20 years ago Adam dressed up like Indiana Jones and this year Jackson wanted to dress up like Indiana Jones too.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Happy Halloween
Thursday, November 1, 2012
We're having a girl!!
My Presidential vote
If you are easily offended or sick of all the politics stuff, skip this post- I don't want to offend anyone but since I have to listen to everyone else's political philosophy without comment, I wanted to explore my own feelings. I thought this was a funny cartoon, because it puts into kid terms what I have discovered as one of the most frustrating attitudes that I have experienced since moving to M-ville. The attitude of entitlement. M-ville is a very economically deprived area. It has an extremely high unemployment rate and a huge number of people on disability and government assistance. We joke about it but it is a definite reality that one should not go to Walmart within the first few days of any given month without expecting huge lines of people cashing in their food stamps and assistance checks. I know that some people truly need these services- we received WIC when we were in between jobs in MN. I have a problem with a system that makes it more appealing to stay at home and not work than it is to get a job. A huge number of my patient's families are on "disability" and have been for years. They are able to take out their trash, take their kids to the water parks, but they can't get a job, even a part-time one because they will lose their food, $, and insurance benefits. What we need is a system of stepping stones that make it more desirable to work than to not work. Maybe let them keep their benefits until they make a certain ammount and then back them off slowly.
We also need a total revamp of the medicaid system. We need to make it less desirable for people on medicaid to go to the ER for every little thing. Our hospital has a real problem of overcrowding in our ER because people go there for headaches or nosebleeds. You can bet if they charged a fee, even a small one ($20), it would curb some of the unnecessary trips. It's so frustrating to me that I pay hundreds of dollars each month for insurance, but that I can't take my kids to the Dr. because we have $40-$60 co-pays every time we go. So we try and cure everything ourselves which usually works but frustrates me that my friends can take their babies in every time they have a cold because they have no co-pays.
One of the things I work with all the time is helping the elderly qualify for medicaid. If a person gets sick and needs care in their home, Medicaid will pay for it but traditional Medicare does not. Medicaid covers equipment and nursing home stays where Medicare is limited. It is so frustrating that a person who works all their lives, buys a home and a car and saves up a couple thousand as their nest egg but doesn't have near the money needed to pay for in-home care gets denied and is unable to get the care they need. Yet someone who doesn't work or save anything or gives everything away is rewarded. I hear all the time, "The government owes me. I've worked hard all my life, they should take care of me." I can understand this feeling and for many people I agree. Sometimes though, I hear it from someone who has money or is unwilling to "spend down" a few thousand to pay for 24-hour nursing services. Don't they think they have any responsibility for their care? They could have bought long-term disability insurance. Don't they think that it's fair for them to pay a few thousand dollars in return for the government paying millions to care for them for the rest of their life? One of Obamacare's projects that is really backfiring is this new regulation that if a person gets discharged from a hospital and then gets readmitted within 60 days, the hospital and the Primary Dr. are charged huge fines. In theory, this is supposed to help because if a person gets a headache the Dr. will try and solve the problem rather than send them to the ER. In reality, people who are high risk of returning to the hospital are getting dropped by Drs. and refused by hospitals because they don't want to deal with them. How is that in the patient's best interest? It's not.
There are so many problems with "the system" and I feel like it really needs to be revamped. I am especially concerned with the deficit and that our country keeps spending more than we make. I'm all for good government programs and helping people but the spending needs to get under control. No matter who wins the election I hope that he can make those tough decisions that our country needs. We need to make cutbacks and the person that makes them will be very unpopular. The only person I know that might be able to be that person is Mitt Romney. From his background, he seems able to make the tough unpopular decisions. I know he's not perfect and the book I read "Mormon in the Whitehouse" was probably biased, but I know we can't keep running up the deficit. I am so sick of all of the negative political adds and the negative debates. They make me not want to vote for either one. I know it's a job I would never want. But it is important to vote and I am excited to be in a "swing"state so that my vote actually counts. (That's another thing I think needs to be changed-the electorial college needs to go and we can just go by the popular vote- maybe it will eventually be like American Idol and we can all just text our votes in...) I will be voting for Romney next week and praying that America can solve our system problems and be the great nation under God that we were founded under.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Doctor's Visit
Item #1: We are expecting again! I think the people who read this already know that but just in case...
Item#2:
I had an experience this week that has been frustrating and scary and left me with some questions about our healthcare system. Last friday my Dr called and said I needed to get a blood draw and a CBC ASAP because they forgot to take an extra vial at my appointment on thursday. I went to my hospital and even though my boss said I could just have my nurse friend draw it, they still made me register and pay $50+ for an "out-patient procedure." Then on Monday I got a phone message from the O.B. Drs. office saying that there was something wrong with my blood and that they had made an appointment for me at the Cancer Research Institute in Roanoke for 2:30 on friday. My platelet count is off, that's all it said! So of course, I began to worry some and wonder what was wrong. I looked it up on the internet which is not always wise. The only connection between low platelet count and pregnancy was something called HELLP syndrome which is potentially fatal and the only cure is immediate delivery of fetus which at 16 weeks would not survive.
I wasn't necessarily stressing out because I figured they were just being safe but as the appointment got closer and I thought "cancer center" I began to think of my cousin who was diagnosed with cancer while she was pregnant. I decided it would be better to have Adam with me for support so we arranged to have a babysitter come over and we drove up together. After a $60 copay and a bunch of paperwork, we sat in the office for 2 hours waiting to see the Dr. As I looked around the room at all the people undergoing chemo, with hair loss and the like, I began to become more anxious. Then all that was showing on the television was the View having a special episode about Breast Cancer. When we finally went in to see the Dr. I was somewhat prepared for the worst. He started interviewing me and asking every question in the book. After an hour of questions, he finally reviewed the bloodwork with me and began asking his Intern, "Could it be this? Could it be that? What do you think about this?" they covered everything form Lupus to Guillan Barre to Rheumatoid arthritis to bone cancer. Finally he said that the numbers weren't severely low and especially considering when I had my last blood test right before Lilly was born, the platelet count was low then. Also the white blood count was low and that's what they couldn't figure out. So they said that the best thing would be to just watch and see if they get worse. He ran a bunch more tests and said I might want to get an ultrasound of my spleen (which would cost me several hundred dollars and probably show that everything was normal).
I am extremely grateful and relieved that everything came back fine and that we didn't hear any awful news. I just wonder if it even occurs to the Drs. what it does to a person to hear a voice message that they need to go to a cancer center. (Which consequently is the same facility as the hematology lab- they just call it the cancer center). Do they realize how much that freaks a person out? Why do the Drs. have to keep you waiting so long. My patients are always complaining about long Drs. waits. But if I have a 2:30 appointment and I arrive 30 mins. early, I expect to be seen before 4:00. And what about cost? Do Drs. even consider that all these tests they want to run cost me money? I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry and if there was something wrong I would want to know about it but it just seems like such a waste for them to brainstorm tests that will "all probably be negative but we just want to cover ourselves."
He asked me to come back in a month but I don't know if I will because my OBGYN can check my blood counts. I also refused the spleen ultrasound and I figure I'll just ask them to check it when I have my baby ultrasound. They'll probably say no because it's not their specialty but I figure it's worth a try.
Again, I am so grateful that things seem to be progressing well and I have been feeling pretty good- comparitively. I have many friends who are struggling with infertility and other who have had miscarriages. Adam and I have not had to deal with either and that scares me because I feel like it is probably our turn or our due. I thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunity I have to be a mother and for my 3 1/2 wonderful children. Our ultrasound is in 3 weeks and then we should find out gender :) yay!
Item#2:
I had an experience this week that has been frustrating and scary and left me with some questions about our healthcare system. Last friday my Dr called and said I needed to get a blood draw and a CBC ASAP because they forgot to take an extra vial at my appointment on thursday. I went to my hospital and even though my boss said I could just have my nurse friend draw it, they still made me register and pay $50+ for an "out-patient procedure." Then on Monday I got a phone message from the O.B. Drs. office saying that there was something wrong with my blood and that they had made an appointment for me at the Cancer Research Institute in Roanoke for 2:30 on friday. My platelet count is off, that's all it said! So of course, I began to worry some and wonder what was wrong. I looked it up on the internet which is not always wise. The only connection between low platelet count and pregnancy was something called HELLP syndrome which is potentially fatal and the only cure is immediate delivery of fetus which at 16 weeks would not survive.
I wasn't necessarily stressing out because I figured they were just being safe but as the appointment got closer and I thought "cancer center" I began to think of my cousin who was diagnosed with cancer while she was pregnant. I decided it would be better to have Adam with me for support so we arranged to have a babysitter come over and we drove up together. After a $60 copay and a bunch of paperwork, we sat in the office for 2 hours waiting to see the Dr. As I looked around the room at all the people undergoing chemo, with hair loss and the like, I began to become more anxious. Then all that was showing on the television was the View having a special episode about Breast Cancer. When we finally went in to see the Dr. I was somewhat prepared for the worst. He started interviewing me and asking every question in the book. After an hour of questions, he finally reviewed the bloodwork with me and began asking his Intern, "Could it be this? Could it be that? What do you think about this?" they covered everything form Lupus to Guillan Barre to Rheumatoid arthritis to bone cancer. Finally he said that the numbers weren't severely low and especially considering when I had my last blood test right before Lilly was born, the platelet count was low then. Also the white blood count was low and that's what they couldn't figure out. So they said that the best thing would be to just watch and see if they get worse. He ran a bunch more tests and said I might want to get an ultrasound of my spleen (which would cost me several hundred dollars and probably show that everything was normal).
I am extremely grateful and relieved that everything came back fine and that we didn't hear any awful news. I just wonder if it even occurs to the Drs. what it does to a person to hear a voice message that they need to go to a cancer center. (Which consequently is the same facility as the hematology lab- they just call it the cancer center). Do they realize how much that freaks a person out? Why do the Drs. have to keep you waiting so long. My patients are always complaining about long Drs. waits. But if I have a 2:30 appointment and I arrive 30 mins. early, I expect to be seen before 4:00. And what about cost? Do Drs. even consider that all these tests they want to run cost me money? I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry and if there was something wrong I would want to know about it but it just seems like such a waste for them to brainstorm tests that will "all probably be negative but we just want to cover ourselves."
He asked me to come back in a month but I don't know if I will because my OBGYN can check my blood counts. I also refused the spleen ultrasound and I figure I'll just ask them to check it when I have my baby ultrasound. They'll probably say no because it's not their specialty but I figure it's worth a try.
Again, I am so grateful that things seem to be progressing well and I have been feeling pretty good- comparitively. I have many friends who are struggling with infertility and other who have had miscarriages. Adam and I have not had to deal with either and that scares me because I feel like it is probably our turn or our due. I thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunity I have to be a mother and for my 3 1/2 wonderful children. Our ultrasound is in 3 weeks and then we should find out gender :) yay!
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