Trip!

I finally got my trip cancellation insurance money back! What a huge relief is it to not have to think about it anymore.

You're probably wondering "what trip?" My planned Aruba trip in November 2015. The one I had to cancel because I was in the hospital being diagnosed with cancer. The one that was suppose to be my one-year post-transplant celebration. The trip that the rest of my family still went on without me because it seemed ridiculous to ruin their vacation just because I was stuck in the hospital. That one.

It's been a long fight with the company that I wasn't expecting because when I had to cancel my trip to Spain in 2013 due to hospitalization, I had zero issues. I sent in my paperwork and receipts and got my money back in 6-8 weeks. No questions and one form for the doctor to fill out. And that was related to my pre-existing condition so I was expecting a fight. This time was very, very different.

The day I was given my diagnosis and was told not to go to Aruba, Isaiah called United (United really is the worst but it was the cheapest) to set up the claim. We thought if we didn't delay, it would be easier. United sent the information to their subsidiary Allianz, who told him where to send the appropriate paperwork. We had that paperwork filled out by a doctor and waited two months to find out the claim was rejected because they said my doctor's visit several months before the trip counted as "active treatment."

I was so upset. My doctor visits are regular and there are often slight medication changes but my doctor had still said I was okay to travel. I made Isaiah deal with them because every time I would get on the phone to explain to the representative that my cancer was not related to my general check-up, I would start crying. I'm one of those people who cry frustration-tears and it didn't help that I was also in the middle of chemo so was incredibly emotional at the time. I didn't have any emotional energy to fight with an insurance company.

We appealed their decisions with more paperwork from a different doctor. Waited many months. Denied again.

Appealed their decision again with even more paperwork from the doctor. Waited many more months. Denied again.

Six months ago my doctor wrote a even stronger letter to the company and we weren't immediately denied, they simply requested more information. They asked for my medical file to be mailed to them. My medical file. Isaiah called and asked "her entire medical file?!" The man clarified that they just wanted the information from the initial hospitalization when my trip was cancelled.

I filed a request to the medical records section of the hospital for all my paperwork from my November-December admission in 2015. The woman asked if I wanted to have it printed and mailed to me. The cost was simply 40$ for the first 100 pages plus 0.25 cents per additional page plus shipping. The file was over 1000 pages.

The man from Allianz said paper copy was better but they would accept electronic "if we must." At over 250$ and 12% of a tree, I decided "we must email." Also, we have the technology, why do they make things so much more difficult? (I know the answer to that question) I opted for the cheaper option of having it mailed to me on a CD as a PDF instead. Once it showed up, Isaiah decrypted it and emailed the file to the company.

We waited another few months and I received an email saying the medical staff had overturned my initial rejection. I finally have a cheque in my hands (it's in the bank). What a relief. The drama is over.

And so I've booked a trip to Vancouver!!! Yay!!!!! In less than a month Amy and I will be getting on a plane and zooming off to find some mountains and killer whales. I'm unbelievably excited. I love traveling and exploring new places so much. It gives me so much energy. Leaving Atlantic Canada and not going to Toronto for the first time in 5 years!

I picked Vancouver for my first trip because:
1) I've wanted to go back and explore more since I was there cycling with David 9(!) years ago
2) I want to see some killer whales since the last ones I saw were in 1997 when we were there as a family
3) I want to hike all over the mountains
4) it's still in Canada so I have a safety net with good hospitals nearby if something goes wrong.

Amy and I have visited so many places together that being able to travel together again is the final confirmation that I'm healthy. After sitting in the hospital getting texts while she went to London, Germany, and Aruba without me, planning trips together makes me feel like my pre-transplant healthy self. How else to explain it than to say "I'm unbelievably excitement" about a million times.

Amy and Alley Adventure Again!

Without travel insurance for me this time, because if it took a year and half to get it back for getting cancer randomly, I'm definitely not getting it back now.