I haven’t really accomplished as much as I’d like with this all today. I first contacted the agent who sold me my health insurance because he promised some tips with how to deal with the insurance company if I ever needed a potentially expensive procedure. Unfortunately the agent who I worked with is gone and the new guy just said call you insurance company. Calling the insurance company is always an exercise in patience. After getting bounced around to 4 different people I finally got to someone who could tell me which specialist were in my insurance’s coverage network and would be able to help me. I got the number of 4 “back” specialists and did some internet searching to read reviews on their practice. Good thing I did because not one of them specialized in spines or back problems in anyway. One was a knee doctor, one hands, one on little children with club feet (who had a gnarly review where some mother wanted him dead for taking her children away and giving them to protective services for abuse…. heavy stuff to read for sure!).

Back to the insurance company and they say they can’t help find a doctor because they are not doctors. Dead end.

So I called my doctor who already recommended surgery to see if he could send me to some sort of all around back specialist. The nurse took the message and said he’d call right back. Amazingly the phone did ring right away, but it was only his office calling to tell me he’s gone till tuesday sometime.

I don’t have a scanner while traveling, but this really just looks bad because it is.

Photographer Jared Souny emailed to say I should try talking to Woodward vert ripper Tom Stober.

I guess Tom has been wrestling for years with similar issues so we’ll see what advice he can offer. Jared also said that Rich Hirsch had a back fusion done last year and was back riding quickly. Jamie Bestwick also had that surgery and once told me it helped him immensely.

Someone else told me that I should just start smoking weed.

Ok, back to doctor hunting online…