Friday thoughts: 10/26/2018

Phew! Late to the game on this one; it's been a busy week here- unfortunately, that means run-around-to-different-places busy, not necessarily getting-things-done-around-the-house busy! But hey, some weeks are like that, you know? :)

The extra good news is that I had a fantastic appointment with a pain doctor on Wednesday. I'll leave the full recap for Monday's post, but he listened, he took me seriously, and he sent me home with a new diagnosis that makes SO MUCH SENSE and an appointment for a procedure in November that will at least provide me with some relief (it's not a permanent solution, but I'll take what I can get!). I felt SO much better after I left; just knowing that there's a reason for my pain was enough to almost make me cry!

So here are a few things that caught my eye this week, around all my constant running here and there!



* Mom Dies After Being Forced to Wait Seven Hours To Be Operated On For Post-Childbirth Complications*

This?

Scares me.

Maternal health in the US is a big, big problem. We spend more money and have worse outcomes than practically any other developed nation. (I personally have two friends who have family members who died fairly immediately after childbirth in the past four years.) There are a lot of reasons for this, but the end result is the same- women are dying. Children are growing up without their mothers.

And it's worse for women of color. If you remember, Serena Williams, the tennis player, very nearly had a tragic outcome after giving birth recently, when the medical staff refused to listen to her concerns. Almost every one of my female friends (and we've discussed this before) has a story of her concerns being blown off at doctors' appointments (I personally was told to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and get a back massager as treatment for my pain. I switched doctors after that, and my new one immediately sent me for an MRI, where my herniated disc was discovered and they referred me to physical therapy and a neurologist. Another time, I was sick for a long, terrible week after a doctor wasn't sure if I had strep or mono; when I was finally able to see a different doctor, she took one look down my throat, gasped, and said, "That is the WORST case of tonsillitis I've ever seen!" And then, with my permission, she paraded her students through my room so they could also gasp after looking down my throat, haha! I was happy to be a teaching tool. And after giving birth, at my 6 week follow-up appointment, not a single person in the office asked me about symptoms of post-partum depression. This absolutely shocked me). I have friends who have suffered with debilitating conditions for years until finally stumbling upon doctors who listen. This shouldn't be happening. It definitely shouldn't be happening at higher rates to women of color.

It's tragic all around, and it scares me that my daughter will face these kinds of risks as she grows older and possibly becomes a parent herself. Somehow we have to do better.



*42 Percent of New Cancer Patients Lose Their Life Savings*

I guess October is the time for scary articles, huh?

Another one that really, really bothers me. Medical bills are the last thing you want to think of when you're fighting for your life, or watching someone you love fight for theirs, but it's a reality in this country. I've refused treatment for certain things due to the cost; I've waited until things were too bad to ignore because going without treatment would save us money (and obviously, everyone knows that preventative medicine is the best road, but if you can't afford it, you can't afford it, you know? I saw a physical therapist two years ago who actually made my back worse and I paid over $500 for that privilege, which is why I put off going again for so long, because it was just so much money and despite the fact that I knew it would help with a different therapist, I couldn't justify spending more money on my back. So instead I suffered).

It angers me that this has become such a politicized topic, because it shouldn't be. Healthcare should be accessible and affordable for everyone, and when you're taking your three year old in for weekly chemo treatments and planning for his/her brain surgery, you shouldn't also be wondering where you're going to live after you lose your house to pay for this, nor should you have to contemplate divorcing your spouse so that he/she can go on Medicaid for cancer treatment because otherwise, you'll be broke and homeless (both scenarios I've watched friends face). That's absolutely criminal, but it's a daily reality for far too many, and it breaks my heart.


*How to Clean Your Dryer Duct in Five Steps*

This is where I admit that I've never actually done this.

That's probably not good, huh?

It's now on my list of things to do. I know the danger of lint blockage, and...it's just something that's always escaped my to-do list in the past. I'm sure we'll be over at Menards soon and I'll look into getting a kit to help me do this. Getting to the back of the dryer is going to be interesting, and I may have to wait until this particular flare I'm going through has calmed down a bit more, but I'm definitely going to figure out how to do this, and then add it to my schedule. Another link says your vent should be cleaned at least once a year and possibly more if you have a bigger household or do a lot of laundry, so maybe I'll schedule it twice a year (remember when I cleaned my dishwasher? It already needs to be recleaned. SO GROSS). I'll let you all know when I get this done! :)



And that's it for the week. I'm still in some pain but have gotten back to yoga, so that makes me happy. I might put up a post in the future about that, since I'm really enjoying it. We've got a busy weekend scheduled; I miss when weekends were for relaxing! Ah well, maybe in a few years...or lifetimes...

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!