Today I finally learned from SKGZ, the organization negotiating on my behalf, that my insurance company (Unive, www.unive.nl) refuses to fully cover the electrolysis therapy I need to remove the excess facial hair I suffer from. Unive's argument is that intersex and thus my own situation is technically and medically so far removed from the other conditions where it is fully covered (like transsexuality) that they feel justified in denying me this. SKGZ has no powers to force Unive to do anything. The latter even refused to obtain non-binding advice from the organization for health insurance companies, as they feel completely justified in their opinion.
I have sent the relevant documents to my lawyer, Yme Drost, who will hopefully know what to do with it. It does tie in with the case against the Dutch hospitals, as the denial of intersex seems to be at the core of things, with discrimination of intersex individuals as a result. It also means that my battles in this matter are far from over. In the case of Unive I need to win as they owe me thousands of Euros I have already spent on this electrolysis therapy. While I could have opted to not undergo said therapy, the negative emotional impact of that decision would have been severe. Even today having excess facial hair still forms a major obstacle in social interactions for me.
Today I was supposed to receive the complaint draft from my lawyer as well so that it could be submitted today to the medical commission for it. As I haven't received it yet I'll have to see when I will receive it and when it will be submitted. I realize that my case has a fairly low priority, legally, yet every time it's postponed another day is a horrible emotional blow to me. It makes me question myself as well as my cause and wonder whether I'm being selfish, greedy and pushy. Or not.
The past few nights including last night I keep waking up from nightmares, generally with my heart racing and my fists clenched so tightly that my nails are almost digging deep enough to draw blood. Little remains of those nightmares in my memories but the sensations of being somewhere, in a situation where I can only feel sheer terror. Sometimes I'm running from something, sometimes not even that. I'm still not sure whether sleep or wakefulness is worse. Cue a discussion about the sweet release of consciousness in death. I hate being suicidal.
Only truly positive thing of note which happened today is that I'm having an interview for Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, pretty much the most well-regarded newspaper in this country when it comes to journalistic integrity and in-depth articles. With the publication in it I will pretty much have reached the pinnacle of the media already as far as newspapers go. I do wonder what it'll truly mean in the end.
Maya
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