I consider myself an advocate for many causes. However, one thing that joins us all together is the fact that if we didn't live in this country and had the freedoms that we enjoy, our lives would be totally different. I NEVER take that for granted. Another thing to consider is the fact that many of you reading this have medical insurance. Although it might not be the best, at least we have it. Many in this country do not.
I have been doing some reading and research lately about the health care crisis and what is happening to our country. Although this blog focuses mainly on the health and care of children, I thought this post would be more than appropriate.
The following are some questions that we should all ask ourselves. If you haven't thought about these issues then I would encourage you to do so.
1) How do you feel about our health care in the United States?
2) Does your state representative KNOW how you feel about what is happening?
3) Do you know your rights concerning health insurance and coverage for your family?
4) Is it fair that the people who work in Congress have wonderful coverage and their choices concerning health care don't affect them?
5) Would it bother you to find out how much money is being spent on frivolous projects and research.... knowing that YOU are paying for it?
6) How much money is spent on illegal immigrants? (The answer will shock you!) Check out the answer at: http://kevincolby.com/2008/07/27/the-cost-of-illegal-immigrants-to-the-american-taxpayer/
7) What would you do if your child needed surgery and the hospital denied it due to insurance not covering it?
8) Can a medical insurance company legally drop your coverage without cause?
9) Who pays the bill for those people who don't have insurance or who don't have the money to pay their medical bills?
I could keep going, but I hope this gives you all some food for thought. I promise you that the more you find out about what is happening, the angrier you will become. There is so much corruption and lack of common sense in Washington. It's unreal how blinded we have become as a nation. We need to wake up and see what is happening. We've become a nation where the few or minority have the stronger voice. Case in point: I know for a fact that the majority of the children in my daughter's school are Christian and yet they can't have "Christmas Parties" since that would offend someone. They end up having to change the name to "Holiday Party" and they can not be centered around Christmas. What???!!
*********************************************
If we sit back and let others decide our fate
then we don't have a right to complain. Now
is the time to decide where you stand and do
something about it.
*********************************************
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
The H1N1 Flu Vaccine Dilemma
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5237185n
This is the link to a very interesting CBS investigative report concerning the H1N1 vaccine. I love it when a doctor has the same thought process I do concerning vaccines. It's so refreshing to hear someone in the medical community admit the truth about vaccines.
Enjoy!!
This is the link to a very interesting CBS investigative report concerning the H1N1 vaccine. I love it when a doctor has the same thought process I do concerning vaccines. It's so refreshing to hear someone in the medical community admit the truth about vaccines.
Enjoy!!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Truth About Friendship
This post was inspired by my Relief Society lesson we had last Sunday. It was taught by one of my friends and I learned so much from it. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on friendship and how important it is to me.
The truth about friends is that you have no control over who you "click" with and who you don't. I know we can be more outgoing and try to put ourselves in situations where we can make friends, but in the end it's something far deeper and spiritual that guides our paths and joins us with those we ultimately call our friends. There is usually common ground and common values that help us become closer. I feel that the autism community is one of those that is so much like my LDS community. Everyone I have met is a wonderful mother, friend, and is struggling to find answers and do what is right. It's amazing how much in common I have with people who have children with autism or any other special needs. It immediately links us together and we can talk for hours... and often do. It's true what they say: you don't know what it's like until you walk in someone else's shoes. I used to be very judgmental and criticized parents who had children who were unruly or disrespectful. I still don't like it, but now I have a better understanding of what is REALLY going on in the mind of the child. Most of the time it's not his/her fault.
A true friend will stick with you no matter what. I've had friends that I love dearly and felt very close to, drift away since my son's diagnosis. I know that part of it is that they just don't understand. However, I have made some awesome new friends in the past couple years and I wouldn't trade them for the world!!! We understand one another and don't feel we need to apologize all the time for our children. It's understood that our kids will behave inappropriately at times and we just deal with it in our own way. I love the fact that I can have friends who can give me counsel without being condescending or judgmental. I KNOW that they have walked where I have walked and so that means so much to me.
It's not easy being a good friend sometimes. I used to get my feelings hurt very easily, but have grown a rather thick skin in the past few years. It still hurts when I hear negative comments or when I see those looks of disapproval, but I don't let it get to me in the same way. I believe that there is good in everyone. No one wakes up each day and thinks to themselves, "who am I going to hurt today?" I know I am not perfect, and I am sure that I have hurt someone's feelings without even realizing it. I consider myself to be a considerate person, but I am only human. That is the biggest lesson I have learned about others. I am taught to love everyone at church and I honestly say that I do. However, I have learned to surround myself with uplifting and positive people. I have many friends, but only a handful of very close friends. I can only hope and pray that I am as a good a friend to them as they are to me.
********************************************
I hope you all have good friends who support
and uplift your soul. A good friend is like
a good bra: lifts you when you're down and
is always close to your heart.
********************************************
The truth about friends is that you have no control over who you "click" with and who you don't. I know we can be more outgoing and try to put ourselves in situations where we can make friends, but in the end it's something far deeper and spiritual that guides our paths and joins us with those we ultimately call our friends. There is usually common ground and common values that help us become closer. I feel that the autism community is one of those that is so much like my LDS community. Everyone I have met is a wonderful mother, friend, and is struggling to find answers and do what is right. It's amazing how much in common I have with people who have children with autism or any other special needs. It immediately links us together and we can talk for hours... and often do. It's true what they say: you don't know what it's like until you walk in someone else's shoes. I used to be very judgmental and criticized parents who had children who were unruly or disrespectful. I still don't like it, but now I have a better understanding of what is REALLY going on in the mind of the child. Most of the time it's not his/her fault.
A true friend will stick with you no matter what. I've had friends that I love dearly and felt very close to, drift away since my son's diagnosis. I know that part of it is that they just don't understand. However, I have made some awesome new friends in the past couple years and I wouldn't trade them for the world!!! We understand one another and don't feel we need to apologize all the time for our children. It's understood that our kids will behave inappropriately at times and we just deal with it in our own way. I love the fact that I can have friends who can give me counsel without being condescending or judgmental. I KNOW that they have walked where I have walked and so that means so much to me.
It's not easy being a good friend sometimes. I used to get my feelings hurt very easily, but have grown a rather thick skin in the past few years. It still hurts when I hear negative comments or when I see those looks of disapproval, but I don't let it get to me in the same way. I believe that there is good in everyone. No one wakes up each day and thinks to themselves, "who am I going to hurt today?" I know I am not perfect, and I am sure that I have hurt someone's feelings without even realizing it. I consider myself to be a considerate person, but I am only human. That is the biggest lesson I have learned about others. I am taught to love everyone at church and I honestly say that I do. However, I have learned to surround myself with uplifting and positive people. I have many friends, but only a handful of very close friends. I can only hope and pray that I am as a good a friend to them as they are to me.
********************************************
I hope you all have good friends who support
and uplift your soul. A good friend is like
a good bra: lifts you when you're down and
is always close to your heart.
********************************************
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Looking Forward with Wilson's Disease
There is no reason to dwell on what happened in the past. The only thing I can do right now is look at the future. I could feel a lot of resentment towards the doctors who dismissed my daughter's illness or my worries. I could also feel a lot of anger towards the pediatricians who tried to make me feel like I was crazy. However, I have learned so much from my experiences and I have helped so many people that I almost look at it all as a big blessing in my life.
I have to share a recent experience I had with a wonderful doctor. His office is located in Florida (another state away from us), but he was referred to me by someone I trust very much. I called the office and they told me that he was out of the country and would not be back for another month. Last week, I checked my phone messages and he actually called me HIMSELF and left a very sweet message apologizing for not being able to contact me earlier. I almost fainted! I returned his call, but he was not in his office and his nurse said she would leave him a message to call me back. Of course, in the back of my mind I thought he MIGHT call me the next day or by the end of the week at best. Well... he called me on his way home that very same day!! We talked for about fifteen minutes and he was the sweetest and warmest doctor I have ever talked to. He listened to me and told me his recommendations for Sarah. He told me that he had actually called the Mayo clinic to inquire about the genetic testing that was done just to make sure that the diagnosis was correct!! He confirmed and validated the results to me. That made me feel so much better because I have had some doubts in the back of my mind concerning that very thing.
After telling him some background information concerning what I went through with previous doctors, he told me that unfortunately my story was not unusual. He said that basically most parents have gone through the same thing. He also told me that the neurologist who tested my daughter for copper and other various tests that others don't normally test for was "one in a million" and had a "head on his shoulders". I wish ALL doctors tested for those things. Some of the tests could explain so many disorders! It's amazing what blood can tell a doctor if you just give it a chance. I worked in the laboratory and I can tell you from personal experience that laboratory tests can sometimes tell the doctor more than the symptoms and physical exams... as a matter of fact, some doctors RELY HEAVILY on the laboratory testing. In many situations it's just a matter of what insurance will cover. That is so sad.
One thing I want to make sure to clear up is that the doctor explained chelation to me. I have been very scared about that and was unwilling to even consider it with my daughter. However, chelation is evidently the only way to get rid of the copper that has accumulated in the body. The zinc acetate is just a way to keep the body from building up any more copper in the body, but it doesn't get rid of what was there before. We are going to discuss that in depth at her first appointment with this doctor. I still feel that I wouldn't want to do something like chelation with doctors who don't know much about it. In other words, I don't want my daughter to be a guinea pig. At least with this doctor, he has treated almost ten pediatric patients so far and that is more than any other in my area. I want to discuss the side-effects and possible scenarios that could occur. After reading Dr. George Brewer's book, I was under the impression that zinc therapy was the first line of therapy for "asymptomatic" patients. That is something I definitely want to discuss with him. Is my daughter technically "asymptomatic" or not? I also want to know how to find out how much copper she has accumulated.
I have a dear friend who is not of my faith, but she reminded me that this experience is definitely a faith-building experience and a testimony that God does answer prayers. It's definitely a testament of my faith. I continue to rely on spiritual guidance and pray that the doctors do the same.
*************************
Looking forward sometimes
means looking back and
realizing that you can
either agonize over
decisions made or learn
from those experiences.
**************************
I have to share a recent experience I had with a wonderful doctor. His office is located in Florida (another state away from us), but he was referred to me by someone I trust very much. I called the office and they told me that he was out of the country and would not be back for another month. Last week, I checked my phone messages and he actually called me HIMSELF and left a very sweet message apologizing for not being able to contact me earlier. I almost fainted! I returned his call, but he was not in his office and his nurse said she would leave him a message to call me back. Of course, in the back of my mind I thought he MIGHT call me the next day or by the end of the week at best. Well... he called me on his way home that very same day!! We talked for about fifteen minutes and he was the sweetest and warmest doctor I have ever talked to. He listened to me and told me his recommendations for Sarah. He told me that he had actually called the Mayo clinic to inquire about the genetic testing that was done just to make sure that the diagnosis was correct!! He confirmed and validated the results to me. That made me feel so much better because I have had some doubts in the back of my mind concerning that very thing.
After telling him some background information concerning what I went through with previous doctors, he told me that unfortunately my story was not unusual. He said that basically most parents have gone through the same thing. He also told me that the neurologist who tested my daughter for copper and other various tests that others don't normally test for was "one in a million" and had a "head on his shoulders". I wish ALL doctors tested for those things. Some of the tests could explain so many disorders! It's amazing what blood can tell a doctor if you just give it a chance. I worked in the laboratory and I can tell you from personal experience that laboratory tests can sometimes tell the doctor more than the symptoms and physical exams... as a matter of fact, some doctors RELY HEAVILY on the laboratory testing. In many situations it's just a matter of what insurance will cover. That is so sad.
One thing I want to make sure to clear up is that the doctor explained chelation to me. I have been very scared about that and was unwilling to even consider it with my daughter. However, chelation is evidently the only way to get rid of the copper that has accumulated in the body. The zinc acetate is just a way to keep the body from building up any more copper in the body, but it doesn't get rid of what was there before. We are going to discuss that in depth at her first appointment with this doctor. I still feel that I wouldn't want to do something like chelation with doctors who don't know much about it. In other words, I don't want my daughter to be a guinea pig. At least with this doctor, he has treated almost ten pediatric patients so far and that is more than any other in my area. I want to discuss the side-effects and possible scenarios that could occur. After reading Dr. George Brewer's book, I was under the impression that zinc therapy was the first line of therapy for "asymptomatic" patients. That is something I definitely want to discuss with him. Is my daughter technically "asymptomatic" or not? I also want to know how to find out how much copper she has accumulated.
I have a dear friend who is not of my faith, but she reminded me that this experience is definitely a faith-building experience and a testimony that God does answer prayers. It's definitely a testament of my faith. I continue to rely on spiritual guidance and pray that the doctors do the same.
*************************
Looking forward sometimes
means looking back and
realizing that you can
either agonize over
decisions made or learn
from those experiences.
**************************
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