#crpsstrong

Callie's team of doctors have been working diligently for the last 16 years to try and at least stave off some of the more dreadful effects, with mixed success. She has a spinal implant, a very specific medical protocol, a schedule of constant nerve blocks and internal applications of Botox, and access to medical marijuana. She has a customized wheelchair that is tailored to her specific pain points. She has some good days, or parts of days; but when things get bad they get BAD. And they get bad all the time.

However: she's recently been medically approved for a set of infusions which can help to push back this overwhelming tide. This is an off-script use of these infusions, which are generally for folks who suffer from severe depression/suicidal thoughts. Pain specialists have discovered that another effect of these infusions is the cessation or management of extreme chronic pain, and we have hope that there is some relief for her on the way.

The problem is that it is not covered by insurance for this use (of course not). Every doctor on Callie's care team agrees that this will help her, but it will be - at least initially - out of pocket. And it's expensive - of course it is. We plan to appeal and try to get insurance to cover at least some portion of the treatment, but that can take time. Lots of it, sometimes, and with no guarantee that they'll decide in her favor. In the meantime, we are hoping to go ahead with the treatments ASAP. The earliest we seem to be able to schedule her for right now is mid- to late-May, and if we wait for insurance to figure things out it could be June or July or even later.

I know I'm asking a lot. But she's suffering, and this could help.