Stuff
Just some personal 'house-keeping'.
Love,love,love the yoga! I am so excited about the amount of flexibility and range-of-motion that I have recouped by practicing yoga every day. I have only good things to say about yoga. Pilates is also fun and at first very challenging -- but that was what I was looking for. I've lost weight and more importantly (to me anyway) I am much more toned,erect and comfortable in my body.
After spending seven years training in the ways of high-impact aerobics I didn't think I would be satisfied with anything less 'bouncy', I was wrong and it is a good thing. Over the years I have managed to damage my back and knees so jumping up and down at a fast pace for 40 minutes a day isn't the way for me to go.
I had not heard from Inez about the letter I had sent her with the Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney forms. I figured that she had received them and was probably a bit (possibly a lot) offended. Mom called her yesterday to check on her and before she hung up asked Inez if she had received my letter. Inez admitted that she had and she had wanted to call me to thank me but she hasn't felt well for a while but for Mom to let me know that she appreciated my offer but she didn't think I could help. So... there it is, and it would be acceptable to let the situation just take care if itself, but it won't; it can't. We are the last of Inez's family and legally we will be the responsible parties when she dies or if she is hospitalized so we are part of the 'equation' regardless of what anyone wants. Inez doesn't have a will or life insurance either. It has the potential of becoming a major c*f*.
Inez told Mom that she had been feeling 'poorly' for a while and that she is suppose see a doctor on the 20th. We have no idea who her doctor is and she isn't talking. I don't know if she is afraid that we'll undermine her decisions or conspire against her...I just don't know.
This is an especially frustrating situation to deal with because I am a forthright person, if there is a situation that needs to be addressed before It becomes a problem then I'm all for the addressing and I have little patience for people that insist that conventions be observed for the sake of appearances. If you want my help I will work hard to be as diplomatic as possible but don't tie my hands and do not expect me to tap dance around while you come to terms with your responsibilities. Of course, the root of the problem is ignorance. If you haven't dealt with the medical community on someone else's behalf you have no idea just how complicated it can be. I think most people assume that they will reach a certain age and then simply go to bed one night and not wake-up the next morning. Wouldn't that be nice? What happens is that one day we realize we aren't feeling well; we ignore it. The next day it's the same and then the next day until finally we think "Well, you know, I should go to the doctor and get something for this" . The doctor orders tests upon test because "...at your age it could be anything and we want to rule certain things out if we can." So now we start the roller coaster to medical and insurance hell. Papers have to be signed,responsibility for payment must be assigned; and just in case you aren't feeling sick enough let us tell you what will happen if you don't have insurance or a party that will accept legal responsibility for your bills.
When you get through the maze that is the American Health Care System (ha! ha-ha-ha!) Now you get to deal with technicians and laboratories any of which may completely screw-up your results or simply attach someone else's paperwork to your chart. This happens much more often than many would think . I went for my yearly sit-down with my Internist to give him my yearly update on what is going on in my life when he opened my file and asked my if I was still on the Lopressor. "Ummm....I've never taken Lopressor, Dr. Robinson." Dr Robinson's brow furrows as he pages through reams of paperwork "Oh, well how did you like Dr Brogan?" Again, "Ummm, I've never seen a Dr Brogan." Furrows deepen, "Well, did you go to the Sleep Clinic in '04,'05 and '06?" I reply that I did not at which point Dr Robinson removed about 20 pages of paperwork from my file and casually admitted "Well, I have no idea who this paperwork pertains to but since it isn't you it gets filed in the circular file." and he dumps it into the trashcan.
My mother was prescribed another person's meds that if she had not realized the mistake she could have had a stroke. I picked-up a prescription last year for myself and realized that it was anti-seizure meds for another woman and the pharmacy had given her my meds.
The point being that mistakes are made and some you may not get a chance to correct. Dealing with the medical community is a job on a good day but add to it the stress of dealing with a ill person that may not be able to speak for themselves (or,if they can they won't) and you have a good reason to go on a killing spree. Ok, maybe not killing but at the very least maiming spree.
Riley turns 19 this Sunday. It really doesn't seem like she is 19; I mean, I'm not one of the people that swear that "They grow-up too fast". For me, the time seems relevant, Riley will be 19 and it feels like she has been around for 19 years; no more, no less. Same with Makenna. I've enjoyed it.
Riley wants a 360, and I am ready to get one for her because I really don't like sharing mine. If you've seen a 360 you know that Microsoft opted to go with the "bigger is better' philosophy so lugging it from my room to hers and back again is a pain. Not to mention that 'Precious' has a Wii,PS2,DS,Nintendo 64,Advanced Gameboy and a Macbook Pro. Call me crazy, but I think I'm justified in being a wee bit selfish.
So, I'll get her favorite food and order a birthday cake from Publix because their birthday cakes are to die for! We'll spend the day eating and gaming and hanging out, which always sounds like a good day to me.
Love,love,love the yoga! I am so excited about the amount of flexibility and range-of-motion that I have recouped by practicing yoga every day. I have only good things to say about yoga. Pilates is also fun and at first very challenging -- but that was what I was looking for. I've lost weight and more importantly (to me anyway) I am much more toned,erect and comfortable in my body.
After spending seven years training in the ways of high-impact aerobics I didn't think I would be satisfied with anything less 'bouncy', I was wrong and it is a good thing. Over the years I have managed to damage my back and knees so jumping up and down at a fast pace for 40 minutes a day isn't the way for me to go.
I had not heard from Inez about the letter I had sent her with the Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney forms. I figured that she had received them and was probably a bit (possibly a lot) offended. Mom called her yesterday to check on her and before she hung up asked Inez if she had received my letter. Inez admitted that she had and she had wanted to call me to thank me but she hasn't felt well for a while but for Mom to let me know that she appreciated my offer but she didn't think I could help. So... there it is, and it would be acceptable to let the situation just take care if itself, but it won't; it can't. We are the last of Inez's family and legally we will be the responsible parties when she dies or if she is hospitalized so we are part of the 'equation' regardless of what anyone wants. Inez doesn't have a will or life insurance either. It has the potential of becoming a major c*f*.
Inez told Mom that she had been feeling 'poorly' for a while and that she is suppose see a doctor on the 20th. We have no idea who her doctor is and she isn't talking. I don't know if she is afraid that we'll undermine her decisions or conspire against her...I just don't know.
This is an especially frustrating situation to deal with because I am a forthright person, if there is a situation that needs to be addressed before It becomes a problem then I'm all for the addressing and I have little patience for people that insist that conventions be observed for the sake of appearances. If you want my help I will work hard to be as diplomatic as possible but don't tie my hands and do not expect me to tap dance around while you come to terms with your responsibilities. Of course, the root of the problem is ignorance. If you haven't dealt with the medical community on someone else's behalf you have no idea just how complicated it can be. I think most people assume that they will reach a certain age and then simply go to bed one night and not wake-up the next morning. Wouldn't that be nice? What happens is that one day we realize we aren't feeling well; we ignore it. The next day it's the same and then the next day until finally we think "Well, you know, I should go to the doctor and get something for this" . The doctor orders tests upon test because "...at your age it could be anything and we want to rule certain things out if we can." So now we start the roller coaster to medical and insurance hell. Papers have to be signed,responsibility for payment must be assigned; and just in case you aren't feeling sick enough let us tell you what will happen if you don't have insurance or a party that will accept legal responsibility for your bills.
When you get through the maze that is the American Health Care System (ha! ha-ha-ha!) Now you get to deal with technicians and laboratories any of which may completely screw-up your results or simply attach someone else's paperwork to your chart. This happens much more often than many would think . I went for my yearly sit-down with my Internist to give him my yearly update on what is going on in my life when he opened my file and asked my if I was still on the Lopressor. "Ummm....I've never taken Lopressor, Dr. Robinson." Dr Robinson's brow furrows as he pages through reams of paperwork "Oh, well how did you like Dr Brogan?" Again, "Ummm, I've never seen a Dr Brogan." Furrows deepen, "Well, did you go to the Sleep Clinic in '04,'05 and '06?" I reply that I did not at which point Dr Robinson removed about 20 pages of paperwork from my file and casually admitted "Well, I have no idea who this paperwork pertains to but since it isn't you it gets filed in the circular file." and he dumps it into the trashcan.
My mother was prescribed another person's meds that if she had not realized the mistake she could have had a stroke. I picked-up a prescription last year for myself and realized that it was anti-seizure meds for another woman and the pharmacy had given her my meds.
The point being that mistakes are made and some you may not get a chance to correct. Dealing with the medical community is a job on a good day but add to it the stress of dealing with a ill person that may not be able to speak for themselves (or,if they can they won't) and you have a good reason to go on a killing spree. Ok, maybe not killing but at the very least maiming spree.
Riley turns 19 this Sunday. It really doesn't seem like she is 19; I mean, I'm not one of the people that swear that "They grow-up too fast". For me, the time seems relevant, Riley will be 19 and it feels like she has been around for 19 years; no more, no less. Same with Makenna. I've enjoyed it.
Riley wants a 360, and I am ready to get one for her because I really don't like sharing mine. If you've seen a 360 you know that Microsoft opted to go with the "bigger is better' philosophy so lugging it from my room to hers and back again is a pain. Not to mention that 'Precious' has a Wii,PS2,DS,Nintendo 64,Advanced Gameboy and a Macbook Pro. Call me crazy, but I think I'm justified in being a wee bit selfish.
So, I'll get her favorite food and order a birthday cake from Publix because their birthday cakes are to die for! We'll spend the day eating and gaming and hanging out, which always sounds like a good day to me.