Laura’s Story

In November of 2022, I had my annual preventive examination with my family doctor. A week after the appointment there was something not right with my body, so I called my doctor. She had me come back in and started ordering tests, including an ultrasound and MRI. The MRI showed a fibroid in my uterus that was the size of a honeydew melon! It was quite a whirlwind of tests and emotions.

After meeting with my gynecologist, she informed me the fibroid was too large to remove laparoscopically and an abdominal hysterectomy was necessary. Both my family doctor and gynecologist had attempted to do a biopsy but were not successful. They both said fibroids are usually benign, but there was still a small risk that the mass was not a fibroid and could be cancerous. For this reason, my gynecologist said she would expedite a referral to a specialized gynecological surgeon.

All my husband and I could do was sit and wait for the next appointment. After nine days had passed, my husband told me to call someone. I called my gynecologist, and she said all I could do was wait until my referral was accepted. I felt overlooked and panicked… UNTIL a friend of mine asked if my company had access to ConnectCare3.

I vaguely remembered that one of the presenters at our company’s insurance meeting was ConnectCare3. I reached out to them through their website and within a few hours I received a call from a patient advocate. After completing some forms electronically, I was assigned to a nurse navigator. The nurse navigator reached out to me the next morning, asked more questions, and said she would do the research to find a specialist within a 2-hour radius of my home. By 1:00 p.m. that day, my nurse navigator called me back to let me know that she had contacted two centers of excellence, and both had appointment availability in the near future. I was so relieved and immediately scheduled an appointment for the following week.

My ConnectCare3 nurse navigator accompanied me to the surgical appointment. She prepared appointment questions and provided me with a written summary of the appointment. Due to an opening in the doctor’s schedule, he was able to schedule my surgery only five days after my initial appointment with him. My nurse navigator stayed with me as I met with the office scheduler and even spoke with my husband after the appointment to explain to him what the surgeon had recommended.

I proceeded to surgery and thankfully received excellent news that the fibroid and cysts the surgeon removed were all benign. Ironically, I finally heard from the office of the referral surgeon that my doctor had contacted. They said they could schedule a consultation two days after my surgery took place. That timeline would have extended my stress and worry by several weeks! I am so thankful for the care and attention I received after contacting ConnectCare3. I would still be lost and frustrated in the medical system if it were not for ConnectCare3. I am healing and grateful!