So I've had quite an interesting week.
Let me start with Monday, when I had a true day off. The boys were at day care and my wife was working. I got to do my own thing at home. Nothing majorly exciting, attending a Grace basketball practice binging some tv shows, a nap.
And then the mail came.
We got several pieces of mail but two in particular had a pretty impactful effect on my next 24-72 hours.
One was a bill from a local Urgent Care facility that we had used at the end of October when our youngest had slipped and cut his chin open at the McDonald's playground.
The other was from our Student Loan company.
Before I get into further details about those things, let me also add that I checked my bank accounts online and discovered my credit card company was attempting to recharge one of our accounts for the 3-4th time after we had to straighten out a payment issue a few weeks before.
So by Monday evening my restful and refreshing day off had taken quite a stressful turn with three separate issues needing my attention.
The Urgent Care bill was by far the most stress-inducing. When we'd taken my son in to get his chin taken care of, they cleaned in and superglued it and he was good to go. It was coded and sent to our health insurer who rejected the claim because it constituted "surgery" and was not one of the codes covered by our benefits. Therefore we were looking at a $500 bill for superglue.
The Student Loan company letter was a notice indicating that my application for a special Public Service Loan Relief was in essence denied. As long as applicants had made 120 payments of student loans while working for a non-profit - they should receive this relief (even money returned as I understand it). I checked those boxes and had properly filled out the paperwork but they were now saying I had maybe 4 payments that qualified (?). This had to be a mistake.
I was upset and frustrated with all three of these things basically piling on at the same time. And given the time of day, there was nothing I could do about it immediately. Except of course take it to the Lord. I have felt spiritually worn down for awhile now and am planning a sabbatical early next year. And with this stuff I felt like I was getting to the end of my rope. So I took it to the Lord and even in that I could sense a little bit of hope coming through. He's come through in the past, why doubt that he will in the present?
So Tuesday morning came and it started on a good note. My bank account-credit card issue got resolved and I'm pretty sure for good this time. That started things off well.
Things didn't go as smoothly as I contacted the Urgent Care facility. The code was correct as was the price being charged apparently. My health insurance company wasn't budging either. It was about the code from their end of things.
At this point I felt the need to righteously vent. Which I did with a Facebook post. I figured I'd have friends who'd have sage advice with all of this and I was not disappointed. It is also nice to have three ladies in our church who have experience with medical coding and billing when it comes to their previous careers.
At some point Tuesday afternoon, I pivoted to address the Student Loan Relief issue. Thankfully, the customer service agent I connected with was super-helpful and informative. She indicated that the letter I received was basically a standard form letter and that my application was technically still being reviewed and once they confirmed my employment, my status would likely change.
Yay! Hope!
As I arrived home Tuesday, I grabbed the mail and among the numerous random things, I noticed an unsealed card envelope. Once I got our boys and our stuff loaded into the house, I looked closer at the envelope. Low and behold, someone had inserted 5 crisp $100 bills. Clearly God moved someone to generously help. I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head. Of course God's coming through like this!
So really by Tuesday evening, all three super stressful issues had been resolved to a point.
On Wednesday, I felt the need to still cover all the bases on the urgent care matter. As instructed by some of my sources, I left a message with the urgent care folks that I would be paying but wanted to file a grievance, which I spelled out to them.
Calling my insurance company back, this new customer service person let me know that my policy actually included a Accident Waiver I could fill out for out-of-pocket expenses for accident care that isn't covered by our benefits. So we will likely be reimbursed for what we paid (over a $250 minimum)! Blessing up on blessing!
So, I've had quite an up-and-down week. And God has come through for us in some beautiful ways. It's pretty humbling to be honest. Thank you Lord!
