How I chose the name for this blog

Before I go any further with my posts I want to share with you how I came to chose the name for our blog.

Dr. Myron Wentz is founder of Usana Health Sciences whose global headquarters are located in Salt Lake City, Utah; a leading manufacturer of nutritional and health products.  He also is founder of Sanoviv Medical Institute, a state-of-the-art treatment and research facility in Baja California, near San Diego. 

As I continue on with introducing Dr. Wentz to each of you I pray that my words will do justice to a remarkable individual. 

In 2002 Dr. Wentz authored a book titled Invisible Miracles.  After reading  this for myself I had a totaly different perspective on just how intricate the human cell is.   Dr. Wentz gives this description: 

 "The cell  -- elegant, resourceful, marvelously intricate.  The fundmental unit of life. 

Poison it, injure it, or starve it, and the resulting damage causes degeneration and disease.  Nurture it, protect it, and feed it with the nutrients it needs, and it repairs itself, providing health and longevity.

All of us begin as a single cell.  That one cell divides into two, two into four, and so on, with the newly generated cells programmed to perform specific missions throughout our lives.  The trillions of cells work in synergy within the universe we call our body."

Dr. Wentz goes on to say: 

"The title of this book has a double meaning.  While I see human cells as "invisible miracles" in their incredible ability to replicate and heal themselves, I see something much more profound and mysterious at work.  Each cell has a distinct function, and yet, within every cell is all the information necessary to produce the unique person you see in the mirror every day.  This is indeed miraculous; however, the real miracle is that the cells' activities are too complex to be explained  --  and they could not have come about by accident or chance assembly.

The definition of miracle is an event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin, or an act of God.  A fitting synonym of miracle is wonder . . . . ."

So . . .my first choice in the name for this blog was "Invisible Miracles" however, that title was already in use so I chose "His Invisible Miracles" giving credit to our Creator.  The photo that you see with the early morning sunrise captured an invisible miracle in itself.  While snapping the photo I did not see what appears so vividly before our eyes.  The photo title says it all:  "The Wonder of His Invisible Miracles".

I do recommend reading Invisible Miracles for yourself.  Its a short read (130) pages with a powerful message.

As we well know, sometimes things go wrong.  I thank my Heavenly Father for individuals such as Dr. Wentz for their dedication to the field of science and pray that through their efforts cures can be discovered for the many diseases that plague the human body.

Keep strong,
Vannette

Waiting for decision

Today a quite brief teleconference took place with the grievance committe from Glen's insurance company, Glen, myself and Dr. Tricot.  We are now waiting the decision as to whether or not an approval will be given for a second stem cell transplant for Glen.

Glen has no monoclonal protien , the 17p13 deletion.  This puts him in a high risk catagory as to the effectiveness of treatment.  A second SCT known as the Arkansas method is believed to give a longer life expectency.  One has to believe.

And so we wait, we pray, and we pray some more.  We should know the decision by next Thursday, August 4th.

Keep strong,
Vannette

Review Scheduled

Wow!  Glen had an appointment with Dr. Tricot  yesterday.  The Financial Patient Advocate was asked to make contact with the appeals department with a message of urgency for a review with the grievance committe.  The reply was that it could take as many as 30 days and then a decision within about 10 days of the review.

When Glen and I returned home we had a message from the appeals department asking us to return the call.  It was after hours.  First thing this morning I did return the call.

A telephone coference is scheduled for July 28 with Glen, Dr. Tricot and the grievance committee.  Wow!  That was fast.  This is fantastic.  Pray, pray, pray for a positive outcome.

Keep Strong,
Vannette

The Fight is on

After receiving the news that the appeal for Glen's second SCT was denied we were crushed to say the least.   We learned, though, that we could request a review by the Grievance Committee.  The appeal was filed by the financial patient advocate for the clinic were Glen is receiving treatment.  The request for the review has to come from Glen.

I've got my boxing gloves on and I'm ready to fight.  We have 60 days to submit a request for a review.  It's typed, signed and ready to go in the mail.  This step can take a couple of months or so.  We have had two people come forward with similar situations offering their advice.  They both won.  This means hope for Glen.  We are encouraged much more tonight than we were one week ago.

Keep Strong,
Vannette

DISAPPOINTING NEWS . . .

My heart and my mind are so full.  July 01, 2011 marked the one year anniversary of Glen's diagnosis.  We have been down many valleys and up just as many hills in our journey looking for, applying for, fighting for treatment for Glen.  One day I will be able to write about all of that but for now I just need to vent my frustration.

Glen began treatment in September 2010.  At that time we had no insurance.  After paying premiums for four years, to find out your policy doesn't offer the coverage you need is not a good thing.  Glen did apply for and was approved for the high risk insurance pool through the state of Utah.  There was a six month pre-existing waiting period.  During this time he received treatment paid for through financial and drug assistance programs as we also lost our income with Glen's diagnosis.  The treatment proved to be effective.  By the time the insurance did kick in in February of this year Glen was ready for a Stem Cell Transplant (SCT) so we made the decision to have this treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Another decision was made to place Glen in a study due to the fact that he has a protein deletion and his doctor recommended trandom SCT.

And so it all began.  First, by getting the transplant approved for by the insurance company.  It was explained to us that even though the doctor is wanting two transplants to happen, they have to be approved one at a time.  Get the first one done, take a look at the results, then submit a request for approval for the second transplant.

DENIED!  We received a letter, a full page long, basically stating:  "because of the protein deletion you are considered too high risk"  (not the exact words).  So  an appeal was immediatly submitted.  Today, after about a six week wait. the news came once again.  DENIED!  HOW CAN THEY HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE SUCH A DECISION WHEN IT COMES TO SOMESONE'S  LIFE?

Part of the explanation for denial was that there is no data available that proves a trandom transplant to be any more effective than one.  My answer simply:  there isn't going to be any data if the procedure doesn't happen and no documentation is made.

I am grateful that Glen has the insurance coverage that he has.  Without it he would not have gotten to have a transplant at all.  Please Heavenly Father, help us to be strong.  Help up us come to some understanding as to why this decision has been made.  Help us to move forward in a positive manner.  We thank Thee for each and every day.

Vannette