Catch Up

So I sort of lied about when I'd be posting my update as to where I'm at these days with my RA. Oops! This is close enough, right? :)

At this moment I am STILL waiting to get my Enbrel. The rheumy gave me a script for it and I was so excited at the time. I figured I'd have to wait a few weeks but after three weeks of not hearing a word, I emailed the U of I. I got a call from the nurse saying that my county hospital is designated as my "home hospital" so they have to get the medication for me. "More red tape, oh goody," was the thought that was going through my head at the time. The nurse then told me that I would need to contact a social worker at the county hospital and have them help me to get the Enbrel. Before I go into that I want to go back a few months to before I saw the rheumatologist at the U.

The kicker about this whole Enbrel situation is that I had gotten it from the county hospital for over a year. Then I was sick with a respiratory problem for about three months, so I had to go off of it. When I started seeing a decent doctor at my hospital and he tried to put me back on Enbrel the hospital told me that I'd have to get it from the U of I because it required too much up keep (ie it was too expensive for them and they didn't want to pay for it.)

So back to the most recent developments...I tried a social worker at the hospital and they referred me to the patient advocate. I have been calling her at least once a week for the last two weeks. The last time I called her she told me that she was having to get the Chief Medical Officer involved because neither hospital wants to pay for it and they are fighting over who has to do it.

So UGH!!! Now I am in Enbrel limbo until one of them backs down. I am supremely not happy about this because I'm going to Dallas for Mary Kay Seminar the week after next. It makes me so nervous to go without the cushion of Enbrel. I got the nurse from the U to write a note and send it so that I can use a wheel chair while I am there, but I'm still nervous. I'm also thinking about getting a cane.

If anyone who happens to read this has any suggestions about plane travel with RA I would be very grateful! :)