So - after my rant I went to work to get things fixed for my darling daughter. I called my contact at Blue Cross, Blue Shield first thing the next morning and told her what had happened. She was appalled. She hardly let me finish the story before she was telling me she was calling the president of the prosthetics company to tell him what had happened. Sure enough, ten minutes later she called me back to say she had everything being worked out, they were sorry, and someone who was competent was going to be calling to take care of Bug. Five minutes later, my phone rang again and it was the head of a different branch of that company. He apologized, and I told him that it was Bug that dissevered the apology. She was the one who was treated like a spoiled kid, she was the one who has been in therapy for 2 years for medical anxiety, and she was the one who knew darn well if a brace fit correctly or not. He apologized some more, and then got some additional information from me so he could search for some lace-up ankle brace options for Bug. He promised to order multiple styles so that she could come and try them on and see what was comfortable - which is what would happen for an adult. He also promised to open the store up after hours if that was what it took for us to be able to make it there without missing more school. I felt good about the conversation, and am waiting for my follow-up phone call that was supposed to be here no later than today. If I don't hear anything tomorrow morning I'll give him a call and check-in (nicely), and go from there. I know my insurance contact will help me out if I need it, but I am hoping we're good from here. I felt like this new person was much more sincere.

So - in anticipation of the new brace, Bug and I went shopping for decorations. I knew she wasn't very happy about the idea of the lace-up, thanks to Mr. Crabby employee. She now thinks they all hurt, which they shouldn't, and so I'm doing my best to convince her that it will be fine. Part of that was going shopping at Hobby Lobby and getting decorations for the new brace. We got an assortment of things, the ones I'm most excited about are the charms. She picked out 12 charms to hang from the lace holes. I am not sure yet how I will attach them, since I don't know what her brace will look like. But I'm sure I can make it work. ;) We also got several iron-on patches to apply, and she surprised me by bypassing the sparkly, girly stuff and going for a patriotic theme! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since she seems to be emotionally mature beyond her years. Many of the charms she selected were religious, the rest animals. It should be mentioned that she wants to be an animal rescuer when she grows up. So I guess every aspect of her new brace is symbolic, which is pretty darn cool and way "deeper" than the generic girlie stuff I initially thought of. :)

Also, when I spoke with my insurance contact she understood right off the bat that this brace was long-term and we will be needing more of them. She offered to order more than one immediately, but I suggested waiting to see how it holds up and fits, because she is still growing a lot. So, we should have no problems ordering a second of the same, or a new one when she grows. Yippee! She also gave me a direct number to the person in charge of complicated cases or something, so that Bugs PT can call and get straightened out our ongoing PT services. This way we don't have to continue to worry about them running out. Another huge bonus! I tell you, it is all who you talk to, not the insurance company itself. If you have a good contact, ask for their name and extension, it can save you so much time and energy! It took me so long to get ours, but the time, stress, and time has been worth it thousands of times over already. (yes, I meant to say time twice. LOL)

I'll update when Bug gets the call to try on braces, all are supposed to be pediatric size, so it should be interesting to see how they feel!