Affordable Care, Gaming & Health Issues

I just sent an e-mail to Cameron and figured I'd adjust it and post it on my blog. Here's for killing two birds with one stone! (Or maybe one and a half, but still...)

Applying for Affordable Care (aka Obamacare, but it's not cool to call it that anymore): After two and a half weeks of trying on my own, I went in on Thursday and got help with my health insurance application. A very nice guy named Felipe answered all my odd questions and helped me fill out the form – twice. ‘Cuz the website makes you re-do everything if you have to edit anything. L

Between the 2 times Felipe and I filled out the application and all the times I filled out the application at home, it must have gotten filled out a dozen times before it got submitted.

Turns out I can put Jarom on my insurance with me, but Cameron will need to fill out an application when he gets home from his mission. The application deadline is March 31, but moving is a qualifying life change, so he can apply in August. Amber gets to keep her CHIP insurance.

Funny thing… Felipe and I had to call a help line and got a Southern lady. When I told her Cameron is 20 and not working, she said, “Is he disabled or is he just laying around on the couch all day?” When I told her he is on a mission, she said, “Oh!” She wasn’t expecting that answer. The woman who was in the office with Felipe asked, “Does he get paid for being a missionary?” When I told her “No” she looked shocked.

Felipe asked where Cameron is on his mission. Felipe told me that one of his good friends has a brother serving a Spanish-speaking mission in the same mission. How weird is that?

The good thing is that it looks as though Jarom and I will indeed have affordable healthcare. It should be alot better than the PCN I've had for the past several years, so I'm very, very happy about that! Now I just have to figure out which plan to sign up for.

Gaming & Such: We finished our D&D game after a 5 week holiday hiatus. David's half orc was already dead and Amber's rogue got eaten by a couple of drakes. Five orcs and a warg attacked Sheri's shape-shifting druid and my sorcerer. Sheri's druid flew me out of the orc fortress and we beat it for the closest city and took off on a ship before the orc we didn’t stop from becoming a demigod destroyed the country. Thus ended my first go at D&D.

Now Sheri and David want to play a superhero game called Mutants and Masterminds. That should be interesting, as soon as Sheri and David get it figured out.

Apparently Cameron has been playing laser tag. He posted scores on his last e-mail. Maybe more info on that will be forthcoming.

Interesting story: When Cameron last used his debit card in November, he got down to EXACTLY $0.00. I don't know how he managed that! He had $8.80 left on his debit card and whatever he bought at McDonald's on Nov. 29 was exactly $8.80. When I checked with the credit union they assured me he hadn't overdrawn his account. I was surprised!

Health Updates: Meagan is back at work as of yesterday. She moving around better, but still using crutches. Today is her second day back and she’s lamenting that she can’t prop her foot up or carry ice packs with her. I bet she will be glad to get home from work today!

A couple of weeks ago, Meagan fell in the revolving door at the hospital when she left her first PT session. We got several inches of snow that day and the tile floors were wet and slippery. She was taken to the ER and they took some x-rays of her knee. Fortunately everything was fine – and the hospital paid her ER bill. When Meagan went back for her second PT visit, she noticed they’d put carpeting on the tile floor where she’d slipped.

I went to the doctor on Monday Jan. 13 and they took 3 more x-rays of my arm. That makes 9 x-rays in 3½ weeks. I told the x-ray tech that soon I’ll be glowing in the dark! She laughed. The doctor looked at my x-rays and told me my bones are healing nicely and I don’t have to wear my sling anymore. Yay! I can type 2-handed again! The doctor gave me a sheet of exercises to increase my arm mobility and strength. It will be a couple more weeks until my arm is completely healed, but I’m on my way.

My Dad's brother Neal died the end of December. Despite warnings from Aunt Helen, who is a nurse, Uncle Neal decided to start testosterone therapy about 4 months ago. It ended up killing his small intestines and he passed away 3 months later. A week after his 77th birthday. 

Even though he was never religious, he told his daughter Joanie he wanted a Mormon funeral. She's never been to an LDS church, so Aunt Shirley had to help her out with the arrangements. Joanie was surprised when she found out she wouldn't have to pay for the Bishop, the building, the singer or the luncheon.

Unfortunately I was unable to make it to the funeral because I had to work. Between that, taking Jarom back to college the Saturday before the funeral, all my Primary work on Sunday and healing my broken arm, I was too exhausted for the 7 hours of driving going to the funeral would entail. That, and it was on Amber's first day back to school after Christmas Break. But, Mom told me all about it, so I guess I was there in spirit.

Here's the photo of the week Cameron e-mailed us:

The Plan of Happiness - in Spanish
I'm guessing Cameron drew that? It looks like his handwriting

NOTE TO SELF: Next time you decide to post an e-mail as a blog, type the entire e-mail in MS Word and then cut and paste directly from Word. Don't let it go in to Yahoo EVER, or you'll get lovely white strips that have a lovely ransom note vibe. Like this. Or like up above that you have to try to cover with highlighting that doesn't quite match the blog background... Maybe it's time to switch to a white background??? 

OMG...She Blogged Again!

Last night when I was brushing my teeth the thought crossed my mind, "You haven't blogged in quite a while."

I was thinking about the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 and how it would be nice to do a "2013 Highlights” blog post. I also thought about how every year for about the past 20 years I've thought about sending out a Christmas card with family highlights of the year. Yeah, that hasn't happened.

On Thanksgiving, Meagan injured her knee while she was jumping about doing a Scottish dance with her cousin. I took her to an afterhours clinic the morning of Black Friday, but the doctor there said she’d need to see an orthopedic surgeon. He did give her a knee brace and a couple of prescriptions. After almost a week she got in to see a surgeon. He discovered she tore some cartilage in her knee – which, it turns out, is worse than tearing your meniscus.

Meagan has to wait until Dec.19 for her surgery. She limped to and from work for almost a month, with Zac and her Dad driving her. Since she injured her right knee, driving wasn’t an option – at least not a safe one.

So, the day before Meagan’s surgery, what do I do? I fall in the K-Mart parking lot and break my left arm! Meagan told me I did it because I was jealous. Oh yeah.

Breaking my arm was not in my plans, but it did give me the excuse to stay home and sleep for 5 consecutive days. That part of it was nice. I could have done without the pain, the medical bills and the lost income, but everything is working out OK. 

It was bad, but it could have been much worse. Thank goodness I found an IHC clinic that saw me (without insurance!) and only charged me minimal amounts for medical treatment. Thank goodness I landed softly on my face. When the doctor first saw me he was afraid I’d broken my cheekbone. Thank goodness my bones are anatomically where they should be and I don’t need surgery or a cast.

I was able to see a specialist a week ago and he said that my arm is healing nicely and new bone is growing where it should. I see him again in a week and a half, just to make sure everything is going well.

I'm grateful that things worked out as well as they did. And my paycheck will be bigger than I thought it would.

I have been very tired lately. The broken arm has not helped, but at least it is healing. Maybe now is time for me to rest. With a broken arm, I've got a good excuse. Not that I should need one. I have been sleeping better since I broke my arm, which is strange but good. I had super-weird dreams the other night. A night I didn't take any pain meds, oddly enough, but I did read one of Amber's weird books - "Cinder" by Marissa Meyer, if you're wondering.

Meagan is healing up as well. Her recovery is going to be longer than mine, but I’m sure we’ll both be fine. Meagan got to see the doctor yesterday and will probably start PT next week.

And we got to skype Cameron on Christmas – yay! He seems to be doing well and enjoying his mission. He encouraged us to do personal prayer and scripture study. We encouraged him to write in his journal and take photos – and to send us some photos! Especially of him dressed up as Santa, Elder Nielson as a reindeer and the sister missionaries as elves.

So, since I'm typing with one hand, the 2013 Highlights post is probably not gonna happen. And that's OK. This post is already way longer than I planned. Now I’m going to go lay down and take a nap!