Here Come the Ketones

Right now, as I type, Maddie, the cat is gathering more and more candy from our Fall Festival.  She and her 2 brothers, Batman and Superman will bring home their 12 pound stashes, and momentarily, we will forget that we have diabetes.

There will be candy and empty wrappers all over the living room floor soon, and I will not be stealth enough to know or see who eats what.

Soooooo, this is going to be a long night of checking, rechecking, and checking blood sugar again, and maybe we'll even get a little ketone action in there.  That's always fun for me.  Maddie usually gets more urine on my hands than on the stick.  Good times, good times.... 

*Sigh* Halloween.......Can't live with it, CAN live without it......

I'm Starving!!

If you have read my post about homeschooling Maddie, you'll know that I do enjoy eating my words.  Today I was starving!

This time instead of being about homeschooling, it is about insurance, since ironically that was the frustrating topic of my last post.

My husband came home from work a month or two ago and announced that they were getting new insurance at his job.  That always makes me cringe because I'm always fearful that someone somewhere is going to deny Maddie coverage, even though I know that they can't do that on a group plan.  I also cringe because the amount we pay per month for our family to have insurance, (even though Shawn is free) is almost like another house payment.

Today was the first time I went to get Maddie's testing strips since our new insurance went into effect.  They used to cost us $70, just for that one prescription, just for that one month.  Today, I found out that our prescription co-pay is not $70 anymore, it's $10!!  This is where I started eating my words, once again.

This was the conversation in the pharmacy drive-thru between myself and the pharmacist.

"That will be $10."

"WHAAAAAAT?"  This is the part where I had to physically pick up my lower jaw and put it back into place.
 
"I said, that will be $10 for your daughter's testing strips."  She was not nearly as excited as I was at that point. 

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh."

"No way!"

"Um, yes way, ma'am."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"No, ma'am, I'm not kidding."

"OH.......MY.........GOODNESS......she just said it would be $10," I sometimes yell at my steering wheel.

The poor pharmacist had been hunched over at the microphone for several minutes waiting for me to get my act together, and my kids were scared, silent and wide-eyed in the back of the van watching my entire "freak-out" episode.

"Ma'am, I have customers waiting inside the store.  Are you going to pay for this today?"

See, for this pharmacist, it was just an everyday, run of the mill, prescription refill.  But for me, it was an answer to prayer in a desperate time of need.

.....The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  James 5:16 

Insurance?

I don't really understand all that is going on with this universal healthcare stuff.  I just want to vent my frustrations  for a minute or two.

Insurance is not for the sick.  It is only for the well.  When you're well, you don't shell out much money for doctor's visits and prescriptions.  You may pay an arm and a leg for your monthly premium, but that's about it.

Then there are those of us that are "sick".  We are the punishable ones.  We pay the arm, the leg, and part of the other arm for coverage for our family.  Then we have to see a specialist every other month.  That's another sky-high fee.  Then we have tons of prescriptions.  We do have co-pays for prescriptions, but it seems that each year, that fee doubles.  Multiply that co-pay by 4, and that is only part of our monthly prescription cost--it's the part that comes from the drug store pharmacy.  Then there's the crazy co-pay amounts that go to the pump company for pump supplies.  And oh yeah, they only covered 1/8 of the cost of the pump.  

That's not to mentions the Continuous Glucose Monitor that Maddie desperately needs, but guess what?  Yep, that's right.  It's not covered.  Oh well....too bad....

Ahhh....I feel much better now.  I just needed to vent a little.

Bottom line:  Some people have fancy cars, or beautiful houses, or brand new trendy clothes.  Some people go on trips to exotic places, or go to the beach every weekend.

BUT, we have an income (it's very small, but it's there--I promise) and we have insurance coverage, and a healthy child with an insulin pump.  I'll take that over shopping sprees any day!

Reply

I just wanted to write a quick post to reply to a comment that someone made on one of my older posts.  I don't know the commentor, but I am very glad that she found my blog and read it.  That really means a lot to me.  The more we know about the stuggles people have with diabetes, the closer we'll be to finding a cure.

I think she misunderstood the title of my blog, which is "A Beautiful Diabetic".  She wrote:   

"It is sad that you identify your daughter as diabetic.
It should be....My Beautiful daughter is Maddie. She is 9 and she's smart, talented, full of life, and hilarious, all rolled up into one precious little body. o yeah she is diabetic.
Diabetic is not who she is."

You're right--a diabetic is not who she is.  And just so you know, I don't really 'identify' her as diabetic.  The reason I called my blog "A Beautiful Diabetic" is because I want people to know about this disease, and how it affects children and families on a realistic daily basis.

I could have called it ":My Beautiful Maddie" and that would have been a wonderful title, but for me, I want to reach out to that one mother, who sits in despair at her computer, googling diabetes because her child was just diagnosed.  I want her to know that my diabetic child lives a normal, fun-filled, yet sometimes treacherous life.  This disease is a fight that we are going to win, and that is the point of my blog.

Another reason for writing my blog, mostly about diabetes, is because there is a huge community out there of families with children who have the disease.  Personally, I value those other moms who have that in common with me, and who also have blogs about their diabetic kids.  I look to them for support, and questions when necessary.

But, thank you, friend, for caring enough to leave a comment on my blog.  I sincerely appreciate your input.  But don't be sad~  I don't identify Maddie as a diabetic.  It's just a creative title that is intended to catch the eye of someone who is struggling with the same thing. 

Lisa's Images -- Lisa Prevatte

I have a sweet girlfriend that is an awesome photographer.  Her name is Lisa Prevatte of Lisa's Images.  If you'd like her number, just let me know--she's in the High Point area.  She does great wedding pictures, too.  I asked her to get some good pictures of Maddie since she won't be getting school pictures this year.  I am SO glad I did!!  They turned out great, and we're going to do more!!  I can't wait~

 

 

 

October 2009 ~ 9 Years Old

Oprah

I am not an Oprah fan, I don't agree with most of her points of view concerning faith and God, nor do I make it a point to watch her show.  I do, however, think that sometimes she has some really good topics on her show that are very informative to us as women and mothers, but also some good health information.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a preview for a show about a family with a schizophrenic child.  I was going to be sure to watch this one!!  I think a lot of times we think, "Oh, whoa is me...." and we think we have big problems.  This particular show really put it in perspective for me.

Janny is a pretty little girl, with beautiful curly blond hair, around 8 or 9 years old, (Maddie's age).  She  started showing signs of hallucinations at around 6 months of age.  As she got older, she got worse, and her condition progressed into schizophrenia, which is very rare in children.  Now she has what seems like imaginary friends, but is really other personalities that talk to her and tell her to do bad things, and she stays angry most of the time, if not constantly violent.  At the age of 5, Janny was asking her parents things like how to break your neck, or what it the easiest way to die.    

But here is where I realized that maybe having a diabetic child isn't as bad as having a child with another disability, like say, a mental disability such as this one: 

Janny's mom is a stay at home mom, and her dad is an English professor at a local college.  They also have a son that is under 2 years old.  The family lives in an apartment complex.  Janny has one apartment, and the baby brother has another apartment.  They can't live in the same house, or even be around each other, for fear that Janny will kill her brother.  Janny can't have sharp objects or any cleaning solutions in her apartment, for fear of hurting herself.  One parent sleeps with the baby brother in his apartment one night, while the other monitors Janny as she sleeps, then they take turns the next night.  All day long, Janny is monitored, while someone else stays with the brother.  The only friend she has is a little girl she met in the mental hospital who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.  The two girls seem to understand each other, and that is what they have in common. 

This story just made me sad, and although I loath it, and diabetes does affect Maddie emotionally and sometimes behaviorally, I sometimes don't realize how lucky I am to have a child with diabetes.

H1N1 Drama

Here is our Swine Flu time line.  Fortunately, Maddie has not caught it, but hopefully she will not catch it in the future.  I know there is so much drama about any kind of flu shot, or the lack thereof, but this time, I'm a little nervous about it.

August:  Maddie's endocrinologist informs me that she MUST have the H1N1 flu shot.  He also says that it is a "good idea" for the rest of us to get it, since we live in the same home and are her caretakers.

September:  Drama about the H1N1 virus in the media, cases all around NC, and some cases in our school and church, and amongst our friends.  Scientists are furiously working on the vaccine.

October 1:  Vaccine is complete. Ready to be shipped to all health care providers.  The media announces that they are taking all precautions to NOT have a shortage, and are making sure all who need it will get it.

October 5:  In for my 5 year old son's check up, I inquired about the H1N1 vaccine for my "chronically ill child" at the front desk.  I was told that they would receive it at the END of October or BEGINNING of November, and to call around that time and they would put her on a waiting list, but that she would indeed receive it because of her illness.  I also asked the doctor, and was told the same thing--she would definitely get the shot.

October 21, 2:00 p.m.:  Upon entering the office for Maddie's 9 year old check up, I noticed a sign that said "Sorry, we are out of the H1N1 vaccines.  All County Health Departments are out, also."  Surely they don't mean they are completely out because we weren't notified, or put on a list, and Maddie HAS to get one, as do all children with chronic illnesses.

October 21, 2:30 p.m.:  I asked the nurse about Maddie's need for, and her endochrinologist's demand for, her to get the vaccine.  In the same breath, I told her what I had been told at the beginning of the month, and since it wasn't the END of October, I hadn't called.  The nurse's response was, "Sorry~we only got 100 vaccines yesterday and we ran out this morning at 10:00 a.m.  I don't know why you weren't called or notified."  When I asked the doctor the same question, and added, "Why weren't we notified?"  I didn't really get a clear answer.  She just told me to see if the endochrinologist could give Maddie the shot.

Wouldn't he have told me he could give her the vaccine when he first suggested that she get it?

Something doesn't add up......