A Diabetic Cyborg’s Life: Money, the Medium Partner Program and my thoughts on “Solo: A Star Wars Story”
Health insurance, money, diabetes never mix like oil and water
As I discussed the last few weeks, I have an “artificial pancreas,” A.K.A. an insulin pump. The daily progress of getting my blood sugar to a consistently good level that is not hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic. My regulation my of my carbs and insulin is getting easier and easier. I had no real drama as far as my readings getting too low of high this week.
There are good reports in my pump’s data all round lately. I was “in range,” between a 70 and 180 glucose reading, for 98% of the last 2 weeks. So, that shows that my last 2 weeks were pretty drama free, and the percentage comparison is still getting flatter.
The response from my post last week was insanely good. Thank everyone endlessly for reading and responding. I did get a response from an attorney who deals with health insurance issue Michelle Oxman offered help if she could (Thank you!). She is not licensed for Texas, but she could try to help by email. The exchange did make me dig out the book I got last year for 2018’s policy. (Yay me for actually still being able to find it.) After reading my BCBSTX policy book I got for my 2018 coverage, I found out two key things that I wish I would’ve known all along. First, my policy has no “max out-of–pocket” and the second thing is that my pump supplies are only covered for 50% of the cost. So, this makes me wonder why they have a spending summary that has a maximum for spending this year?
I called BCBSTX to clarify what exactly was going on. I have a much better understanding about why I was charged at certain points over the last few months. I, also, got them to credit the $55.80 they showed I overpaid for copays since I was maxed out. That money will be credited with the places I was changed money when I should not have paid a dime. Now, at least I know that I should not pay anything this year for my medical costs if I keep everything in network and approved by my PCP. I did not find out why the book and website show different ideas about my maximum out of pocket, but I guess I just don’t understand the book or something. I just know what the phone agent told me, and what the website tells me seems to be what matters.
I read a blog this wee that reminds me of myself.
Cecilia Baldwin defines her ability to endure her chronic illness not as “personality trait” but a “skill.” Our situations with our health are much the same, and we both have to be persistent to continue living our daily lives.
“Does it make me brave? No. It means I am stubborn.”
She says the people usually see continuing on with our difficulties as “courage,” but that implies it’s a natural personality trait we are born with. However, as she and I say “It’s not,” and now I see as she sees our stubborn enduring our lives as, “it’s a skill.”
Learning that there are more stubborn people that live with chronic illness, but continue living life as best they can and don’t think of themselves as “heroic” is reassuring. It also makes me think that if it is a skill, as I now believe, the ability to endure can be learned. It might help if you are already stubborn as a mule, but that can be learned if you wish to endure as she and I do.
Blogging on Medium is a part of my therapy, and it keeps me sane. I owe you all for being a reader of the story of my journey. I tried the Medium Partner Program for my last post. Two things were learned in the experiment in the first days of being part of the program. The first issue that made me question the choice was that I noticed a dramatic loss of readers in the hours after I posted it.
The second thing that made me question the choice is I made less that $2 in the 4 days in which I always have the most interaction and views. I value the charitable giving for my cause more than the payment for my posts. The rush of gratitude, appreciation and love I feel in the hours after getting a donation is priceless, no matter how much the contribution was for. Though, I do see the obvious value of assured money, so I am of two minds about the whole thing.
Reality is setting in, and I MUST post under the Medium Partner Program now. My health costs are outrageous, thanks mostly to the new effort of the current administration to kill the Affordable Care Act. Trump and the GOP killed the ACA in ways that made the “max out-of-pocket” means nothing. I know that this will affect my readership and views for this story and it makes me sad that it means people may not ever see it. It goes against the freedom of information that I believe the Internet is for. Plus, I still blame pay walls for killing many newspapers and a ton of journalism in the last decade. I just keep thinking, what if someone that needs to hear what I am saying is not a member? I want you, my readers, to voice your opinions on this issue.
I am currently living off my retired parents’ money. I am slowly draining their account and feel like a leech sucking the blood out of their bodies. I was at least getting some income by substitute teaching last year and working toward a certification for secondary education. Then, I got diagnosed with Relapse and Remitting Multiple Sclerosis and everything had to change. Stress aggravates MS and makes me relapse and suffer more brain lesions. Then, I have to go to the hospital and get scanned to confirm I am relapsing and for Solu Medrol steroids to stop the lesions from firing anymore which happened twice last year. The second time was not as bad since I am on Copaxone and got to do daily infusions as an outpatient instead of being hospitalized and getting the steroids as an in-patient. I have a feeling that another round of infusions is coming due soon. I have some of the same symptoms that I had last time my MS relapsed. Those signs being a lack of balance, vision blurriness and sometime a dense brain fog that comes and goes. This makes my dilemma of my money issues even worse since it means that this blog is currently my job.
On a lighter note, Solo: A Star Wars Story, was overall a good movie. I will try to avoid the major spoilers, but I might allude to some just to cover a topic or two. Most reviews, I have seen gave it middling ratings. It was at a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes before I saw it. Some reviews by users and professionals just cannot fathom that the Han Solo is not Harrison Ford anymore. Alden Ehrenreich plays the character Han Solo in a movie, and not Harrison Ford. Han Solo is a role in film, not an identity of Harrison Ford. Both Harrison Ford and Alden Ehrenreich are actors and play Han Solo in different movies of the same franchise.
Harrison Ford is 72, so he simply cannot play a young Han Solo. Alden Ehrenreich is 28, so he can portray a Han Solo younger than he was in A New Hope. You are simply not going to like the flick if you cannot get over these facts. Stop ruining the movie for people who can by poisoning all the reviews online. I just wonder where exactly the upcoming Star Wars Story movies are going to go with a few story lines set-up in Solo. The Obi-Wan movie is all but confirmed. I am seeing nothing but rumors about any Star Wars Story movies beyond that one. I’d say go see it if you are a Star Wars or Sci-Fi movie fan and you don’t want to see Deadpool 2.
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