Rachael,

That is wonderful news and good for you! You must be quite the negotiater, able to charm the birds out of the proverbial trees are we? Hey, I agree with you about school, I remember that is a longtime dream of yours. Surgery will always be there. Go ahead and finish your studies - get that diploma, certificate, degree or whatever it is you are working so diligently for. It is important for this next phase of your life and you will always have it. You have learned how to take care of yourself and your TOS to avoid flares in the meantime (sometimes the hard way, eh?). If the pain and dysfunction get too, too bad you can always rethink your plans, but for now if I were you I would stay on course. Remember, too, that TOS surgery is far from a cure-all. Usually what follows is a long, hard road to recovery with lots of PT, patience and just plain luck for a good outcome.

As far as documenting this important win with W/C, they may or may not send you anything in writing. I wouldn't wait! YOU write to THEM, putting every detail you can think of in the letter, very cordial, gracious and polite.Put a little signature line at the bottom, asking the person you spoke to to countersign the extra copy you will enclose and send it back to you, acknowledging their understanding and agreement with what your letter states. (You probably won't get it back, but still, you'll have a written record in case you ever need it. Believe me, this could make or break your case if [big IF] it ever comes to that... and surgery is expensive!).

Congratulations, Merry Christmas and all that jazz. I think you just made TOS history my friend!

Alison