2010 Is Over...

**** Beware ****
**** This is not a fun blog ****


As 2010 nears to a close one cannot help but reflect on the year and take its measure. I for one will be glad to see this year end. I honestly feel that it has been one of the toughest years in recent memory. With Dena being out of work for the entire year and the construction business in the dumps uncertainty was behind every door and around every corner.

This was my most expensive medical year in dollars, time, productivity and mental toughness. Between my foot ailments, tension headaches, migraines and getting cold after cold after cold, I just never seemed to be myself. I struggled with the impotency of all that illness and spent a lot of time convincing myself to just keep marching step after step. It's the stress that's been weighing me down all year and slowly eating away at my health.

On top of all of that half of November and all of December was consumed with the logistics and stress of getting Dena's parents moved down from Cambria to Los Angeles. This prevented us from going home to Edmonton for Christmas and this hit me harder than I could have imagined. I struggled with it almost every day in December. Apparently I've become a big softy and family gal in my middle age.... As with all things, it eventually has worked itself out, almost, but not without some much loss of sleep and a trip to the emergency room to boot.

With that said I just kept keeping on with the hope that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel but the tunnel just kept getting longer. As I've said before, we humans have the unique ability to hope and hope has been what's keeping me alive. As the year drew to a close something happened just before Christmas. And this is going to sound corny but it's true. I got a feeling that good things were going to happen to me in 2011 and funny thing, my mom said the same thing to me. Low and behold something good happened the next day. I'm actually looking forward to 2011!

Troubleshooting my Body

The shotgun approach I am taking with my body to rescue it from all I've done to it in the last couple years is almost overwhelming me. Is it possible I've stressed myself out even further with this self care thing? Perhaps.

What I've done is started seeing a Podiatrist for the plantar fasciitis who subsequently prescribed physical therapy. That's twice a week. I'm seeing a nutritionist to get me on track in the food and diet department. I'm working out twice a week and doing some of the wellness challenges we have at work including 50 situps every day. And I'm seeing a psychologist to help me deal with the stress and mental strain. Between all of these things I'm busy 5 nights a week. Frankly, it's ridiculous. When is a person supposed to relax? I fall into bed every night sometimes as early as 9:30, then wake up in the morning and do it all over again.

I'm totally pissed off at the podiatrist now. They made my orthodics wrong, which required two more visits to fix. I'm reviewing the EOB (explanation of benefits) provided by my insurance company and I am appalled at the over charging that they are doing to me and the insurance people. $50 for this, $50 for that, if the doctor touches my feet it's another $50, if I walk down the hallway with him watching it's another $75 per foot for "gait training". What a load of crap that is. One visit was $617. I mean seriously!?

What I do feel is helping the most is the physical therapy. With the stretches, pool therapy and other treatment they give me the pain is definitely getting better. Everyone says that plantar fasciitis takes a very long time to heal (or heel hahaha) and I can see why. I'm trying to be patient but that is not one of my strongest virtues. I'm also trying to be vigilant and keep up with my stretches and ice but it's exhausting.

Thank goodness I have good health insurance. What do people do without health insurance? I suppose they would have to be good to themselves and stay healthy or go bankrupt.

Physical Therapy Update

OK, so awhile ago I posted how I put off going to the physical therapist because I was concerned about the $1,000 a year coverage limit. I finally couldn't take the pain anymore in my shoulder and went to the PT place. I asked them to check coverage for me, just to be sure. I didn't want to run over the limit. She called and checked, it's unlimited. WHAT! Woohoo!! So, now I'm like, well why did my insurance company screw me last year when I went for my neck and only cover me for $1,000 leaving me with a nice $400 bill before I was notified I was cut off? I called them to find out the scoop. After many menus, much button pressing and speech activated menu navigating, I finally got a real person. Although, I'm not too sure you can call them real since they read almost every single word in our 10 minute conversation from a script. I could tell because she wasn't a good reader. A little slow. That's the new thing you know, almost every call center of any size has "scripted" employees. They read all questions, answers, etc from a set of scripts. It can be very aggravating, but don't try to bypass it because they cannot function if you veer from their script. Automatons.....

So I discovered that my "health" plan has 2 special exclusions for physical therapy. If you go for your back or your feet (your feet, really??), you have a $1,000 limit per calendar year. Your neck is part of your back because it's part of your spine. How stupid. I'm sure these exclusions are because most people who need physical therapy need it on their back, or apparently, their feet. The US system allows insurance companies to basically deny or limit coverage based on any whim they may have. Let me just tell you how ridiculous the American health care system is. How rigged. How against the normal everyday person and frankly, to some degree against the doctors, too.

Life Update

Well, I thought I would just throw out some info about all that's going on in my life right now cause I'm sure you've been wondering why I haven't been blogging. I've been too busy! It feels overwhelming, invigorating and exciting to have so much going on. As I mentioned to you all before I've been going to physical therapy for my shoulder & neck. Wow is it hard and very painful. I had to go 3 times a week but now I have to go back to the Ortho guy for a re-evaluation. My therapist, Darlene (who I'm pretty sure is gay but she is very, very professional and cleverly doesn't let on about anything in her personal life) is recommending me for more visits.

I am currently planning for a 4 day scrapbooking getaway at the end of March. That'll be a blast but there is a lot of planning that goes into these sorts of things. How much alcohol to bring, which pictures to scrap, who the masseuse is going to be, etc.

My mom and 2 of her sisters are coming in April 6th. I'm very excited about this. We're going to have a lot of fun. They all come in 3 hours apart at LAX. So, all day Friday I'll be driving back and forth to the airport. We'll be going to Disneyland, the Griffith Observatory, the Huntington Gardens for high tea (that reminds me, I have to make reservations for that....) and all sorts of fun, touristy stuff. I hope to be blogging that whole trip so stay tuned for that.