot up and I felt defeated. I went over and did get another radiation treatment this morning and went to the business office of MD Anderson and talked to a very nice lady there. Presbyterian promised to call me back which they didn't. After I left several messages they finally called back and agreed to leave everything the way it was and proceed with the program as is.

I am grateful for being able to proceed as planned - but outraged that some super-charged nurse would be so insensitive at this time to call and try to derail the whole program - especially after they had already committed and agreed to everything that was being done.

Anyway - I am working my way back up to the top - with a sour taste in my mouth for now, but I will get over it.

VALUMAX - AL

CarMax is the largest car dealership in the world - for good reason. In my opinion, it is about the only place to buy a car. They do a lot of unique things. Every car goes through a 125 point inspection and if it doesn't pass it is not put on the lot. They also have some age and mileage restrictions. Old cars and cars with too many miles don't make the lot. However, they do have a special designation - ValuMax - they give a car that does meet the 125 point inspection but has high mileage or is a little older. They are declaring that these are good cars but acknowledging that they have a few more miles or are a little older than other cars.

Well I have been through the 125 point inspection plus some. I know I have a lot of miles on this old frame but it is still in pretty good condition. There are a few that would declare, even though untrue, that I am a little older than the average bear. However, with a few replacement parts and a little rust removed within the next couple of months - my motor will be purring and I will be good for another 25 years or so. I plan to be registered in the record book as the oldest teenager on the face of the earth in about 25 years - so watch out. HERE I COME!!!!!