thread for middle age to older Christian women.
Comments
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Anita, so good to hear from you and the spaghetti sounds yummy! I wasnt sure what neurontin was so I looked it up. Turns out it's another name for Gabapentin which I take as well.
According to one site, "Do not stop using Neurontin suddenly, even if you feel fine. Stopping suddenly may cause increased seizures. Follow your doctor's instructions about tapering your dose. Wear a medical alert tag or carry an ID card stating that you take Neurontin. Any medical care provider who treats you should know that you take seizure medication."
I didn't know it could possibly be causing the lymphedema swelling. I've been having more swelling issues of late (among other things). I wonder..... Blessings, Sue
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Hey Lucy, are you okay? I went to send another PM and it said you weren't accepting PM's. I looked for you call yesterday and again today. Please let us know you're okay.
Hope everyone is doing well. I'll share some dental news later tonight. I'm on an old laptop and it's slooooooooooow as molasses so have to come back with an update.
Sue
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Hi Sue,
I am glad to see you on today. I have been praying for you so much. I hope you are feeling better and that maybe you will have some good news to share regarding your dental situation.
My sister had a birthday dinner for me last night and my niece was there from Iowa. We had a good time. I have been spending hours trying to design this tombstone. It is so much more complicated than I thought. I may just jump off a bridge and be buried at sea!!!!!!!!!!
Hope to hear from you.
Love,
Nancy
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Sue: I have been praying about your dental situation and the finances and I am trusting that God is going to take care of it. I just firmly believe that He would not pour all of this on you and not have a means to cover it.
Nancy: I hope you can resolve your issues for your tombstone. I think is going to say " I'm not here".
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Sue: I sent Lucy a PM to see if it was working and it says it was successfully sent. I let her know that you were trying.
Char
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Nancy it sounds like you're having a great time. Sorry you're having trouble with the toombstone, Good one Char - I say amen - that's my vote!
Char, Nancy and all, thanks so much for your prayers. They are working. Char, thanks too for the PM to Lucy. May have been a glitch so I'll look again.
I went to the endodontist today. He and his entire staff were so helpful and compassionate. The doc,. said that he wasn't convinced I needed to have all that work done. He said the "dark spot" on the tooth wasn't necessarily an absess. I had other "dark spots" in other places. He also said that I don't necessarily need crowns either and said everyone has cracks in their teeth. Bottom line is he's sending me to an oral radiologist for a different type of x-ray (3d as opposed to 2d). He'll consult with the OR and likely my doctor and go from there. When he gets the xrays back, he'll have me come back to talk. He made sure to tell me that there would be no charge for that visit. I sure felt better emotionally after that appointment!
Unfortunately my breathing keeps getting worse. Don't know if I can wait until Friday to get a chest xray done. Even with the oxygen going pretty much 24/7, I''m having trouble breathing.
So that's the story all. Do know how much I appreciate your prayers and how I find it a privilege to pray for all of you.
Blessings, Sue
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This is too weird Char. Maybe it's my computer but this is the message I get when trying to send a PM to Lucy:
Reply to Private Message from SpiritBlessing
Sorry!
The member, SpiritBlessing is not accepting Private Messages.0 -
Hi Ladies...it's me. I did get a couple of messages from Sue. The first time got the wrong number and was going to call today but didn't sit down till 8:00. Figured it would be too late to call. I am well just been busy. Worked yesterday and today full days.
Glad to hear it went well Sue.
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Oh I did your PM Char. I don't know why it said I was not accepting messages. I haven't made any changes to it. Sue did you say you were an hour ahead of me?
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Well Lucy, who knows what's up with these computers. Maybe it's a full moon? I am an hour ahead of you. Try my home phone (I'm not a fan of cell phones).
So glad you were able to get a couple of day's work in. Trust me though when I say I know how tiring it is! Maybe we can connect over the weekend. Send me a PM if you like and we'll figure it out, lol.
Have a good night all. Sue
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Hi Sue,
So glad to hear that you may not have to have all of this dental work done and that this doctor didn't charge you for the visit. You were due for some good news and it looks like it is happening already. PTL Technology is wonderful WHEN it works like it is supposed to regarding PM. I will be praying for your breathing difficulties. Could it be the lymphedema causing this?
Char, Maybe the rapture will come BEFORE I have to pay for this tombstone! I wanted my love for God and my love for music to be apparent when people see this tombstone. I have been really busy today and didn't have a chance to talk to the lady at the monument place again. I know what I want now but not sure it is all going to fit. I have picked out a heart shaped stone in mountain rose color. I want trumpet angels facing each other. A fish symbol with a cross in it and if this fits on the back I want it to say.........Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Ps. 150:6. Of course I have to fit my name in there some place. LOL It seems a little freaky to think that I will be seeing my tombstone but it is something I have thought about for a while and getting bc just brought it into focus more than ever.
Lucy- Glad you are okay. I hope your energy level is good now that you are working.
Carren- Glad your seroma has disappeared. PTL I still have mine but I'm not too concerned about it. It is not infected like yours was.
Anita- Praying your lymphedema in your legs improves. I took Neurontin for a while after my neck surgery for nerve pain but I don't remember too much about it. Hopefully you can consult with your doctor about reducing the dosage.
I hope everyone else is doing well. I know it is a busy time as the summer winds down and some schools will be starting soon. My sister has to be back to school next Thursday. It seems to get earlier around here every year.
One of our neighbors growing up just died yesterday so I imagine we will be going to the visitation if it is in town. We are waiting to see.
On Sunday we will be going to an open house for a man that turns 100. I sat behind him at church this Sunday and this man is as sharp as a tack. His mind probably works better than mine. LOL
Take care everyone. I am praying for all of you.
Love,
Nancy
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More bad news from dentist.....xray shows I need three root canals plus 3crowns.
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need prayer. having thorocentesi. will write more later. on phone and keep losing posts. grrrr
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Hi Ladies...Sue...I just tried calling that number and it was a guy who doesn't know you. So I think it is still wrong so I called the other and got the message so I left you a message with my number. Hope all is well.
Lucy
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Sue, I am praying. I think the word you used is the lung filling with fluid. Is that correct? God knows so will pray for breathing issues in general. I know some dentists accept installments when it comes to expensive dental work. Hopefully something can be worked out. Hang on. Satan is just doing a number on you and we are going to stand against his darts!!!!!!!!!
Love
Nancy
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Sue: Call it what you may but I find it bizarre for you personally to get a such a strange response when trying to PM Lucy. I prayed about it and asked God to stop the powers to be from blocking your message. I personally feel like Satan did not want the two of you connecting. I will continue to pray for your breathing issues. Praise The Lord about your news from your endodontist. I am keeping that in prayer as well.
Today was officially my last PT even though they sent a letter to my doctor requesting three more sessions. They never got back to my PT group. But PTL, I feel they empowered me with enough to continue on my own. My knee blew up after PT Tuesday and not during my race. So now it is lots of icing again. My running may be done for good and I will just be walking and hopefully cycling. It's okay because gave me a kiss last weekend and allowed me a chance to do it again and for that I am grateful. Time will tell but I am not giving up.
Blessings to everyone. You are in my prayers always.
Char
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oh, Sue - I'm so sorry for the ups and downs....and bad news from the dentist. Just a thought.....I'm very involved with my church's "Benevolence Committee" and we help folks with financial needs. One of our members is a dentist and when people need dental care, if somebody from the committee approaches him, he does the work at cost (or a great discount). Are there any churches or groups in your area that might have some type of similar setup?
In any event, you're in my prayers, sweet friend.....as are all you ladies! Nancy/BW hope your visit with your mom continues to go well and you're able to make some special memories with her (and figure out that tombstone!)
Bev
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Boy what a day! Char, you are so right about Satan's attacks. I must be close to a big breakthrough for him to be hitting from all sides. I was able to get through to Lucy this afternoon. When I try to do numbers late at night it's dangerous, lol. I made the same typo twice.
Bev, I like that idea. I'll have to call my church to find out if we have anyone in the church that's a dentist.
Well, I went from needing $4500 worth of dental work to 0 to $7500. It sure isn't going to happen any time soon. I had called the doctor's office on my way to the dentist. Good thing they got me in because I couldn't breath at all. It's wierd that you couldn't see a lot of fluid in the lung. The NP got me in for a thorocentesis and said if my breathing didn't come back she'd send me over for a CT scan to rule out blood clot. When the doctor did the ultrasound to start the thoroc., I couldn't believe how much fluid was in the lung - it was full! Talk about satan's attack. Sooooooooooo, when I was done, they took me back over to the breast center. The good news was my platelets had come up quite a bit and my white count some. But, the neutrophils are still too low for chemo and I'm still neutropenic. We'll see where they are next week. Now I have to figure out what I can eat for another week!
I hope everyone is doing well. We almost made it though another week! Thank you so much for your prayers!
Sue
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Sue,
I have been so concerned about your breathing so I sure hope this procedure has remedied that. I am pleased to hear your platelets are up. We need to pray that all of your blood levels will be acceptable for chemo. I just feel that something is going to workout with your dental work that is needed. We will all be praying for you and helping you get through this rough patch. Let Jesus carry you.
Love,
Nancy
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Bev,
I hope you are doing well. There is always so much to do at my mom's it can be very overwhelming. Things are going well. I can't believe that I will be going back home soon and still need to get things done here. Thing are coming together for the tombstone so I am relieved about that.
Char,
Hope you can manage on your own with your knee. I am coming to the conclusion that I can do my own shoulder work. I might change my mind on that later but for now I think the home exercises are just as helpful as PT. I know as the clock winds down on your summer vacation every day becomes more precious. I hope you can enjoy your last few days of vacation.
I hope everyone is doing well. Prayers continue for all of you.
Love,
Nancy
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I haven't been here in a bit, but out of sight is not out of mind. I think of and pray for you ladies often.
I've spent the week working with the 4th-6th graders for our VBS. The older kids do work projects all week. And they work hard. I was so proud of them. They picked up trash throughout the city and for one entire school district, painted lockers at one school, washed every locker at a Christian school, pulled weeds at a local women's center, and clean out some nasty ditches. They were awesome. The next time I hear someone lamenting "today's generation" they will get an ear full. :-)
Blessings
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Hi all,
It's been a while but I still peek in every so often. It looks like some of you were able to meet up this summer. How cool! Bev I actually thought of you when I was down your way visiting my FIL a few weeks ago. If I had had more time I would have looked you up. It was an unplanned visit as he had had a stroke. He too has cancer so it's looking like the Lord will be calling him home soon.
Welcome bandlady (was it Nancy?) I grew up right in your area. Elmhurst. I saw you said you taught at a Christian School, was it in the Chicago area? My husband went to Timothy Christian. Did your school ever compete against them? I went to Moody Bible for a few years. I think you said you enjoy music, do you listen to their radio station ever?
Quick question for anyone who might be on tamoxfin. (not sure if I spelled that correctly) Are any of you dealing with hot flashes? Any suggestions for help. I am slightly confused as to if there are meds we could take to help with that, or do we have to live with the hotflashes? It seems like any meds out there would defeat the purpose of keeping estrogen out of our bodies. I have always been a cold person so these summer days and hot flashes are driving me nuts!
I am keeping you all in my prayers. Life has just gotten so busy again with 3 teenagers, I just don't have the time to get online as much as I'd like to.
Kathy
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Hi Kathy. Long tmie no see! I'm still up waiting to take my last pills of the night and saw your post. I can't answer your Tamoxifen question but I too grew up in Elmhurst. Did you go to York? I had a friend who went to TC and a close friend who is a Moody grad. Small world. Nancy lives close to my home church in Naperville and I'll let her fill you in on the rest.
Mini, thanks for checking in. Kids are wonderful aren't they? What an awsome ministry they did!
Nancy, you know you don't have to "do it all". I'd tackle one or two big things because it would be harder for your sister to get those done. Leave the little stuff - again, easier on sis. Also, don't spend all of your time working! Use what little time left you have with your mom because you don't know how her health will be the next time you see her. Sermon over, lol. I'm going to pray for Divine peace for you. When do you return home? I want to add travel mercies for you too.
Have a good night all and a wonderful weekend. Blessings. Sue
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Hi Fellow Prayer Warriors. I have been reading the thread but not posting. I am day three after my first chemo infusion but doing well with minimal SEs. Just a mild headache and blurry vision. I am claiming no fatigue and nausea. I have been able to continue work while ensuring I get plenty of rest and exercise without overdoing it. I slippery slop but asking God to order my footsteps and stay tuned in to my body. I do have to say I have had a few anxiety attacks and glad the Word of God and prayer was quick to strengthen me. I also know the prayers from this group have played a huge part also.
Sue -- I am really following your dental updates. I am praying for dental situation, finances and for your breathing. Wishing I could do more on the dental front -- like find a dentist that is welling to help out financially. There are quite a few in my area that do a lot of pro bono work hopefully there are some in your area. Praying that God paves the way.
Lucy- Glad you are doing better and that everything is working out with the new pill. I hope that you are gaining energy and hope that working is helping.
Nancy - Glad your visit with your Mom is going well. Sounds like you had a great birthday celebration? Hoping you are able to get everything done and enjoy the rest of your time.
Good night All and have a great weekend. I am praying for each of you.
God Bless, - Angie
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Hi everyone,
I am praying for all of you. I am on my last stretch at my mom's and definitely feeling time pressure. There is always so many things to do. I will make this short and you know how hard that is for me. LOL
Mini- Glad to hear from you. VBS is so important and I am glad you are able to take part in that ministry.
Kathy- Nice to meet you. I taught at Aurora Christian School for a while and I believe we did play Timothy Christian at the time. I was the band director so I was doing the pep band for the basketball games. They didn't have a football team in those days. I used to wake up to Moody. I got up at 4 am when I was teaching. That was only three years ago and I still can't believe I did that!
Angie- So glad your first chemo has gone pretty well. I think having anxiety about the whole thing is perfectly understandable and normal. I remember when I was waiting for my Oncotype score to come in I was more than nervous not knowing if chemo was warranted.
Glenfae- Still praying for you and hoping you are resting comfortably at home and doing well in your recovery.
Sue- How is the breathing now that you had your procedure? I imagine it is much improved if your lung was full. I can't imagine. I have been praying a lot for you and the Lord has brought you to mind many times. I would appreciate prayers for my sister without going into a lot of detail. I have seen her get broken up two times this week over losing her son four years ago. We went to a visitation yesterday and of course that dredges up the past for her. My nephew was a rock band drummer and had his fifteen minutes of fame when Universal Records signed their band. When we were at the Christian concert the other night this drummer threw his sticks into the audience. My sister said Scott used to do that and got broken up. She had a difficult week and she hasn't told me about it yet. That is all I know. Her husband is not a Christian.
I have much to do and need to go. Hopefully I will have time to drive to the cemetery and take some pictures where my grave will be. Things are coming together for my tombstone but I haven't had time to meet with the lady from the monument company for a few days.
Praying for everyone. Take care. See it is impossible for me to post a short message. LOL
Love,
Nancy BW
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Hi all - it's so good to hear from ladies who we know and pray for but don't hear from often. I guess we're all the same - always checking on the thread and keeping up to date on prayer requests (and praise!) even when we don't have time to post. I know Sharon is sooooo busy this weekend - she and her son have been making lots of progress in her downsizing attempts with the World's Longest Yard Sale. I told her I'm going to time my cross-country adventure to PA next year so that I'm passing through Kentucky and can go to the sale with her. Hey! Let's have a little gathering then - put it on your calendars, okay? First weekend of August, 2015!!
Kathy, good to hear from you - one of these days our paths will cross. I've been taking anastozole (or however it's spelled - the generic arimidex) since June 1 and really haven't had any problems (hot flashes or anything) other than maybe a little bit of joint aches and pains - just when I start moving in the morning for a minute or two. My MO had said that most women experience the same SE as they had from menopause and that's proven to be true for me - my menopause was pretty much a non-event and this is the same. Hopefully you can find some relief.
Nancy/BW, so glad you've had such a good visit with your mom and family. The older I get, the more I treasure my parents and I'm sure your sister was glad for all you've been able to help.
Angie, you've made it through the first chemo so alot of the waiting and unknowns are behind you. Remember our mantra - I am here by God's appointment, in His keeping, under His training and for His time. God is going to use all this for good - even when it doesn't seem good as you go through it!
Sue, I too am praying for you with the dental situation. In addition to checking with your church (since I'm not sure how big it is), how about check with the big churches in your area? They may have a benevolence program (or dentist). Many Catholic churches have St. Vincent de Paul financial assistance programs. You may want to check with your county - they may have assistance programs. Wish you lived near me - I've developed quite a list of resources for my area - I'm praying that you can find something in your area, too.
Lucy, you've been such an inspiration - hope your treatment continues to be effective and allows you to get back to normal....whatever that is any more.
Nancy/Mini - I'm so proud of you for working with the kids in VBS! I do alot of volunteer activities but children are way too challenging for me.
Glad you (and Deborah) are able to touch those little lives. That reminds me - Deborah and her daughter are exploring the east coast this week - hope you're having a wonderful time together and safe travels.
Char, hope your knee is recuperating from all the activity last weekend and you're able to get lots of gardening and other jobs finished before school starts.
I'm doing just fine - had a herceptin infusion yesterday and by my count, there are 7 more till I'm finished. It's really no big deal - just sit there in the big chair for an hour every 3 weeks - but it will be nice to ring the bell in November. Two ladies got to ring it yesterday - good for them!
God bless you all, sweet sisters! Praying for lots of kisses from God tomorrow and that we'll all be blessed at church.
Bev
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Kathy: My BA wanted me to go on Tamoxifen but I chose not to because I was not diagnosed with BC but had a higher risk. Side effects in my situation were too much of a risk. Hot flashes...oh yah..been there. I teach Physical Education and my students would make comments like " you haven't even started exercising and you are already sweating". Anyway, I found this product by Source Natural called Hot Flash. You would have to check ingredients but it has Black Cohosh and other ingredients. It worked so well for me that I had most of my staff that were dealing with HF taking it as well and I would lace large orders for all of us. I purchased it on line with Drugstore.com.
Mini: so glad to see you enjoying VBS.
Sue: Hope you are feeling better and your counts continue to improve.
Nancy: I agree with Sue. Make sure you are making the most of your time with mom. Things could be different next time you see her.
Bev: Can't wait till you get to ring the bell. It won't be long. I like the yard sale idea.
Yesterday was a rough day. My knee really blew up but it is better today. My hubby and I spent 7 1/1 hours cutting grass, pruning trees and weeding out his yard. I think I have at least another day till it is finished. I am beat. A yellow jacket ground nest managed to find me and I got stung twice in the left ankle and once in the left calf. Funny, they didn't bother me when I ran the lawn mower over them. Anyway the pain takes my minds off my knee...lol. Two weeks ago I mowed over a nest in my yard and got stung on the right ankle. I am not supposed to take Benadryl but I did anyway because the itching is worse than the poison ivy I got on my ankles two weeks ago. Well I am bushes so I am heading for a shower and dream land.
Blessings,
Char
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Good evening ladies, It is bedtime for many of us and that is where I should be now. My mom and I got to rent the movie Heaven is For Real. I saw it at the theater with some friends a few weeks ago and we all loved it. My mom and I had read the book a few years ago and I thought she would love it too. She started falling asleep. That is par for the course. I did get her to finish watching. It becomes hard for her to follow what is happening with the short term memory challenged. She thought it was good by the time it was over.
Have any of you seen this movie? I would recommend it.
I made it to the cemetery this afternoon to actually see where my grave will be. There is a solemn feeling about all of this just as there was when I got the news I had cancer and I thought I was going to die. It is hard to describe but a very raw emotion and very real. I know being with Jesus in heaven will be awesome beyond words but leading up to that point is hard to fathom.
When I step back and see the road that we have all traveled it totally amazes me at how strong and resilient we all are! Where does that strength come from? It only happens as we allow the Lord to be the main pilot of our ship. In the heat of the battle we naturally realize our need of the Lord and at times that walk almost seems easy. That is a mystery to me because in our human state the world would tell us this is very hard, this road we are on. I think the danger for us comes when the hard battle has been fought and it looks like we have the victory. That after battle glow where we could almost feel that we are strong enough to do this on our own and leave the Lord out of our thoughts and actions.... that to me is the really hard and dangerous battle. The part where we can easily forget who is in control of our lives. I don't want to forget how the Lord allowed me to get through my journey. I want to give glory to him to all that I can. I don't want this pain to be wasted but used for His glory. Does anyone understand what I am trying to say?
We have a platform that we did not have before. Let's use it to His glory.Love,
Nancy BW
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Nancy those are beautiful thoughts and words. There's nothing I could add, other than my fuill agreement.
Char, you sure had a full day packed with a few surprises. I never knew bees nested in the ground. I had to find out the hard way when I was cleaning out my gardens one fall when I still had my acreage, lol. I'm so glad you werent hurt more.
Angie, I'm so sorry I forgot to comment on your post. That first one is the hardest in terms of psyching yourself up for it. You do get into a routine over time. I'm glad it went well for you and it's now behind you. Prayers for continued good smooth sailing and NO side effects.
Bev, thanks so much for the great ideas. I was online early today trying to get ideas about fundraising and such. My church is very active but rather small and I want to talk to the pastor when he gets back from vacation. I may also get a little TV exposure down the road but I'm going to let God work that one out. I went to one of the TV stations to ask for their "investigative" input on my computer from Hades that I've taken in to Best Buy no less than 11 times for the exact same repair. Never seems to get fixed. If they take the story, I'm going to make sure I get the financial need known, lol. Now there's a way to get some help, ha ha.
Today I managed to sleep all day. I was so whipped and I shouldn't be. I did all my chores yesterday and went out early so as to avoid crowds when running errands. Came home and that was it for the rest of the day. It's been two weeks since my first half infusion on the new chemo. I also noticed that my hair is starting to fall out again with what little hair I now have. Thisa must be one nasty drug they've got me on and I've not even gotten the first full dose!
Since I'm neutropenic, I won't be able to go to church tomorrow so it looks like home worship it is. Enjoy all, I will be thinking of you!
Blessings, Sue
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Small miracle to report!
Quiet in here today! I trust everyone had a great worship day.
I realized tonight that I hadn't picked up my mail in a few days so I drove down to the mail kiosk while dinner was cooking. There was only one piece of mail in the box and it looked like junk mail (from somewhere in Wisconsin) that I almost tossed in the garbage can. Good thing I decided to bring it home to pitch. When I finally got around to opening the envelope, it turns out that it was from Medicaid. I'm in a pay in, Colorado program for the working disabled and for health coverage (the 20% that medicare doesn't pay) as long as I send in my check every month. As you know, none of these government programs can tell you what they want you to know in one sentence. They have to send 20-pages of "commercials" for you to wade through to get what they want you to know.
It turns out that there is a new program that pays for a little bit of dental work. Before I was able to find the limitations page, I thought it was telling me they were now going to pay for all dental work, at which point I started hyperventilating.
Bottom line is that they will pay up to $1000 per year for dental work. Oh, and the effective date on their letter was July 1 - six weeks ago! That drops my dental financial need down to $6500, lol. I'm still not believing this but it is going to be a great story to share for the next several weeks. I do believe this is a "way to go God" event, lol.
Have a good night all! Blessings. Sue
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