Insurance is Wonderful

Okay, I know that there are huge debates going on today about health insurance, and many people hold a dim view of insurance in general. But I just wanted to put my two cents (pun intended) out there and let everyone know how thankful I am for my husband's job that allows us to have such fabulous insurance. Yes, we pay a pretty penny for it. But we have also saved so much that we could buy a house with our savings. That is, if we had the money. Which we don't. Which is why we have insurance.

I sat here and added up how much we have paid for my medical expenses this year. Since January, 2009, we have paid $8,433.03 to a bunch of different medical facilities around town. We seem to get a new statement from Empire (Blue Cross Blue Shield) every day for some procedure or another that I have endured. The latest one showed over $10,000 of "procedure", and it freaked me out to think of having to pay for these without insurance! Thus this little activity.

So what was our grand total? I'm so glad you asked! Without insurance, we would have had to pay $118,712.88 since January of this year, and that is just for me! Sammy is a whole other story. He has also racked up thousands of dollars in expenses this year, but we met his $771 deductible and don't have to pay any more for him this year (knock on wood!). His latest escapade, a walnut to the eyeball -- a gift from a neighbor boy -- landed him in urgent care, which we have yet to receive a bill for (or a statement from insurance showing us how much we don't have to pay).

Can I just say again how thankful I am for insurance?

No More Chemo!

I have been a slacker about blogging and posting pictures. Wow. I can't wait to get back in the swing of things! I had my 12th and last chemo treatment yesterday, and I am feeling much better after laying on the couch almost all day yesterday, and getting almost 10 hours of sleep last night. I will meet with the radiologist tomorrow early in the morning, and find out when radiation starts, how long it will last, etc. '

I am thinking about getting an aloe vera plant to help with the skin burns I will most likely get, and I'll probably have a lovely little tattoo in the middle of my chest, but at least it will help the cancer to not come back.

I'm having a party at Mi Ranchito next Wednesday to celebrate, which will be lots of fun. I am hoping my hair starts growing back in the next few weeks. It looks and feels like baby hair right now. I'm just ready to look and feel normal again. I know I will always have "the cancer" hanging over my head, and will always have to be conscious of it and the effects it could have on me if I'm not careful in how I treat my body, but I want to get on with life now and not have IT be in every conversation I have!

I might post about my radiation, but for the most part my posts here will focus on the good and happy things going on in our family's life.

A Dandy Dandelion

Mike went running outside the other morning saying "I have to show you this!" and he came back in bearing a massive (to dandelion standards) yellow flower. We measured ("what?" you say? -- but of course we measured!) and it was 26 inches tall. A great feat for any plant growing in our backyard. Have you seen the plants we have grown in our backyard? No? My point exactly.

To You

To the person or people who sent me the $100 through Bonnie -- you will never know how blessed I feel because of that generous act. I am overwhelmed with love for... well... everyone, because of your selflessness. I have several options for how I may use the money, but I am taking my time making a decision. I want to use it wisely.

*I could use it to boost my Stampin' Up! business.

*I need some more pairs of shorts (I have 3 now), as I really want to follow my husband's leading and get used to it being warmer in the house so that we don't need to use the air conditioner as much this year. That will save us even more money in the long run.

*We could use it to take our family somewhere special and create some lifetime memories.

*I could get 1,111 pictures developed from Snapfish, which would keep me scrapping for a very long time.

*I could have loads of fun at the local scrapbook or stamp store.

*We could all go out to a really nice dinner somewhere fancy that we don't usually get to go.

So many options!! I don't know what I will choose yet, but I just wanted to post publicly about how thankful I am to have such generous people constantly touching our family's life.

Thank you again!! God bless you.

Going Vegan

What an adventure this cancer journey has been and is continuing to be! I am "reconfiguring" my food philosophy, and deciding what foods are going to be the best for my body during and after the cancer process. I have decided to become vegan. For the most part. I will still eat fish. And if I happen to go out to eat or eat at a friend's house, I will not grill the servers and the hosts about how they cooked the food, what is in every little bite, etc. But for the majority of the time, I will eat a vegan diet.


Angela, whose blog you can find at http://www.thepaintedhouse.blogspot.com/, and whose dinner blog (which is vegan and sugar free, people, check it out!!) is at www.dinnersready.blogspot.com, has been petitioning people on my behalf from her blog, and has raised $420 for our family in the form of a gift card from Whole Foods. I think it would be impossible for me to even consider this lifestyle change if not for Whole Foods, and this gift card is such a lifesaver, because the doctor's bills were really eating into our funds!


Many thanks go to Angela, and Bonnie who did Angela's running around for her since she doesn't even live here. (Did I mention that I have not even met Angela? We will meet soon, though, as she has invited Mike and I to stay at their vacation cottage in North Carolina for free for a weekend after my chemo is done! Isn't she wonderful!?) Also, there were several other people who donated to the gift card also, all of whom I haven't met. There are some wonderful people in this crazy world of ours!


Throughout the week, I will be posting some reading material that I have gathered from the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Cooking by Beverly Lynn Bennett and Ray Sammartano. I hope this will help to explain vegan nutrition to those of you who may have no clue what I will be eating, and may be worried about my health because of this decision.

I am doing a lot of writing these days in my "Vegan Notebook", because I am writing a research paper to help me better understand my decision. I tend to jump into decisions without thinking them through thoroughly, and if I make the decision to be vegan it will most likely be a lifelong thing, so I can't take it lightly.



Here it is! Your first installment of The Vegan Times.



Definition of a Vegan



"If you're eating vegan, you eat foods that come from plant-based sources like whole grains, beans and legumes, fruits, vegetables, and even the aquatically harvested sea vegetables. You avoid all animal-based foods and their rendered or processed byproducts, like meat, fish, fowl, eggs, all dairy products, and even honey and gelatin." pg. 3 TCIGTVC



I will still be eating fish and honey, and who knows about gelatin. Haven't researched that yet.



That's all for now! This means that I will be posting a lot more often. :-)

Generosity

These are just some of the things people have given and sent to us. I am trying to take as many pictures as possible so that I will be able to make a scrapbook of my cancer experience.

Fun stuff for the boys -- thanks, Donna!

Wonderful Meals (Bonnie brought this one, it was super yummy!)

Cute Packages (Angela sent this one)

The inside of Angela's package -- thanks, Angela!!

Just a head of lettuce with spikes?

No, it's actually a fruit basket delivered fresh and cold from Edible Arrangements!

Thanks, Alison, Robert, Aunt Susan, Uncle John and Grandma!

Many thanks to all of the wonderful people who have brought us meals, cleaned our house, folded our laundry, collected money for our family, sent fun gifts to the boys, spent time with me, taken me to doctor's visits, babysat my children, spent time in prayer for us, sent us beautiful cards and handwritten notes of love and encouragement, and coordinated everyone who wants to help. We love you all, and it is a very humbling and yet enriching experience to go through, this cancer is. (I just sounded like Yoda. Hee!)

We have been blessed beyond measure with good friends, some of whom we have never even met, and supportive, there-through-thick-and-thin family members who are weathering this storm with us. I am so thankful for each and every one of you!

I have to say some special words of thanks to my darling husband. He has been my rock, and my strength, and my shoulder to cry on and to lean on during this year. The tubal pregnancy in January was rough, but we got through it. This cancer is going to kick my behind, but I am going to kick it back, and make it through a much stronger person! And my husband is going to be there every step of the way. He has been so busy with work these past few weeks, and yet he is still making time to wash dishes, do load after load of laundry, cook healthy, yummy meals, clean the house, take care of the boys, and sit and talk with me about everything that is going on. I think he deserves some special words of gratitude. I love you so much, Babe!!

Hair Shaving Party

The hair shaving party was a success! My head is now shaved. Well, mostly shaved. I wasn't brave enough to go completely bald, but Caleb talked me into going with the #1 guard on the razor he graciously provided. I am still getting used to having no hair, and my scarves are really coming in handy now, as my head is pretty cold. I giggled when I came out of the shower this morning and didn't have to dry my hair, but I still used the blow-drier just to warm up my head a bit...brrrr!! Now I know why God gave us hair.

I had such a blast last night! It was great to be surrounded by family and friends during what could have been a traumatic experience for me.

Without further ado, here are just some of the 156 pictures Mike took last night. I had a hard time deciding which ones to post, they were all great!

Mom and Mark, my sister Christy's new baby

I'm just getting ready.

Bonnie got to do the fun part, since she had experience doing Caleb's hair.

That first buzz felt strange!!

Reverse Mohawk

Bonnie is hard at work.

Look at the hair fall...

Wonderful friends and family!!

Half done.

I didn't know WHAT I looked like, so I was still smiling.

They told me to do a combover with my half-head of hair.

Then Amber (pink) and Andrea (red) told me I looked like Donald Trump.

So I said, "You're fired!!"

Bonnie looks like she's having WAY too much fun...

But then, so was I!

Half without...

Half with!

Getting closer

Caleb didn't want me to have to be the first baldy at the party,

so he shaved his head prior to coming... isn't that sweet?

Here he is with Diamond... speaking of sweet... isn't she a doll??

Mom and Christy and Mark... can you tell that we are related? :-)

Nicolas is my friend Adrienne's son;

he is one of my sons' favorite people!

rrrrRRRRRrrrrr.....

Mama G and Papa B looking on,

and "the girls"... left to right is:

Christy's Brianna, Amber's Kylie, and Christy's Kayla

I'm still not sure about all of this, but it is happening!

My first baldy massage from my handsome husband.

Bonnie did a great job, thanks Bon-Bon!

Finishing touches

Kylie and Kayla hit it off.

Kayla wanted to see what she looked like with red hair. hee!

my wig

Baldies!

Crying baldies

All 3 baldies :-)

Too funny!!

Awww... Bonnie and Diamond are precious.

Isn't she just TOO cute!?

Christy's Lydia wanted to feel.

Amber's massage was Soooooo nice...

And it didn't even freak her out!

Girls saying goodbye to each other.

Christy's Miguel... was a sweetie!

And check out my new purse, isn't it sweet?

My Sammy Boy

Adrienne's artwork :-)

She brought markers to sign my head with, what a cool idea!!

Griffin held the door open while people left. He was so tired after no nap!

Sammy told me, "Mommy, you look like a different girl!

You need to put your glasses back on."

He said the same thing when he saw me this morning. He's not used to it yet.

Lydia :-)