@Trisha, I’m so glad your first surgery is done & hope you don’t need a second one. It bodes well that you already have a little symptoms relief, but please remember that healing from ES surgery isn’t linear so symptoms can come & go as you heal. Listening to your body & resting when it asks (even a month out from surgery) & taking an easy day after longer more busy days will help you recovery faster.
I’m very sorry to hear what happened w/ your insurance though I have to say the cost for Dr. Hepworth & the hospital seem very reasonable compared to what other doctors/hospitals charge. I hope they’ve offered you a discount because you’re paying cash.
We’ve had several members take more invasive action against their insurance companies when their ES surgeries were denied. If you want to be more aggressive in your appeal against your company, consider what @lilwider & @Johnny99 said in their posts included in this thread, though reading the whole discussion would be good, too: