jennywren: (Default)
( Friday, March 9th, 2007 11:54 pm)
Lots of health news:

February 21, Molly's mom had quadruple bypass surgery. She was released from the hospital on the 26 and is recovering at home. Molly was able to be in California with her family during the surgery, so she saw her mom and dad as well as her sister and 2 nieces.

My mom had eye surgery on the 27th of February to try to repair a hole in the lining of the retina. She is recovering at home and still waiting to find out if the surgery was successful.

On March 6th, I fell going up the stairs on my way to the library on campus. I was in a hurry and carrying a lot of books. I hit the edge of the cement steps outside right across my right kneecap. X-rays at the ER showed that nothing is broken, but I do have sprained hip and a badly bruised knee. I am on crutches and now exploring the wonders of worker's comp. claims! Yesterday Molly and I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics to get stuff for our textiles class, and I got to learn how to use a wheelchair -- fun! My pain meds is helping with the pain, but it makes me sleepy and my eyes unfocused so it is hard to read, which I need to be doing for school, esp. since I have a paper due next Tuesday. Sigh . . .

Anyway, that is what we've been up to, in a nutshell or a nuthouse.

Take care of yourselves!
jennywren: (Default)
( Saturday, January 20th, 2007 09:53 pm)
You know the Bible 100%!
 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes



Though I am relieved that I appear to know something about the Bible, since I am a seminary student!

Last week I finished my papers from Fall 2006 semester. I've yet to get my grades, but at least it is done. The next semester starts January 29 (my birthday). I will be taking Introduction to Christian Ethics (3rd time is the charm!), Systematic Theology, and Basic texts of the Mosaic Tradition (I think it focuses on Exodus). I'm sure that will keep me busy. I plan to continue working at the school's library, even though we are doing more transitions (new catalog and new procedures). It's been rough ever since we got a new circulation supervisor. Sigh . . . Plus I may have another job lined up in an area of interest (I'll let you know next week.)

I know I haven't posted much in a while. Let's see what I'll been doing. In December, at the end of the last week of the semester, Molly and I drove up to Frankfort, MI, for Cathy and Mike's wedding. It was just lovely, and we cried. I love northern (LP) Michigan, and I got to show Molly Interlochen, where I worked 2 summers. I think eventually I will have some pictures from that trip. We found the free WIFI in downtown Frankfort to check our email :) It was good to see Cathy's family and friends again. I had gone home with her for Thanksgiving 2004 and met all these nice folks.

Molly and I had a nice quiet Christmas here. We went to North Church for Christmas Eve morning, and Gale's church in Marion for Christmas Eve evening service and dinner. We decorated our little tree and the living room. Molly got me a beautiful necklace that I'd been wanting (you can see the pendant here). I used the money my grandma sent to buy a digital camera, which I had been wanting for some time. You can see some samples of my new photography at flickr. I'm still learning to use the software.

I made a short trip to Iowa over New Years to help celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. I hadn't been back to Iowa since Christmas 2004. Some things change, some things don't. It wasn't a long enough trip to see any of my friends or get to Iowa City or anything -- bummer. I think my mom had a good birthday. We took her out to dinner, and her present finally arrived this week. We got her a gift card to a spa for a massage. We think she'll enjoy it. I also spent some time while in Iowa trying to come out to my grandma. I'm not sure how successful I was, as she was having a bad cold and bronchitis while I was there. She said she has a class reunion the weekend of our Holy Union ceremony (May 26). When I got back to Ohio, Molly's sister Cindy, niece Sierra, and Cindy's partner Val, were here visiting from California. It wasn't a long enough visit, but I hope they'll come again.

I'm still having fun medical adventures, with their lovely accompanying bills. Grrr . . . In December I had another abdominal CT scan (blech!), which showed nothing much but a possible hernia. In January I had a sinus CT scan, which was normal. Now I have to see an Ear Nose Throat specialist in February. Last week, I had a colonoscopy (the clean out and the IV are the worst parts), which was normal. I'm not sure what the next step is in that area to figure out the continuing abdominal pain. The hernia isn't serious enough to do anything. The surgeon says it may be adhesions from last years surgeries or maybe some gynecological problem. Meh! I guess I need to see a gynecologist.

This week we've been working some and cat sitting for Kim and Gale. I've just been hanging out and relaxing a bit before it all starts up again. I'll try to post again sooner, but there are no guarantees. I've been reading LJ daily, just not posting.
jennywren: (tdbar)
( Tuesday, July 18th, 2006 09:34 pm)
The article I was interviewed for in The Chronicle of Higher Education is out now :) You can see the picture of me they chose to use here (this week only). The picture is me looking dismayed/distressed at my medical bills. If you have online access to The Chronicle, you can read the article there. Otherwise many libraries and academic institutions subscribe to it. If you have no way at all to access the article, let me know, and I'll see if I can hook you up!

The article is ok. It isn't as entirely accurate (at least about me) as I had hoped, but hopefully it will make the issue more widely known and maybe something can be done about it. I know health insurance and the health care system is a huge problem, not just for students. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I know the way it is now in the United States just isn't working. I am so fortunate to have been treated at a hospital which does indigent care and has a HCAP program to take care of many of the bills that my insurance would not cover. However, similarly to many uninsured people, I am reluctant to go to the doctor when I do have a problem, because I am not sure how I will pay for the care.
jennywren: (Default)
( Sunday, July 9th, 2006 01:07 am)
On Monday, I had my photo taken for the article for which I was interviewed for the The Chronicle of Higher Education. The photographer, Ken Frick, came to the library at school and took pictures of me there. He wanted a setting that looked like a home office area, so we used the reference office. He took a bazillion pictures of me sitting at the desk looking at my medical bills and insurance statements. Then he took another billion pictures of my insurance claims. The editors at the magazine will have lots to choose from. He was very friendly and easy to work with.

The author of the article, Elizabeth Farrell, called mid-week for a few clarifications and follow up questions. She says the article will be out next week. It will be in the online edition and the paper edition. She says she'll send me some paper copies! Most college libraries get The Chronicle of Higher Education, so we'll hopefully be able to track down copies, and far-flung friends and family will be able to see it, too.

Wednesday Molly and I also met with a very helpful person at school who was willing to look at my medical bills and insurance junk with me. She is even calling some of the providers to see if they would be willing to negotiate about total payments and payment plans. What a Godsend! Molly and I made a spreadsheet of the insurance and bills, so it seems easier to deal with. With the HCAP program, instead of owing something like $124,000, I probably will end up paying somewhere around $9,500. Much better, but still difficult on a student budget. I am much more confident now that things will work out!
jennywren: (Default)
( Thursday, June 15th, 2006 12:11 pm)
Yesterday was pretty exciting for me.

Tuesday night I had an email notification about a comment on one of my lj entries. It was the entry in which I ranted about my health insurance and medical bills. A reporter from The Chronicle of Higher Education had found and read this entry. She is writing an article on student health insurance and wanted to interview me. I think that is great: anything to shed some light on the situation and help others in this kind of situation.

She called me yesterday afternoon, and we talked for quite a bit. She asked all about my illness and surgeries, about the insurance and the bills, and about how I'm dealing with it all. She says she's heard other complaints about the insurance company that our school chose. I think she was surprised when I told her I thought I would have been better off without any insurance at all. I gave her contact information for the person at school she could talk to. She said they will want to take a picture of me, so a local photographer will be contacting me. The article will be out in the next few weeks. I'll let you know!

I don't necessarily think it will be bad publicity for MTSO, and the school rep. seemed excited about me doing the interview and about answer questions for the reporter. We shall see how it all turns out!
jennywren: (spinning earth)
( Thursday, April 13th, 2006 01:23 pm)
This morning we were awakened by four noisy geese honking up and down the river. I'm not sure why they were honking so long and so loud, but it was certainly preferable to the way we were awakened yesterday.

Yesterday morning, a little after 8, we were awakened by knocking at our door. )

In other news . . .

Sorry I haven't been in touch much lately. Most days I don't have a lot of energy for too much, like answering emails or posting in LJ. My mood is rather
up and down most days, and I have a lot of anxiety. It makes it hard. Some days I get very discouraged and depressed. My medical events have changed a lot of my life, and I am trying to sift through and reconstruct. I dropped all my classes and lost my jobs this semester. I am registered for fall semester though. I am enjoying the time to read the books I want to read for fun! I also got out my spinning wheel again, and I have knitting projects and art supplies.

In health news, we are still waiting to hear when our oncologist appointment will be. We are hopeful that I won't need chemo. It is still very likely that I will need to have a complete hysterectomy, so I need to make decisions about childbearing soon. My incision is healing up quite well. Almost 4 inches at the top and 1 at the bottom are closed. I still have pain from time to time, but nothing too serious. I've been to the ER twice with severe pain since the
surgery, but I seem to be past that now, I hope!!! Molly changes my bandages every day, and the home health nurses discharged me from their care on Wednesday. I see the surgeon again for follow-up on the 24th.

I am getting my strength and energy back, so I am able to enjoy outings more. Molly and I went to The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Monday. It was a nice change of pace and place. We saw )

I hope you all are well. I will try to keep in touch a little better, and hopefully there will be updates more often. Happy Spring!!!
.

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