You did what?

For all of those parents out there who have to deal with the government (aka foster care system) and/or TCH (Texas Children's Hospital) you will definitely be able to relate to the following story:

When we met with Maggie's Pulmonologist at the beginning of October, we requested that he write a letter regarding the severity of Maggie's sleep apnea, so that we could submit it to the subsidy board for review. As of right now, Maggie does not qualify for any extension of her benefits (known as subsidy), due to the fact that she is white, under the age of 6 and does not have any health problems. However, when she was diagnosed with the sleep apnea, that changed. In order to keep her medicaid benefits, we needed to get a letter from her doctor stating her diagnosis with some very specific language to be added. Dr. M was very nice and accommodating, saying he'd be more than happy to write the letter for me. To my surprise, he personally called me about a week later to let me know that the letter was done and that I should receive it in a few days.

I never received anything (not shocking!) and followed up with the nurse, leaving multiple messages. I never heard back. I spoke to someone a week ago & they said they, too, would follow up with me. Another week passed...nothing.

So, I called back today and spoke to another nurse. I explained to her that I was looking for the letter. She pulled up Maggie's file and said: yes, the letter was faxed to the PCP (Primary Care Physician) on October 15th.

Wait? I'm sorry - what did you say? She repeated herself and said that they indeed faxed the letter to the PCP.

You did WHAT?! Why? She didn't have an answer for me. She just said that it went to Dr. XYZ. Wait. Who is that? The nurse seemed surprised. Um, that is not Maggie's PCP. I've never heard of this doctor. How can you possibly send her medical records to someone that has never seen my daughter? Isn't this a violation of medical privacy? Why wasn't I sent a copy of the letter? Aren't all parents supposed to be cc'd on any correspondence? And I think I asked a few more questions....I was beyond being nice at this point.

Ok. Fine. You screwed up. So, can you please just fax the letter to me, since I am the one who requested it. The nurse said no, she is not able to. Once the letter was faxed out, it was sent to Medical Records and I'd have to contact them for a copy of the letter.

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

I call Medical Records and they confirm that I should've received a copy of the letter, but they can't provide anything to me verbally or send me a fax. They have to fax the release form to me, have me complete it, mail it to them with a check, they will copy it and mail it back to me.

So, let me get this straight. I requested the letter. Dr. wrote the letter. Someone sent it to the wrong doctor. No one sent me the letter. And now, I have to pay to get a copy of the letter and hope to get it in the next 2 weeks? Ok...well, as long as I have it straight.

I got the form, filled it out, wrote the check, & dropped it at the post office today. Hopefully we'll get it soon.

Now, the real kicker will be if the doctor put the right language in the letter. I really REALLY hope so!