Insurance anxiety

I was really under the gun to get approved for surgery. Chris' is union and the contract they had was up October 1st. That means we had the possibility of a strike and losing our insurance for the duration of the strike. I could have jumped through all the hoops, but if the insurance took too long it would have been for nothing. While I was waiting I got change of benefits from the insurance stating that as of August 1st benefits for bariatric surgery would change. They would require a six month supervised diet and after that only cover 40% of the cost. I called to check the status of my approval, and the only thing they could tell me is my paperwork was there, but the lady who needed to look at it was on vacation and to call back next week. I was livid, but I waited. I called the following Monday bright and early. The woman said she thought I should be okay since I had my paperwork in by July 12th, but she would have to ask her boss. He was, you guessed it, on vacation. So I spent another week sweating bullets. You see, this was the union office I was talking to. They have to get the information first, then submit it to the insurance company. Finally, I get the call that she is sending my packet into the insurance. At this point it was August, and I was sure it wasn't going to happen for me. I was destined to be fat. Then, two days later the insurance called and I was approved. I could make the appointment to see the surgeon and schedule the surgery.