A Full-time Job

People don't understand why even though I do not have a job, I am so tired and do not have any time. "But you don't work," they tell me. No, I do not work a "traditional" job. I do not go into the office and work; however, I do work. My office is my house. My most important piece of office equipment, my telephone. What is my job, you ask me? Being a patient. My job is thankless. It has no hours. I do not get compensation, sick time (well it's all sick time isn't it), or vacation time. I do not get a day or week off. This is my life and there is no escaping it. Although most of my work is done between the hours of 8am and 5pm as this is when doctor's offices and insurance companies are open, by no means does this mean my job is done.

What exactly do I do? Well, I make and go to appointments, and advocate for myself and my care with doctors. At times, this involves yelling, screaming, and hollering, especially when dealing with a particularly difficult and obstinate doctor, who do not want to provide adequate medical care, and refuse to acknowledge that it is my body and that reading a case study in a textbook back in medical school does not qualify as knowing about PIDD or being an expert (see post Living in Pain).

This in itself would be extremely time consuming and exhausting, but my job doesn't end there. The majority of my job entails dealing with my insurance company, getting the proper referrals, authorizations, and pre-authorizations for my various doctors, medical procedures, treatments, and medications. This would be bad enough, but I also must fight with my insurance company for the things that they've refused to pay for which they should have. I must act as a liaison between the medical billing specialists and my insurance company because unless it is billed properly, my insurance company won't pay and then I'll be stuck with a $2,0000 medical bill. I also must deal with the pharmacy to ensure that I get the proper medication. Some may think this is easy - just go and pick up your prescriptions. Not quite. Often I must go and make sure they inputted the insurance correctly, so that once again, I don't end up with huge co-pays. I have become best friends with my pharmacist.

So, no, I do not have a traditional job in which I go to an office and work, but this does not mean that I do not work.