So today was the day that I finally got to meet the team at A Step Ahead! The 10 stars I wanted to give them from the last review now seems not enough. After not walking for the past six years, Erik Schaffer had me up and walking within 2 hours of entering his facility.
Thats's the short version for those of you that don't like to read :-) For the folks that want to I understand why I am such a strong supporter of a Step Ahead, here is more of the story.
I was to arrive this morning - August 30, 2021, at 7:30 am. When I did, Erik Schaffer, the President, was waiting to greet me with an open door. Amy Palmiero-Winters, the Director of Operations, herself an amputee, (also recently named a Guinness World Record holder for being the fastest woman to run 100 miles on a treadmill) was there to hug me. Because, even though we never met, it felt as if we were somehow connected. It was like walking in and seeing an old friend. There were so many times over the past two years that I was ready to surrender to life in a wheelchair. I was done fighting. I had given up hope. But, every time I would get to that place, it seemed Amy somehow knew, and I would get a call or an email with an update letting me know that the battle was still going on, and they were determined to get me the leg I needed.
There are no words to describe what today was like for me, and none of it would have been possible without A Step Ahead. When I went through the facility this morning, every person I met, from office staff to billing folks to the prosthetists in the amazing onsite lab, knew who I was. I was pretty amazed. Apparently, they all knew it because when they have a tough case, they all rally to make sure the patient wins. They don't walk away and take the easy wins, which I what other places do. A Step Ahead makes a commitment to their patients, and they fight until they win.
I can only imagine the countless hours that they spent on calls, and writing letters and gathering records, and more calls - none of which they are paid for. They don't get to charge extra because the insurance company was terrible to deal with. Who does that in today's world? The only company I can tell you for sure that does is A Step Ahead. It may sound corny or even unbelievable, but they fight for what is right regardless of the level of effort involved.
Of course, I wouldn't wish my journey on anyone, but the good news is if you just go to these guys first, you likely won't have to endure it. The thing is that this submission and approval was actually the very first time that A Step Ahead got to submit a clean request that wasn't bound by other factors from previous attempts by other providers - and it came back in less than 3 weeks fully approved.
These people are the real deal. Take it from someone who has really paid the price for just taking whoever walked into my room at the hospital and taking a quick look at the insurance website to make sure they were in-network. I never thought about being an amputee - I didn't know what I didn't know. After today and putting on the prosthetic they are building for me at A Step Ahead, I am realizing what I didn't know. To say the difference is night and day doesn't do the situation justice.
Erik Schaffer and his team are, BAR NONE, IMO THE BEST!! I may not have been to all of the competition, but I have worn something I shouldn't have worn, and now I am being put into something I should. So, the company that made that happen, and made it happen regardless of the hurdles they had to jump through to do it, is going to get my vote every time. read more