Happy Friday! I’ve mostly been reading about chemotherapy this week, so not a lot from the web to share. But I still have some exciting things and updates.
This Friday is a special one. One of my very best friends turns 40 today! Happy birthday, Michelle! I require you to live at least another 40. More, if possible. But just go ahead and plan on at least another 40. You make the world better and brighter and more badass and I love you so much.
I had my first treatment yesterday and other than being a little tired (probably more from the steroid keeping me awake most of the night than the actual chemo), I am mostly good. My skin is BIG mad so I’m being extra nice to it today.
I’m super excited about seeing The Taste of Things. I’m not really doing large public things like going to movie theaters these days, so I will wait until it streams to see it. But ever since Chocolat, Juliette Binoche is my foodie movie fave, and the trailer looks amazing.
Our team at work is reading The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fableby Patrick Lencioni, to discuss in a few weeks, so I’m probably going to start reading that today. In related news, I may need to stock up on popcorn and tea for the entertaining show that this discussion is likely to be.
Finally, I’m going to do book reviews a little differently this year. I’m going to be participating in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s monthly Quick Lit, so I’ll have a separate post somewhere around the ides of each month to catch up. I think it will be easier to do it all in one post a month, and I’m all about making every single thing I can easier these days. But the MMD community always has great suggestions, so if you’re looking for something to read over the weekend, you can get recommendations galore at that link!
There’s only so much rant a journal can take before it has to leak onto the internet. So here we go.
Before my cancer diagnosis, I hadn’t had any major medical issues, at least in a couple of decades. I’ve been very lucky. I went through some gastro issues that landed me in the ER a few times in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but I don’t remember the billing process being this draconian. Maybe I’ve repressed what happened then, or maybe this is unique to the type of insurance I have now, but I absolutely hate the way the way some of my billing is being done. There’s got to be a better way (in fact, I have a few really obvious suggestions, and only one of them involves my middle finger).
For most of my office visits, I can pay the copay ahead of time, and that’s great. Sign me up. The less I have to deal with when I’m actually physically present in the doctor’s office (and thus more anxious), the better. And the more I can deal with any financial thing without having to talk to someone about it at all in any way, the better. Send me an email or text that you have billed my account, and that’s all the interaction about money I really need. Ever. I will log in and pay the bill in a timely manner.
But this bullshit of sending me emails saying, “Your estimate is this and you need to pay it before your procedure” is not okay.
First, I am not comfortable forking over any amount of money for what they guess the bill might be. Especially since, in the short time (i.e., a little over a month and a half) I’ve been dealing with this particular issue, they’ve already been wrong twice and had to refund me. Which took weeks. WEEKS. I can’t help but notice that it certainly didn’t take weeks for it to come out of my bank account, so I’m curious as to why it took that long to get it back in there. I should have chargedtheminterest.
The estimate should be presented to me purely as information to give me more notice of planning how to pay what will likely be my future bill. That’s it. That is the only function the estimate should ever serve.
I am incredibly fortunate in that my dad is taking care of most of the larger bills, and I’m also looking for grants and loans to minimize what he pays, because it’s so, soooo much, even with “good” insurance. But if I had to handle this on my own, making these payments would not be a possibility. And I don’t know many people who just have extra thousands lying around. What do they do? I mean, I know hospitals write off a lot, but how much pressure do they first put on patients who are already scared they might die before they do that? Like…maybe people who are terrified about their lives don’t need the reminder that they are also only a couple of missed paychecks or huge bills away from being homeless.
It’s all just so horribly heartless.
What should be happening is this – I should only be paying the actual bill. That is, I should only be asked to pay AFTER the procedure and AFTER they have already filed with insurance and have put every single thing they’re charging on that claim because it definitely won’t get covered if they don’t even ask. I shouldn’t even hear a peep out of them until they can tell me for certain what I actually owe.
[Aside…as long as we’re talking shoulds…it all should work like it looks like my chemo treatments are going to work (i.e., insurance is covering 100% – I was so relieved I cried and hugged the financial advisor right there in the lobby). I shouldn’t be paying out of pocket for necessary, life-saving care at all and wouldn’t be if healthcare in this ridiculous country wasn’t a fucking for-profit industry but instead was recognized as the basic human right that it is (as it is in every country in the world that is actually as free and civilized as we brag about being), but that conversation is a whole dissertation and beyond the scope of this post.]
But all other things being equal, if I must have out-of-pocket costs, the bare minimum I should be able to expect is that the bill be accurate. And the only way to ensure that happens is to bill once all is said and done.
Also, I want an itemized bill to be standard practice. I should never have to request it. That I have to ask them to detail what the large amounts of money I’m shelling out are paying for is unacceptable.
Also not okay – having a credit card machine on the desk in front of me as I’m getting information about what is about to be done to me. A monument, if you will, to putting a literal price tag on my life. Or, in the horrifying incident when I went to the ER for my concussion in November, having the credit card machine wheeled in via a cart to the bed where I was already hooked up to the machine monitoring my vitals so that they could get their money before they took me in for the head CT they had just told me I needed. The implication that payment was more important to them than actually getting the answers they needed to treat/advise me (or perhaps even save my life) was more stressful to me than the possibility of having a brain bleed.
I know I’m extra sensitive about financial things, but I imagine a lot of other people slugging through this capitalist hellscape we live in are, too, and for good reason. Why – WHY – would so-called care providers of any kind and at any level think it’s a good idea to make the process more stressful than it has to be?
They need a communication consultant to help them fix this problem. And by a communication consultant, I do mean me. Pay me to identify and fix all these issues that, while obvious and shocking to me as an outsider/patient/customer, are probably so commonplace to those working there that they don’t even notice it happening anymore.
And pay me A LOT. Because I have a crap ton of medical bills to cover.
It’s been a nutty couple of weeks. I feel more settled at work than I did in early-to-mid-January, probably because the semester is getting underway and everyone is falling back to their routines. Either that, or I have successfully adopted a more relaxed, whatever-gets-done-is-enough attitude (less likely, but still remotely possible). Also, I’m getting more done, so it may just be that that feels good. Regardless of the reason, I’ll take it.
Meanwhile, I am super focused on a few key things. At home, I am nesting like I’m expecting a new baby. I am constructing an elaborate meal plan that I may actually use occasionally when I feel up to it in the next few months. And the information-sponge part (erm, majority?) of my personality is in overdrive. About everything. Mostly health stuff, but it’s hard to turn it off when it’s time to talk about something else. Yesterday at an appointment the nurse said, “This may be too much information.” No such thing, friend. No. Such. Thing.
However, I am enjoying super easy weekends and shall continue to do so while I’m going through treatment so as not to tax my system any more than necessary or cause any delays. In the perfect world, I would take this opportunity to learn how absolutely essential easy weekends are to my life and general well-being and keep them indefinitely. One can hope.
Here are some things I’m enjoying lately:
One of the wonderful things about reading challenges is that I get prompts that remind me of things I love. Nowhere Bookshop’s challenge encourages us to read our “Roman Empire” book – a book about any topic that lives a solid rent-free existence in our heads. One of my proverbial Roman Empires is architecture, specifically house plans. I think about how building homes could not only be useful as a career but also make opportunities to provide shelter and safety for others as well as build communities. I think about it a lot. I have several rough sketches for houses – everything from small bungalows to large spaces with full libraries and indoor pools. Also, I LOVE BLUEPRINTS. This prompt has me deep-diving into this topic that gives me so much joy. Look at these tiny house plans! How cute are they? And I adore the whimsy of this one. I mean, I would need a whole second tiny house just for my books, but I love the creative, economical use of space. Anyway, I put a lot of books on hold at the library about this, so I think I will have this prompt more than covered.
Also…I like this article. Not making any plans (for now or in the near future). I just like it.
I love cottagecore. Not so much the clothing or decorating style (although I do love roses and carnations and tend to decorate with both, even after they’re dead), but the lifestyle elements. Container gardens, reusing scraps, knitting my own blankets, slow food. Focusing on less waste and more creativity. Great quote – “We can choose to create a world for ourselves filled with gentle moments, while also considering how we can make our homes a place of cultivation instead of a place to store ‘things.’” This also slides right in line with my current nesting habits.
I’ve been looking for recipes recently that are high in protein and fiber. I’ve been in a bit of a food rut, but most of these and these look good to me. Perhaps I’ll try one or two of them this weekend (lookin’ at you, sweet potato).
I know they’ve reached their goal already, but these are some of the most talented baristas in Denton, and I want them to have all they need and more while they look for their next gig. So if you have a little love (and by love, I do mean cash) to throw their way, please do. Also, there’s going to be a fundraiser at Rubber Gloves, so swing by if you’re in Denton on February 10.
Take care this weekend (and all the time, really), friends. I hope it’s relaxing and fun and everything you want it to be!
This week. Whew. Glad it’s almost over and that my weekend is mostly relaxing. I’m really leaning into my quiet theme as much as I can. That’s been helpful.
Here are some things from this week:
In health news – I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I also have a gastro issue that will eventually require surgery and I’m trying to get my unruly cholesterol under control, but cancer is the prime target right now. Treatment looks like a few months of chemo, then surgery, then probably more chemo and radiation to finish up. Beyond the basic updates, I still don’t know how much I’m going to talk about it here. This is one of my happy places on the internet (although I may have a rant for you at some point about the medical billing process as I have experienced it because…wow), so I think I mostly want to keep it that way. But I wanted to let you know so that if I am not posting here as often, you’ll know why. Or I could post more often because I tend to get chatty when I’m stressed. Who knows how it will actually go. In either case, that is likely the reason.
The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy – This one was slow to start for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. What’s not to love about a book set in Ireland about a somewhat curmudgeonly librarian who joins forces with her community to save the library and local businesses. And also she is restoring an old house that her aunt left to her on the side. This storyline checks a lot of my favorite cozy boxes. Can I just move my own self into that scenario? Because it sounds lovely.
Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin – This was not my favorite of her books. It may just be because I listened to it instead of reading it. The reader wasn’t necessarily bad, but I think I would have preferred the voice in my head. It was hard to maintain focus and I had to rewind a lot. Of course, it’s also possible that I just am not focusing well in general right now, and that isn’t really a reflection of the book. So maybe I’ll give it another chance at some point.
This article on the concept of bookshelf wealth is wild. I still don’t really get what the term means. It seems others also can’t agree about what constitutes true wealth when it comes to book collections and the shelves on which they reside. I feel like I’m firmly in the “who cares about being wealthy – just give me all the books and places to keep them” camp. Occasional dramatic treasures like this, however, are the whole reason I keep my NYT subscription (although I advise waiting to sign up when it’s discounted – then when you call to cancel after the trial year, they’ll often offer you a similar low price for the next year).
I haven’t had much of an appetite, and I’ve been adjusting my diet lately (because all the reasons) to help me feel my best and have the most energy I possibly can. For me, that mostly looks like limiting sugar, dairy, soy, and fatty meats but getting more protein and drinking lots of water. I’ve also noticed that I’ll find a certain food that tastes good and ONLY want that for several days in a row, so apparently my neurospiciness is in full control of the appetite. I’m on a pretty serious persimmon kick these days. But almost everything on this Food 52 vegan list looks DELICIOUS. I’ll be trying a few of these recipes in the next few weeks for sure.
I hope you’re having a good day and that your weekend is exactly what you want it to be!
I thought about continuing my mini-reviews of the books I’m reading according to their reading challenge. But since some books count for multiple challenges, that seems like a lot to keep up with. So I think what I’m going to do is scatter a few in there and maybe have an occasional extra post for the rest unless I find a way to do it that I like better. Or, as with this post, I may just extend my five-item limit on weeks when I have more books, etc., than bullet points to talk about (five is less of a rule and more of a guideline). One thing is for sure – I love talking about what I’m reading/have read, so I’ll be sure to keep you posted.
Here are some things that have been meaningful to me this week (and a little bit of last week):
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – Almost every year, on New Year’s Day, it is my custom to read this small book. It is chock full of all sorts of gentle wisdom, and it’s easily one of my top five favorite books of all time. The quote that stuck out to me this year goes along with my quiet theme. “I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…” There is a lot of uncertainty in my life right now (I mean, more than usual – there’s always uncertainty for everyone). But I know that even though I don’t have definitive answers, there is still much to hear and learn. So I’m going to sit on my proverbial sand dune and listen.
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood – So cute! Like all of Hazelwood’s books, this one had a lovable main character who, from the outside, was infuriating because it was so obvious that the love interest was totally gaga over her but of course, she thought the opposite. From the inside, however, she was totally relatable because I also am oblivious and can totally see how she didn’t pick up on the very clear signs. This was the author’s first YA novel, and it was great.
Self-Care for People With ADHD by Sasha Hamdani, MD – I follow Dr. Hamdani on Instagram, and her advice there is so poignant, so when I saw that she had this book out, I scooped it up. A lot of the tips in the book are pretty standard for neurospicy folks, and it would be a good reference for people who are just discovering their specific challenges. The work and social self-care sections were the most useful for me.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett – Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors, and Meryl Streep read the audiobook, so picking this one up as soon as I could was a no-brainer for me. I love the way she writes family dynamics. It was a strong, charming story made even better by the expert reading by Streep.
I hope you have a relaxing weekend full of your favorite things and people!
