Somewhere between a Cadillac and a Chevy Malibu

There I was berating both my insurance company and The Arlington Group, and then last evening I received the actual denial in the mail.  This morning I called OIP (Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania) and made an appointment to get a second opinion.  Why? Because the denial was very specific about one thing - the spinal fusion.  They pretty much rebutted every  point my orthopedist had used to justify the surgery in the first place.  So I did what I should have done 33 days ago, decided to get a 2nd opinion.  I also called the Arlington Group and told them I was going to need copies of my MRI as well as my X-rays.  I have not heard back from them.

Things have changed in the past 33 days.  Back then I was falling down a lot - I don't fall any more.  Back the only way I could go up or down a staircase was on my butt - today I, as long as there are banisters, I can walk up and down.  Back then, the only way I could drive a car was by pulling up on my pants leg to move my foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal.  Today I have absolutely no problem driving.  I drove over to see my 81 year old mother on Mother's Day.  Thursday evening I'm going to see the Avengers.  So do I really need to have extensive back surgery, where they fuse the L2, L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae together?  I suspect this 2nd opinion is going to say 'not necessary.'

So, did the insurance company do right?  Probably.  Did the Arlington Group do me wrong?  Nah, I don't think so, not really.  They were most likely trying to sell me a fully loaded Cadillac when what I really needed Chevy Malibu.