Tax Day 2009

Today, I went in & saw my nurse practitioner, Roxanne Froeher. She is such an awesome lady. She doesn't think the problem is gall bladder. She thinks it is an ulcer. The only time I have the attacks is when I'm empty. I haven't eaten. Usually you have the pain or attack after you've eaten if it's gall bladder. She's sending me in to have an ultrasound at Franklin County Medical Center tomorrow. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight & my appt. is at 10 a.m. I'm so glad it's here at our local hospital. She also gave me some samples of Nexium to try. If it is an ulcer, it will help. If it isn't, it won't hurt.

She's also concerned about the lesion on my spine. It measures about 1" at L1. No wonder my back always hurts when I stand too long. She said she'd call the radiologist in Logan & talk to him about the best option on how to proceed.

I've lost 10 pounds from the last time I saw her in December. Trying to watch the sugar intake. Another 3-5 pounds & I'll no longer be obese!!

I told her that I stopped the femara & crestor because I can't afford them. She told me we would definitely meet our $4K deductible this year,


We took Mother out to dinner for her birthday this evening at Chuck-A-Rama, a buffet in Ogden, Utah. We were all able to ride together in Don-Mike's new extended cab pickup. That's the first time in years, we've been able to all ride in the same vehicle, since the Windstar bit the dirt. well, actually the pavement, LOL, 4 or 5 years ago.

I was very careful of what I ate. Not a lot of fat, no spicy stuff & I only got one little piece of raw onion, LOL Don-Mike saw some no sugar stuff & pointed it out to me. I was a good girl & had the jello & pie. No IBS attack either,

I also questioned Don-Mike about the phone call from Dr. Broadbent. It was not the doctor himself, whew. It was a lady & I was supposed to call back. I assumed I was supposed to call back, but Don had said Dr. B, himself, called, which concerned me. I'm sure they are calling in regards to my calling to let them know that I had stopped taking femara because of the cost.

Here's an article in the New York Time, As Pills Treat Cancer, Insurance Lags Behind that a friend drew my attention to.

I've made the decision, as a lot of people have to, do I take the meds & prolong my life or do I pay my mortgage, utilities & outstanding medical bills & buy food? In my case, we don't even know if the medication will prolong my life. Supposedly, the breast cancer was taken care of with the removal of the lymph nodes, the partial mastectomy; the chemo & the radiation. The femara is to inhibit estrogen. I didn't have the HER2 cancer, mine was estrogen-positive. HER2 is aggressive & has to be treated longer & more aggressively than estrogen-positive. But my decision, after discussion with the Lord, the bishop & my husband, is to pay my mortgage, utility bills & outstanding medical bills.

If I die, we have insurance to cover my funeral expenses. The local morticians are friends of mine. They have explicit instructions of how to lay me out, We don't have insurance to cover my prescriptions until we reach our $4K deductible. I pay $90 for one Rx & take 3 more in the morning & 1 in the evening, for a total of 5 scripts. Besides, we buy Prilosec (for Don & Nick) over the counter & Zyrtec-D (for Nick, I stopped taking that, too) over the counter as they went off patent & insurances no longer cover them. We can get Prilosec for Nick thru Medicaid though, only one dose a day, when the doctor prescribed 2.

I will call Dr. Broadbent's medical assistant tomorrow. Roxanne said she'd call when she gets the report back from FCMC & also when she has talked to radiologist in Logan. Her morning receptionist, Kristy Nelson, is a friend of mine. We go back a long way back. She still remembers when she worked for the local chiropractor that Mother was picking apples & the ladder fell over & Mother hung from a branch in the apple tree until my dad came along & set the ladder up for her. I wasn't living around here then, must have been about 20-25 years ago, if Daddy was still able to get around.

OK, gotta tell you why I'm glad the ultrasound is here in town. My car is in our garage, with no brakes. Don-Mike had the day off & was going to replace them today, but the local NAPA store just sold the rotors for my model of car yesterday. They had to order some for it. I needed wheels, so I'm driving Don-Mike's '89 Trans Am, Nan's Am, around town. No way would I go to Logan in that. I may have to go to the chiropractor after driving it. It was raining today, which turned into snow, rain, snow ... & the T-top was dripping. He hadn't gotten the glass down tight.

Don't know if that was an update, a complaint or just general grousing. Whatever it was, it was rambling, & too many words, LOL.