Hooray, A Side Story, Hooray Again

Yesterday, we found out that we've been approved for aid from the manufacturer of Andy's new drug!  Praise God!  I literally cried tears of joy when I received the phone call.  Because the aid is just for the drug itself and will require us to go through UCSD, I spent most of the day on the phone, confirming coverage for all of the other components involved with the infusion process.  Everything seemed to be falling into place and today we were to call and set up the appointments.

Andy had the day off but due to errands and whatnot, we didn't actually see each other until around noon.  We had lunch and knew that we needed to start scheduling things, but neither of us really wanted to deal with it so I said, "Let's go to the beach!"  If you know me, you know what a big deal that is - I don't typically do the beach.  He jumped at my willingness to go, so we drove to Torrey and spent a few hours walking, relaxing and swimming...it was lovely!  I was also reminded of two things: 1) our #2 son got his skin from me, and 2) even if the day is completely overcast, you can still get a bad sunburn.  Oops!

This is where the story gets better!  As we were driving home, Andy checked his voicemail and he had a message from our infusion center.  Our insurance company has approved the new drug!  How incredible is that?   We went from six weeks of denials to both avenues opening up back-to-back!  We were over the moon! 

We will go through our insurance company and decline the aid from the manufacturer; hopefully that will enable someone else to be helped by their program.  Andy will be receiving infusions on September 10 and September 24.  If all goes well, on or around October 8 he will resume tapering down the steroids and will begin a year (or so) of trial and error as we see how his body reacts.  He's excited at the thought of ditching some of the gross issues that the steroids bring, but he's also a bit nervous about the whole process.

We don't know how all of this will go, how soon he'll need more infusions, what the approval process for those will be, or if this is even the right drug for him...there are so many unknowns!  It makes my head spin, honestly.  I'm reminded of Philippians 4:19, though, which says, "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus."

I know that this verse doesn't mean that God will necessarily meet every physical need, but tonight we are thankful that he answered our prayers regarding this drug/treatment in such a tangible way.  It is a good reminder that He's got Andy in His hands, and that whatever comes next, He will be with us each step of the way.  

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