Unfortunately, I couldn't go with Jackie on her next visit to discuss the next steps . However, she brought back numerous flip chart sheets describing the different chemo options. We talked about them, and while she didn't have a strong preference, she was of course still guided by the desire to keep her hair. There didn't seem to be much reason to pick one over any of the others, but we made our selection. This was our first real experience with this level of self-directed medicine. We obviously had to decide on the ABMT vs. chemo before, but here the doctor was asking what chemo we wanted, or so we thought.

When we decided to do chemo we did it only as a stop gap measure, since we were so scared by the doctor and we didn't think we could afford to not do anything. However, what we wanted to do was start in on the plan that we had already decided on -- the ABMT. Therefore, one of the first things I did after we talked to the doctor was talk to our attorney. I told him that the lawsuit that he had been working on to recover the money for the harvest wasn't as important as starting on the suit for the ABMT.

The trouble was that he said it would take a long time. I had started following ABMT and insurance company lawsuits in the paper -- it's funny how things suddenly pop out at you when they relate to you. Our attorney felt that we had pretty much been down all the possible roads with the insurance company, and when he had told them we were going to sue, they weren't impressed. So many of the suits I had read about had been resolved after the woman in question had died that I was worried -- I didn't have the money. Our attorney said I needed to try to get my employer to help out. I had tried and gotten nowhere so I was really panicky.

So panicky in fact that when I was leaving the office on Friday night at about 6:30 and noticed that the car belonging to the chairman of our company was there in the parking lot. In sheer desperation I went back to my office, looked up his number, and, and never expecting it, got him on the first ring. I asked if I could talk to him for a few minutes (expecting an appointment the following week) and he said come on up now.

I went up and talked to our chairman for over an hour, telling him the whole story. He was incredulous. He couldn't understand the insurance company's position when all three doctors and one of them from Emory were all recommending the treatment. This wasn't quackery, obviously. He wanted to know where all his insurance premiums were going if not to pay for life and death treatments. He promised to help.

He said he would contact his friend the Secretary of the State of Georgia and have him and the Insurance Commissioner get involved, and he said he would talk to the CEO of the insurance company himself.