676 replies to this topic

[hope]

Hypotenuse, on 30 April 2010 - 08:44 AM, said:

...tell us how it was.

And from what I see here, two people got upset over...uh...page not found?!

I got upset about the story in the link Bojana gave (in the post immediately above Charlie's), which works fine.
Charlie's link..to the same story..doesn't work for some reason. No idea why.

[talvitaja]

Happy and relieved.
I had the chance to help people. It was really nice. I made some beds, helped to clean some patients and gave them water to drink. I had the opportunity to take a man from the intensive care unit to a regular hospital room in a wheelchair. Time flew by and I felt really happy that I have chosen medicine.

[nirvana]

Exciteeeed! Going to see Gramophonedzie tonight!!

[Charlie`From`Stadium]

Sleepily but happy because today I got a wonderful dog for a pet better to say for friend ... is much more acceptable. The world will be our! Joy! Joy! Joy! Joy!

[Iva]

At this point, I think almost everyone I know is addicted to fake flattery.

[dakini]

I'm stressed out. My partner was recently diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. She goes into surgery next Thursday to remove a lymph node so the cancer can be typed, after which she'll be referred to an oncologist and will start treatment. All that is stressful enough, but her employer has been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for the last couple years. They are already down to a skeleton crew and today had their hours cut. If she has to stop working in order to have her treatments, she will be eligible for COBRA, although she'll have to pay her entire monthly premium herself (while she has no income), and if the company closes completely, COBRA benefits will abruptly end, leaving her not only uninsured, but because of her cancer diagnosis also uninsurable. There is a high-risk insurance pool in our state, but if you are uninsurable because of cancer you can't enroll for it. I have health insurance through my company, but because hell will freeze over before we'd be recognized as married in this state, I can't put her on my insurance policy. Medicaid insurance is only available in this state to people who are either children, elderly, disabled (very, very difficult to get approved for disability -- the process normally takes years), or a parent with dependent children. So, basically, if her company goes under this summer, it's a death sentence for her because there is no way I can afford cancer treatments on my salary -- especially since I can't even afford to support us otherwise without her income!

So, even though I swore when she was diagnosed I would take this one step at a time and not catastrophize about "what if's", this is a huge nightmare that I just can't shake. I don't see any way whatsoever that we could get through that situation.

I'm so scared.

[dakini]

Of course, if this were 2014, we wouldn't have to worry because insurance companies will be required to accept you regardless of medical history and won't be allowed to charge you more. Damn the "healthcare reform timeline"! How come insurance companies get more consideration than desperately ill people who need help NOW?!

I hate this country sometimes.

[Iva]

What is COBRA?

And what is going on here? Is there anyone here without a sudden case of cancer in their family?

I hope your partner will make it and I hope that whoever is suspected to have cancer in my household will turn out to have been a false positive.

[dakini]

COBRA is a law by which if you lose your job you are able to keep you insurance coverage for up to 18 months provided you pay the full monthly premiums plus a 2% administrative fee. It tends to be very expensive, because while you're working your employer typically pays the bulk of the premium, and if you have to pay it all yourself it comes to hundreds of dollars a month, but compared to the cost of cancer treatments, it's a pretty good deal.

Thank you, I do hope all goes as well as it can. We're both really nervous about her surgery and the pathology results, but we're trying not to get too bent out of shape about the things we don't yet know and can't control (like the stuff I vented above). It's hard.

I'm sorry to hear about the cancer diagnosis in your family and hope they pull through okay, too.

I also want to thank Sue for her kind pm. I was able to read the notification, but can't access my pms from my phone, and am not able to get to a computer right now. But the moral support is much appreciated.

[laritas]

[Flavia(HdB)]

I'm bored... and a little sad

[dakini]

Deeply relieved. After the node was removed and sent to pathology the original diagnosis was overturned -- the mass was "reactive benign." It was sent to the Armed Forces Institute for a second opinion because they have the top lymphoma expert in the country on their pathology team and he concurred. The mass is benign, most likely the result of severe rheumatoid arthritis which she's had since her early twenties (she's 54). So, our months of hell are over.

Today I'm feeling a bit hypomanic. I'm starting adderall for ADHD and am really excited about a new writing project I'm gearing up for. Can't sleep. Hope the shrink doesn't take my med away, though, because it's making a huge positive difference and countering some of the lethargy and lack of inspiration I have from my other meds. We'll see.

[hope]

^ That's really good news. I'm happy for you both.

Regarding your medication, it's good that you're getting positive benefits from it. But if it's disturbing your sleep, perhaps it might be helpful to take it at a different time of day - for example, at the start of the day, if you're currently taking it in the evening. Just a thought. Talk to your doctor about it anyway.

[Iva]

So happy to hear the good news!

I hope I'll soon be able to say the same about my dad...whatever he has is pretty big and he has blood in his spit.

[i love JF]

Sad. Where's the action and the sparks gone?

[dveri]

I feel so good. I feel like I can fly without the wings, dunno why. Yesterday I felt feverish and was couching and sneezing (damn air-conditioners!) but I managed to escape the cold and it's fine now (my treatment this time - music including John Frusciante and Wilco, liters of camomile tea with ginger and lots of sleep). We just came back from the sea and for the first time this summer it wasn't humid and we weren't covered in sweat from head to toes on the way back. It's so great to feel like human being again xD

[Iva]

Desperate

Come to think, a little more than a day ago I still had two parents.

To anyone who thinks cancer patients are selfish, give them all your love and don't be a male-body-part. Your happiness does not come before their well-being as some cancers, such as cerebrum cancer, are almost impossible to treat and it almost always results in death.