Leftovers

Who knows you the best? Your family, they know the good, bad, and the ugly. Some of your friends just know the good, some know the good and bad, a select few know the ugly. If we treated our friends like we did our family, would we have any friends left? Seriously, think about it, the way we yell and scream at each other, storm off when we get angry and silent treatments. Some of you may already treat some of your close friends as family so they are used to it, but imagine treating all like the way you treat your family.

Being that Thanksgiving just passed, how many turkey recipes can you come up with for those leftovers before getting tired of them? We give our friends the best of us and leave our families with the leftovers. Sometimes we jump with a “YES” to do something for a friend but in turn drag our feet at a family members request, make faces, or speak under our breath when doing so. Perhaps your family is tired of your leftovers, maybe it's time for your family to receive the first piece of you, the best piece. Don't you like being the first one to be served a meal? It's time to give your family the best of YOU.

I apologize to my family for ALWAYS leaving them with my leftovers....

(Thanks to Victory 91.5 for this message and giving me the idea of this post.)

Response from my GA Senator Saxby Chambliss

My concern was that Medicare will pay for everything a kidney dialysis patient needs. Once you get a transplant, not so much. They will fully pay your medications for 3 years or 36 months from the date of your transplant and cut you dry. Immunosuppressive drug are highly expensive and unless you are rich or continue to do fundraising you will eventually run out of funds for your medications.

The dialysis business is a billion dollar industry and yet they do not want to give just 1% of their income to help people pay for those life-saving drugs they need. It's always about money.....

Dear Ms. Romain:

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding S.  1454 , the "Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 20 11 ."  It is good to hear from you.

 

Organ transplant recipients must take immunosuppressive drugs daily for the life of the transplant in order to prevent rejection of the organ by the body.  The Medicare End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program pays for dialysis, transplantation, and immunosuppressive drugs for kidney disease patients.  However, the program ends its coverage after 36 months for those who do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. 

 

S.  1454 was introduced on  July 29, 2011 , and was referred to the Committee on Finance.  This legislation would   provide immunosuppressive drug coverage through Medicare Part B for all ESRD transplant recipients beyond the 36 month coverage limit.  Should  this legislation  come before the full Senate , I will keep your thoughts in mind.

 

I understand the need to improve benefits under the Medicare program, and we are making efforts to guarantee the viability and vitality of the program.  As a member of the United States Senate, I will continue to work to make sure our federal health care programs provide the best possible treatment our country has to offer.

 

If you would like to receive timely email alerts regarding the latest congressional actions and my weekly e-newsletter, please sign up via my website at:  www.chambliss.senate.gov .  Please let me know whenever I may be of assistance. 

Don't cry...

I'm glad I didn't waste too many tears just then, the guy who called me called me back with GREAT news! My medication will be covered for this month and a few after that.

Medicaid would pay 20% of my medicine while Medicare covered the 80%, but Medicaid is not doing that anymore. I would have to come up with that and that would have been about $500 a month (more than my car note). He checked my account and saw that the Medicaid is paying for my Medicare premiums. One of my medications were in the $200s but the co-pay now comes down to $2.50!

I'm not out of the clear yet, this buys me some time but I have to do some research on different coverage out there that would be right for me and my case.

I have suck a headache right now, but I'm on steady ground and doesn't change the fact that after discussing with my friend (Domanie) that I need to re-connect and re-focus on who is supposed to be in that #1 position and that is God, He has done way too much for me to leave Him behind.

The End of the Road...

The phone call came in, the one I wasn't even thinking about yet. Your funds are coming to an end. What does that mean to you? It means that I will no longer have money to cover my expensive drugs to help me keep tricking my immune system into thinking the kidney in my body is really mine and belongs to me.

My normal first reaction is to cry, sob, wail, whatever you want to call it, THEN tell myself God will make a way. I really can't afford to do that this time, even though the tears will come because of the uncertainty, I will have to make some phone calls.

Getting insurance is not that easy when you have a pre-existing condition, they are quick to deny you because they see you as dollar signs and honey, you have too many dollar signs attached to your sickness.

I have to start taking action quick because I don't want to lose my kidney and go back to doing dialysis. I just want to tell you guys that I am really scared right now....

I really don't want to go back to doing this again.....

.

What have I done?

In my previous post I went on to tell you about my trip to NY and how my parents were not too happy about it. Well I've been back now for 10 days now and they haven't spoken to me. I don't know why I assumed they would have talked to me like nothing ever happened. I just didn't realize the extent of the damage I have created.

The night I came back, I arrived before my parents did, I was already tense about going home and facing them but this just added to it. I was in my room when they came home, they arrived after 10pm, separately. I asked my younger sister for advice, "should I knock on their door or just open it to say hello?" We came to the conclusion that if I knock I was guaranteed an answer, right? Well I knocked and got no answer, my sister was laughing in the living room, usually when you knock you would have heard "yes?" but that didn't happen. I opened the door and walked in, said "hi" to them, they response was very very dry and low. I stepped out backwards out of the room. Everyday since then I've said "good morning, hi, hello" I still get the same dry returns.

I took the opportunity to stay at my sister's place while she is away in NY for a few days, I know my parents won't miss me since I already was gone for two whole weeks. I got a weave put in yesterday for the first time and I knew this would get their attention! Did I do it for them, hecks no! It was for a friend and a photo shoot to promote her sister's business. It was a short weave, but when I got home I got the dry "hellos" my mother looked at me as if she didn't know and my father never looked up to see me, not even sure if he saw my head at all.

Typing this right now brings tears to my eyes, I feel like I let them down so much and they have reached the point of giving up, oh wait not "giving" because they did give up and don't know what to do with me anymore.

In the end I realized I dropped my family, who is always around me for my boyfriend who lives miles away from me. What a sacrifice, huh?

My friends say give it time they'll come around, but how long?

Keep it in the closet...

This trip that I am currently on in NY has brought me so much happiness and distress at the same time.

Point blank, yes, I came here to see my boyfriend and up to today I have seen him everyday except Sunday (no religious connection for this, I was just too tired). We spent his birthday together (8/1/11) and had a great day. Every time I think about him or see him I just smile so much.

The distress comes from what I left behind, my family. I think I disappointed all of them so much, my 2 sisters along with mother and father. I already told you guys what happened when I mentioned NY to my mother and how she went off and sent my father after me. Well, I never gave them the full details of my trip, what day I was leaving, what time, or when I was even coming back. I figured why go through all of that again so I just kept it to myself while leaving them in the dark.

The night I left, I said bye to my mother and she asked where I was going, I replied to my sister's place because I was getting a ride to the airport in the morning. She looked at me with disdain as if her face said "you're going to get what's coming for you." Went to my father and told him goodbye and asked where I was going, I told him and he shrugged his shoulders, I turned away with my head hung low.

Since I've been here they have not accepted my house calls so I gave up. I spoke to my younger sister about it and I feel as though she has taken their side, actually there are no sides to take in the matter, I went about all of this wrong. So how can I possibly expect anyone to side with me when I'm in the wrong... I can't.

How did I disappoint my older sister? By when I asked her to send me my medication. As a person who takes medication you need to be sure you have all your meds for traveling. By the time I called in my refills I knew it was too late but hoped it would make it the day before I left.

I see I am the type of person who does not think things through and just acts, I don't think of the the after I think about right now, I don't think about others, I only think about myself.

Keep it in the closet...why is it that your friends will know all the minute details but your family is the last to know? The people who live with you, know your ways and have supported and put up with you for years are now treated as strangers.

No matter how old I get I still need to grow up.

In his eyes....

He doesn't know what to say anymore, but it's all in his eyes. The pain of not knowing what to do or say anymore shows in his eyes. When he looks at me I can see it in his eyes though he may act as if everything is alright. These eyes belong to my father. I am a 27 year old female who at times makes decisions on my own without consult from anyone and not caring about the backlash.

My father is a special man, who observes things before commenting, but aren't most fathers this way? Lately he has been quiet with me, but I get the usual 'good morning,' 'have a nice day,' and 'may God be with you.' Though, now I believe he is at a loss for words.

There is no manual given to any parents on how to raise your children, when to say what, or how to say it, this is a lesson that you go through blind at times. I believe my father is a quiet man or is it that he thinks why speak when no one will acknowledge what I have to say anyway? I'm sorry dad if you feel this way...

The recent decision that I made, well it's not really recent I bought my ticket to NY last month but it was just this week they found out about it, July 6th to be exact. My mother had been discussing a wedding event that is coming up and I said something about hoping to be here for it. She asks where will I be and I told her about NY, wow, she was livid! She went off saying that "if the man wanted to see me then he would come" talking about my boyfriend in NY. After that I heard her say "I know you're not going up there to look into each other's eyes and smile," which I laughed about, until I really understood what she was getting at. I really hate when she thinks that way about me, it makes me feel sad. For those of you who know me, I'll let you decide whether or not I am flying miles away from home just to have sex with my boyfriend. *makes a face* Mind you I love NY and I would go there whenever possible, so I really don't mind going up there.

I don't like making my parents upset but I need to do things that make me happy sometimes, right? My mother went off to her room and next thing I know my father came out. "What's this I hear about you going to NY? What's in NY for you?" Lol I love him, my mother will come right out and say it that I looking to have sex, but my father can't seem to utter the words at all, the man still won't talk to me about dating which is a way passed due subject, smh see no parent's manual. That talk should have happened as a teenager.

There he is getting ready for work, straight faced and head down, wordless. He truly does not know what to say to me or he is doing that other thing he does, which is collecting his thoughts, making ready his case before presenting any materials at all. If that's the case then I'll be in for some sort of speech when he is ready to give it.

My boyfriend maybe viewed as the enemy just about now, sorry babe.

In his eyes he sees his daughter growing up and possibly growing apart, but no matter what I will always love my dad.

*Daddy's little girl*