I am definitely going for TPD and if that comes through my family will be ok as when I was diagnosed I hadn't rolled my old super into my personal fund and my employer stuffed up and put me into their fund instead of the one I nominated. Basically this has left me with three funds each with TPD and Death insurance policies, one at the minimum level but two at much higher amounts. The policies my old fund are in dispute as they lapsed them without permission or even advising me of their intent to, but the other two are rock solid so there is plenty of money, I just haven't been able to tick all the boxes yet.
The biggest issue is my wife's salary is very good which has automatically excluded us from virtually all assistance as we are still technically a high income family. We were living within our means but that was when I was working and also earning a good salary and with my super fund lapsing my income protection insurance we have been left short.
Getting quite nervous and apprehensive as the transplant creeps closer, I suppose because its one of those things that once you've started there is no return, once the drip with the Melpalan starts, that's it, no going back.
No patches for me at the moment but they have been discussed. I am currently on 80mg Oxynorm (20mg 4 time a day), 120mg Pregabalin (at night instead of Panadol), Panadol and Tramadol for break through pain. I was on Oxy Contin to start with, it worked very well but I developed an allergy to it. I had an MRI on Saturday that shows there is nothing left of my T4 but my T5 seems to be holding out ok. Interestingly my S1 is also out of position, with bulged discs impinging on my spinal cord, explaining some of my inconsistent neurological symptoms, this may actually have been caused by a car accident November last year, before my multiple myeloma diagnosis, and not by the multiple myeloma at all.
Again sorry for the outburst. I usually cope ok but the reality of leaving my family to travel 3000km for treatment, knowing that I wouldn't see them again for weeks or, if the insurance doesn't come through, months just got too much for me. My worst nightmare is something going wrong with the transplant and me dying before they can get here.
Ironically we actually lived Adelaide, where I have gone for my transplant, until last year, we still own a house here but have tenants in it. A year earlier or a year later we would have been so much better off, extra time to establish ourselves in our new home, time to rebuild equity after buying a new home and most importantly time to consolidate my superannuation and insurances, as my wife already had done, including Trauma Insurance. If I had the insurances my wife has I would now be retired the mortgages paid off and a Porsche Macan in the driveway, we just weren't able to sort it all out with me having to start a new job with our move.
Sorry for the long ramble but I am actually finding this quite therapedic; typing, reading, reconsidering and re-typing etc and then reading your very kind, considerate, helpful and understanding responses. A day to go until the Melphalan, I'll see how I go and post when I can, hopefully I don't get too sick and aren't able to get online and annoy people
