Knowing what to do on your own and when to ask for help ...

Or allowing the help to be received from someone else, is occasionally hard to do, but may be something that with thoughtful logic should be accepted and used.
And so that is how my day went.

Bragging about being able to muddle through all this junk called bureaucracy has become a personal effort to maintain some dignity in my healthcare network.
The main objective is to utilize what has been there for all of us to use when the need arises without guilt.
Being in a precarious situation without healthcare insurance these last few years is quite ironic to me.
Since prior to October of 2006 we were well insured and were able to maintain a wellness without stress of how or where to attain it.
And so over the last few years, since then, I have had to delve into the deepest areas of non-profits and others that were willing to give you what they provide for all who fit their criteria, and I have met that mold way too often.
Although, many are not uniform to one another, so it has been a wait and see, type process.
For some of them income is the most important thing and others it is the fact you do not have any insurance, and others it is just a competitive market “healthcare’ and they sincerely barter or bargain with their products pricing.
Shocking, you say?
Well, I am here tonight to tell you that thanks to ole junior high chum, daughter of Mom Clara I will be saving a large chunk of change on those medical ultrasounds that were requested by, my modern day, Dr. Welby clone, and he called today, this morning actually, personally to give me my blood work results, and I will get back to that later, okay?
The name of the company that has resolved my latest dilemma is Life Line Screening out of Cleveland Ohio, just copy and paste this site: http://www.lifelinescreening.com/default.aspx?sourcecd=BING001&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=lifeline+screening&utm_campaign=Branded_Lifeline+Screening Toll free number is 1-800-449-2350 call from 8A.M. to 9 P.M. EST Monday through Friday.
But the only hitch is that they come to your area at just certain times of the year and you have choices that you can make, I had three dates to choose from and although I did not choose the earliest date I chose the one when they would be the closest to us in July only three and half miles away, perfect! Five diagnostic tests including the two the doctor requested, for a very reasonable price of only $149 for the whole caboodle! And no medical scripts required and they will email you the results or mail them snail mail for a three dollar fee, or send them to your doctor or whatever. Thanks again ole chum, and to think I thought my deals were better than this and almost didn’t take her up on this. You see over the years I have received like most of all of you lotsa junk mail with what I consider to be too good to be true offers, you know the ones, hmm?
And so not having known anyone who had taken advantage of this thing, which I do believe they also sent me previous offers and I always wondered how they got my name, hmm?
So perhaps I even called them and questioned them about that, but I do not recall at this time…you know I always wonder about that sort of thing, when you don’t request something and yet they send it to you.
Any-who, when this particular ole chum put her stamp of approval on it, since her sadly deceased for eight years husband who was an attorney for over thirty years and if you think I am leery too of the too good to be true offers, she makes me look like chopped liver in that realm. And the clincher, although, she is well insured, she had taken advantage of their offer herself, so that is what sold me!
And me being me had to share this new resource with every non-profit I could call and so I did, what a day of joy!
A purpose, a reason, once again for me to help someone too and quite a few, since I contacted the clinic and the county, 211 services number, and they thanked me, and again I feel obligated to thank ole CHUM!
OK, enough gushing; it does become unflattering when you do it too much, hmm?

Back to my other good news via my Marcus Welby doc…my test results my A1C for the diabetes test was 6.0 it went down from 6.3, still not a diabetic but 6.5 is borderline or pre he warned; now on with the thyroid test not done fasting which he feels was a wash, but this time only slightly higher not enough for intervention or medication increase.
So I am good, I guess and when I mentioned that I would be going the Life Line route for those tests he ordered he said make sure that he gets the results.

Dear Mary, longest in the ole chum pal line, please know that our prayers are nightly here for you and that we are hoping that the horrid surgery that you had to endure was the end all to the problem and that your biopsy will be benign, like mine!

And to all those out there with anything causing you any immediate or perceived futuristic health issues, remember to find what works for you and be your own advocate and if someone can help you, let them.

Moving on to more good stuff, today I again dipped into our backyard pool and enjoyed it quite a bit, my fourth time in the last week or so, maybe two?

Any-who, on that note of noteworthy news, allow me to be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?

Half the battle of being me is being wrong so much of the time...

And knowing that admitting what you may have judged was not corrected soon enough or having the patience to wait for all the facts to come in… even when you know that you did ask the right questions…
Below is what I am talking about, you’ll understand once you read.

“They removed her entire thyroid and two large goiters. Large scary incision laterally across her whole throat. All in all, a tough go for my little Mary but she's a brave little trooper and forced herself to go out to a local little restaurant the night after her surgery. In fact, barely 48 hours had passed. I didn't want her to risk it but she insisted. Paid for it a bit the next day but so far, I think she's getting through it pretty darn effectively. I will keep you posted on her progress but so far - so good. Keep your fingers crossed re: the biopsy results. That's the next big hurdle.” And so her brother Joe has messaged me today.

And so I Googled the information and here’s part of what I uncovered, below:
“Goiters and thyroid nodules causing unwanted symptoms or adversely affect a person's health require treatment, often thyroid surgery. These situations include:
• Large goiters that are uncomfortable or cause breathing difficulties or swallowing.
• Multinodular goiters, particularly those that constrict airways, the esophagus or blood vessels.
• Thyroid nodules that have an indeterminate diagnosis or are deemed suspicious for cancer after biopsy.
• Nodular goiter causing hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) where treatment with radioactive iodine or anti-thyroid medications are not an option
• Goiters or nodules that are malignant (thyroid cancer)
A thyroidectomy is a surgical procedure to remove all (total thyroidectomy) or part of the thyroid gland (partial thyroidectomy). Patients may also need to take the drug levothyroxine, an oral synthetic thyroid hormone, after surgery dependent on the how much of the gland is removed.
What is a goiter?

Goiter refers to enlargement of the thyroid gland, a butterfly shaped organ draped around the front and sides of the windpipe (or trachea) in the lower part of the neck. (Figure 1)”
For more information copy and paste the rest of this sites information: http://endocrine.surgery.ucsf.edu/conditions--procedures/goiter.aspx

Fascinating stuff, and we all should be more aware of a much misunderstood part of our glandular system that has so much control over metabolism. I, myself have been going through a Hypothyroid experience that the doctor is still working on to regulate on how much thyroid hormone I should be on. The doubling of it months ago may be doubled again.
Thus I also found out the reasoning for my carotid ultrasound, killing two birds with one stone as a diagnostic tool, for my possible blocked arteries and my thyroid, a twofer.
Being an old pro with surgeries, that is having fourteen over many years, most all insured… I too believe what will be , but if I were insured my concerns would be that much less… even if I do go for the ultrasounds, eventually the tummy one too and they find something then what?
Are there organizations that will help me for any of those?
We have maxed out our non interest payment account and to be honest that has to be paid off monthly at a few hundred bucks a month… And so I will not worry until necessary, and will postpone until there is a reason to be concerned, right? RIGHT!

We all know my dangers of thinking too much…but I call it being prepared, shouldn’t we all be?
Who was prepared for getting chronic ills?
Not me.
I know that I chose not to pay $376 a month with a $2000 for everything and also a $500 deductible for medications to the federal government for the pre-existing plan; such a good deal, for whom?
What would you do?
That’s a good portion of our monthly income and we have bills like everyone else.
To be honest I had considered it, with my additional income coming in with my own social security payments starting in a couple of months, but our lives are bare nuts and bolts now , enough already! I can possibly bank some of that for what comes up in emergencies or pay off Hubby’s bill earlier than the eighteen months, and our appliances, are getting older, our air-conditioner too, and the car is eleven this August, so one never knows does one?
Much to consider, hmm?

While I am thinking our fate, and suppositions in all occurrences, allow me to be the first to wish you a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share your overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?

Have you an unusual name?

My real name is not that common and so I have considered and begun starting to Google others with the same name, as well as a search on Facebook.
Interesting little project, since not too many exist, and so the idea was short lived.
I told you all that I have too much time on my hands, and this is my proof!
All this suggests that it is a harmless experiment.

Today was a quiet day on the home front, which I suppose you all realize from my lack of ingenuity to create something more useful or beneficial to do and that can be a good thing…
Yesterday, the declaration of a named storm, Alberto in the Atlantic, our first in the season was hovering over South Carolina, and now is about a hundred and five miles north of Savannah Georgia and it was so out of the usual that it did make our news. It has sustained winds of fifty miles an hour with gusts to sixty-five, now lowered to sixty.
Not a hurricane, and will not become one, but a tropical storm and worthy to be named.
We have had winds that powerful with just normal rainstorms not at this time of the year, in the winter.
This one made the news due to it being earlier than the average systems, but the last time this happened was in 2003, so the weather pros say.
And they all seem to state it has no bearing on the seasons storms, which the meteorologists that work on these things have said that we are not in for a more than average predictable season of such thingies.

I would be amiss if I did not congratulate and send best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Mark Zuckerberg on their nuptials yesterday. He married a doctor, a pediatrician; she is his inspiration for his new app for organ donations; and I am more than sure that his parents are very happy, Mazol Tov to everyone involved in their family and friends too!

There is something to be said for marrying your best friend, and they really knew each other when, that is as students at Harvard. Too bad Mark was a drop out, and I do wonder with her education and being a doctor whatever will they be able to talk about? KIDDING!
But in most relationships similar backgrounds are supposed to help… but not with ours, we are extreme opposites in our backgrounds,… but in spite of that we are married forty-one years and still going strong, knew each other for a mere three and a half prior to that. So there’s another concept shot to heck.
We for instance are not of the same faith, our families were not of the same political parties, one set of parents were together until death did they part while the other were divorced, siblings were two biological for one, and the other a half and three steps for the that one… see way different.
But too same doesn’t work either, and the age that you marry has nothing to do with it either.
We were twenty and twenty-one, too young by many standards, but our one son waited until twenty-eight and divorced two years later and now is on his second wife… the other has chosen not to marry but have a chain of monogamous relationships, not our call… all I am saying is love is in the eye of the beholder and should adjust through the years to maintain that relationship.
But I have been here before and its none of my business what you do…, but in closing I will say one thing that is relevant, it’s the who you marry, that is, the one you love and truly love and can not imagine not being with, and when things get rough, and they do have a way of doing that, always remember why you fell in love in the first place and go there…without anger, and you will have your own long tales of love to reiterate to the next generation TA DA!

On that somewhat upbeat concept to ponder, allow me to be the first to wish you a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count your blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?

Braces for adults, not, and major surgery, not yet?

Are euphemisms for medical procedures common in the land of delicacy of speech?
I seem to be dealing with people who either are embarrassed with normal aging procedures or are not ready for primetime explanations?
Take Hubby, now I do have his permission to discus what’s what with his surgical teeth procedures, finally!
He is getting dentures, a long time coming, his teeth have been bad for years and while still on a dental plan he had many bottom ones extracted but the bottom insert never fit properly, even with him going back to the dentist several times at that time, and so in the last few years he chose not to wear it…consequently his other teeth also took a turn for the worse, and he lost his smile, so sad… I wanted it back!
Financially, without any dental insurance, you see Medicare does not pay for this, and so we went the save up for it route and to finance the remainder in that no interest account that I have had to use for my emergency oral surgery, and also my cataract surgery, GE Care Credit. Mine were all done the beginning of this month and so with a bit saved and Hubby’s smile diminishing so much more, last week we started the whole shebang for him to get back those pearly whites, okay artificial ones but cosmetically enhanced, so trendy, hmm?
But aside for this being a big step for anyone at any age causing him a bit of anxiety, his sense of humor kicked in and tickled the dental tech and dentist as well, when they asked why he was there, he responded, “To get braces.” And they both laughed!
I would have told you all sooner, but I was asked not to say anything and I respected his privacy! But due to his cute joke about the braces we both decided that we should allow this to come out. I am more than sure many who read this also have them!

Now, dear sweet unselfish, loving and generous married mom (ten years ago I would not have needed to say that) of four, granny to eight, ye ole toddler-hood chum, biopsy went well, but they will not have the results until next week…huh?
The way her brother was talking I thought they were doing major surgery now that was touch and go due to its location, and to be honest I hope that she doesn’t need any of that and all is benign… but I was very worried.
Geez, I have had more than a half dozen biopsies, four breast (3 surgical and one needle), one throat, and one face a nasty lump (cheek) and one taken during a colonoscopy and all had to be waited for, for those results and Gosh that was hellish to do, and thankfully mine were all benign, and I was embarrassingly a smoker for over forty years with a family history of cancer all over the place!
I wish my ole pal well who was not a smoker, but scaring people who don’t need more worries is not right, that is until there is a reason to, which I pray never ever!
I will always pray for friends undergoing major miseries in their lives and hope that they will recover and all will turn out well for them and theirs when or if it turns into something more horrible I will pray harder… but we have to know what’s what, before that horror invades our system of total realization and compassion…otherwise it is wasteful energy that we can spend elsewhere where it is really needed. Does that sound odd to you?
I still would like to let all the people I know that I love you and will always worry about you, if necessary, but if all is well or in flux, than I will wait to know what to do, okay?
Actually, worrying is not good ever.
And that is why I will definitely only become concerned when I know the facts.

Bringing us back to Hubby and why it took nearly six years for this tooth thingy to happen, me.
No insurance, and me not qualifying for many programs since we fell between the cracks and we ended up paying off quite a few things for me monthly; I almost goofed up this latest chance for Hubby with again my need for medical intervention. The blood work appears to be covered this time but not those ultrasounds and I did price them out and I will be able to have one of them next month probably the carotid artery ones since those are more serious for out of pocket expense and the other , stomach after, I hope…
Sure I will, no worry be happy!

Listen peeps if I offended anyone with my unusual reasoning than I am very sorry, and please allow me to be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?

PS bad teeth have been linked to heart disease and other major illnesses, so be sure to take care of them before they have to come out at night, okay?

Lucky us!

Living in this place, called ‘Paradise’ AKA Florida, this allows for us to swim for nearly six months out of the year or longer depending on your coldwater tolerance.
Our air is undeniably warm for more than nine months a year, and occasionally longer.
But due to cooler nights our water tends to cool off even in backyard pools.
I know it may seem odd in such a warm climate to have solar panels to warm our pools but most do, and we did too until ours ripped off of our roof due to nasty winds.
But in reality cooler is better with air temps rising so high; it is more refreshing to have that plunge of not too hot.
And so again this morning before our pool became air warmed. I again did go into a lovely eighty-three degree Fahrenheit temperature pool in our own backyard.
Interestingly our bird feeder and bird bath are in the flight path over the pool, which on occasion can mean having a bit of seed in the pool. Oddly enough, though, the birds seemed to have gotten used to me over the years splashing, since they continue to eat and bathe as I look on; although, last year I did not go into the pool, due to a deep realistic fear.
If any recall, that is when I found my heat sensitivity to be tremendously activated by even the slightest deviation in temperatures, eighty degrees Fahrenheit was my limitation for comfort or I would have to wear my cooling vest.
Now, it appears with this hypothyroid thingy and my body temperature dropping to lower than the average my tolerance has gotten better with the heat, I suppose that makes sense in an odd way and is nearly a cure for the problem? I did spend about a total of forty-five minutes in the pool, with a break in between due to finger tips shriveling. Mom’s all over the world used to say that was when we should get out of the water, WOW, some things just stick with you, don’t they?
Who knows…?
Moving on…
Hubby’s procedures are in increments and since I have mentioned that he had gone that first time he has had another visit for his teeth and more to come until the actual surgery. His blood pressure seems to be moderating and he was given something to calm his nerves, which is what his PA, yes another physicians assistant felt was necessary since his blood pressure was rising from, the anxiety of the upcoming surgery.
Sure, that makes sense; we all get that, logically, don’t we?
In a small way that is somewhat of a relief, being a normal reaction.

As far as my ole, ole friend from toddler-hood goes about her odd surgery, no news has been passed on and so we are in a wait and see mode. I keep checking hers and her brother’s site to see if anything was posted and not even from their other family members which are many; not one word on how she is doing…
When I know, you will know too.

Meanwhile, ole school chum, from junior high, her Mom Clara is stable and (my friend’s) niece/ (who is her Mom’s) granddaughter and (my friend’s)great niece / (who is her Mom’s) great granddaughter, got that? They have now moved in, and that must be so nice to have a support system like that I am more than sure!

On that bit of this and that’s, allow me to be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share those overages and we will too!
And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?

Words, words, words...

As we all know those of us who live in English speaking nations, usually do speak English, correct?
Than why is it that semantics, make me crazy!
I constantly second guess what people mean when they write it down, and you know it is not my fault since our language has too many words with too many different meanings! Have you noticed?
Take the below example, a simple uncomplicated, usual word that most would think means a problem, TROUBLE; but, oh no!
Too simplistic in your logical way of thinking, it really means so much more! And if you examine what I found in only one dictionary that is used by many English speaking folks you will be amazed! I know I was, but we all know I have way too much time on my hands…
“
1. 1) trouble (verb)
2. 2) trouble (noun)
3. trouble light (noun)
4. trouble man (noun)
5. trouble spot (noun)
6. double-trouble (noun)
7. tramp's-trouble (noun)
8. borrow (verb)
1trou•ble
verb \ˈtrə-bəl\
trou•bledtrou•bling\ˈtrə-b(ə-)liŋ\
Definition of TROUBLE
transitive verb
1
a : to agitate mentally or spiritually : worry, disturb b (1) archaic : mistreat, oppress (2) : to produce physical disorder in : afflict c : to put to exertion or inconvenience
2
: to put into confused motion
intransitive verb
1
: to become mentally agitated : worry
2
: to make an effort : be at pains
— trou•bler \-b(ə-)lər\ noun
See trouble defined for English-language learners »
See trouble defined for kids »
Examples of TROUBLE
1. The accusations troubled him deeply.
2. I'm troubled by his strange behavior.
3. I don't mean to trouble you, but I have a question.
Origin of TROUBLE
Middle English, from Anglo-French trubler, from Vulgar Latin *turbulare, from *turbulus agitated, alteration of Latin turbulentus — more at turbulent
First Known Use: 13th century
Related to TROUBLE
Synonyms: bother, fear, fret, fuss, stew, stress, sweat, worry
Antonyms: accommodate, favor, oblige”
Thanks to Webster Dictionary on line

Many of us daily use words without over-thinking what they actually mean, hmm?
Take the word ‘fend’ which does means to care for yourself, while fen means a bog, marsh or some other such wetland… oops!
I wrote fen when I should have written fend in an email earlier today! Oh well…
Gosh, this whatever is going on in my wee brain can be a laugh a minute or as embarrassing as toilet paper on your shoe…
But I digress, words in closing are always a learning experience when we grow older let’s say, hmm?
Just keeping up with the newest and the latest catch phrases can be a wild ride… and sure enough who could complain about that!
Moving on…
The queen of disco died today, Donna Summer after a long battle with breast cancer, she was sixty three, and had two homes here in Florida she passed away in her Naples home and she will be sorely missed by all who knew her and enjoyed her style… Her Last Dance was saved for today.

On that sad but noteworthy note, allow me to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you all kindly to count your blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?

Surprise, surprise!

Unnecessary aggravation once again, wouldn’t you know it?
Whatever is she talking about? Yes, Tobi, what are you speaking about?
Okay and so I will tell you, but you must listen closely…
Well, this older friend, and easier to contend with familiar body was here all of the time, I just did not realize that I had access to it; now, how about that?
Still no clue of what I am referring to?
Okay, than I will confess I have felt your curiosity burning a hole through this mechanism, my personal techno marvel; are you all ready?
YES! I think I hear you say…
Are you sure? SURE AM!
Sure you are…
Any-who…
It was here all of the time; right before my very eyes if I only looked more carefully I would have noticed the option… to return to…the original FORMAT!
Aha, you say, nope, you didn’t say that, did you?
Simplicity is once again at my fingertips with paragraphing as it should be and a neater and more uncluttered look to behold, TA DA and HOORAH!
If that guy in the CenturyLink commercial can think that they, i.e. their product, are a gift from above, why not me, I say! And I was not blasphemous at all, using the word, ‘behold’, I think, just creative, hmm?
And I am more than sure that biblical words were written to be utilized in massive population in our general language, or not.
Nah, yep they were! COOL!
And so I did.
Frustration on now what to discuss tonight… oh, well, Hubby may have a slight glitch in his plans, since his doctor’s office called and want to see him before he starts any oral surgical procedures and so now he will be going in there, before he goes through any of it!
I think it is a good idea to be safe not sorry.
We both tried Googling info on the Novocain causing a rise in the blood pressure and this time Hubby got the goods on the matter from a dentist online.
Yes, it does appear to cause a rise for only minutes, or it even could be blamed on white coat syndrome, which many suffer from, but making sure is always a good idea, and so he will.

Moving on …
Another ole chum from further back in my life, from when I was mere year and a half old, Mary, my friend oldest of eleven. The one followed in her Mom’s footsteps with a career as an R.N., is undergoing an unusual surgery tomorrow “for what we hope is just a goiter in a strange place, leaning on her aorta, top of lung and esophagus.”
So her brother Joe has told me, and I sent to him a message to give her that she would be in our prayers and also to send her our love too, and I would hope that all of you would be kind enough to do that too?
She is a wonderful woman besides her vocation who works in a “wonderful loving nursing home with the elderly; she is very happily married for 42 years, has 4 wonderful children, 2 boys, twin girls, 2 lovely daughter-in-laws, and 8 gorgeous grandchildren. She is blessed!” I paraphrased her own words from her Facebook page.

We have helped a ninety-one year old survive with all your prayers and love espousing voraciously and so this gal who just celebrated her birthday yesterday who is my age of consent, needs to be around for a very long time to do what she does so well, and that is being a loving and generous human being! So help with your prayers they are free, okay?

On that demanding need for your help, allow me to be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?

PS and Hubby could use a few too, but don’t let him know I said that, okay; it’s just between us, alright? Shush all…!