I think it is like anything else...different people are better suited for different things. A good sprinter is not going to be a good distance runner and vice versa. If you hate the elliptical, don't do it!

Oh I went this morning and we didnt qualify by $200...isnt that fantastic! Good grief.

I did want to add that I wasnt saying anything bad against the nurses, they've been fantastic and its not the nurses with the problems although many are walking a line...most of them are quite fit, they gotta be to be hefting these patients the way they do, we tried to reposition my dh and couldnt even budge him. Its the administration that I'm just agast over. I guess its the desk jobs. I dunno, our whole country is plagued with obesity, its not just the health care system. It was just something that really shocked me yesterday.

LOL Harberview was the first one that turned us away, "no beds available" so then we went to the University of Washington...not beds there either. And Virginia Mason finally had a bed but then the next morning...oop no bed there either. Finally Swedish said..oh we have no beds...yea BS!!

You are right nurses are amazing...we are all gosh darn lucky to have those kinds of people who are willing to do that work because my goodness they are saints! I seriously dont know how they do it and I owe them more than I could ever give in gratitude.

Ha Karen...my undies keep slipping today and its driving me insane!!! I suppose this is a good thing right? LOL!

Hi everyone,
Its been a lazy day which has been great because my life has been a hectic mess lately. Besides there is a Special Olympics event tomorrow and I have to save my energy. I will be doing a lot of walking, managing, and putting out fires. We always have a blast. I have to keep myself from crying all day because I am so proud of our athletes.

Girlygirl--I am equal opportunity here. I would be happy on either team. I loved Red when I was on it with Melissa, Diva, Leeda, Danielle, Muse, Veggielady,etc. I also really enjoyed being on the blue team with you, Chellez, Nori, onthetee, Selina, etc. But Julz is my gator friend and ggmugsy is on that team too...Tina and I get along famously so..thank goodness I don't have to pick !

Even though it would be hard to pick it is great to see that I have made a ton of connections here on 3FC ! That was the whole point in joining.

The falling undwear is hilarious!!! Regardless of how much I weigh I think I may always buy granny panties. I feel more comfortable. I do not want to spend the entire day pulling fabric out of the crack of my ....!

OMG! $200?!!! That a crock of chit! The breadwinner is in the damn hospital! Hello! I swear to God, this country is going to **** in a hand basket! grrrrrrrrrr

My little daughter had a seizure Monday, and I spent all afternoon trying to get clearance for her to have an MRI at a pediatric hospital where they have a gentler, pediatric-specific anesthesia protocol than the regular hospital. (I posted on the blue team thread....guess for whom I am voting!)
I was on the phone for 2.5 hours today, back and forth. It was horribly frustrating.

Anna - did you get an authorization from them in the end?

I'm so sorry Anna. I hope you got it worked out and I hope your daughter is gonna be okay. I HATE having to deal with them people. sigh

thanks, gals. I will get authorization. The woman at the HMO has been wonderful. Problem has been lackey in ped. neuro office.

Full drama here:
http://lifewithanna.blogspot.com/

Short version: Our doc will do whatever needs to be done to get the auth. (Nori--can you hook me up? ) Nice HMO lady has stopped short of saying they will accept any old thing, just send something, ANYTHING. There also is some issue that my PCP did not 'authorize' my trip to the ER. My question was: At what point during the seizure did you want me to hang up with 911 and ask Kristen *IF* we should go to the ER?

Not really any good answer for that one....

Hello all,

I feel like I've been dragging myself around all day. I think it started with the lousy weather this morning. Even though I was up well before 9am, I didn't bother making breakfast until 10. It just pushed everything back all day. I could have really done nothing all day, and not felt bad about it. I did my planned exercises though. If no other reason than getting my two days off on the weekend. On the days I do strength training I do a 15-min warm-up on the treadmill, lift the weights, and do another 15-mins on the treadmill. Mainly because I've found it works well, stretching out any muscles that have tightened/pulled, etc. I spent the entire 15 minutes just waiting for it to be over. Ah well, it's not so bad.

Hun.e.B - no, I do understand. I always think with all the general issues we have with our socialized health care, it doesn't matter what kind of insurance you have (since everyone in hospital has the same). My aunt was visiting from the UK one year and went to an after hours clinic for a problem, and I was surprised that they didn't charge her. I think it had something to do with our ties to Britain though. It is sad that you don't have nationalized health care. I hope he gets the treatment that he needs.

Kelly - I think I misread your original post on the FAQ thread. You mentioned goals and I saw your words about weight goals and exercise goals. I see now that you were just suggesting goals in general. Although I do talk about being on plan days, I really just get up each day and eat what I've planned the night before. I guess I just like the public accountability. I know the first sign of trouble is when I stop tracking what I eat. I've had two off plan days since I started again, and this time I was quite particular in those bad days. I'm working through a strength building routine, and some days all I hope I achieve is to finish it without keeling over.

tkglenn - a higher death rate makes sense, especially if they take emergency or high risk. It's sad, but if you don't have regular health care as well, you're more likely to need those services.

Barb - I haven't been running, but this week I tried some jog/walk intervals on the treadmill. I was surprised that it didn't bother my knee. I have a bad one from an injury more than 20 years ago. It's usually the part of me that I have to watch. I found my ankles a bit sore, but will try more next week. On the show I suspect it's a combination of pain killers and medical supervision.

Jill - look for a running store in your area. A really great pair of shoes help, even for walking. The one here (The Running Room) is a store where they put you in your socks, roll up your pant legs, and make you walk back and forth first. The guy who fit me in a pair of shoes took time to get me a good pair, even though I was only getting them for walking. In fact I went in before a long trip, looking for a darker pair, but the sales guy said they were more for casual walking (not the all day stuff we would be doing). He convinced me not to buy the shoes I was looking for - to take the ones I had, and replace them if I needed to when I got back. I think it's great that you like the elliptical. I never could get into it. And I don't think I'll be a runner ever (doesn't really appeal to me). I'm looking forward to lower impact swimming soon. And I'm really loving the weight lifting. It's something I would do long term, not just to lose weight. The best exercise is one that you enjoy doing (as you're more likely to keep it up).

A big to everyone else. Hope you're all having a good week, and that the upcoming weekend is good. The only good thing about the weekend weather here is that they've taken the snow/rain forecast for tomorrow and switched it to rain. Funny how that's suddenly a good thing, isn't it? Sunday on looks good so far.

Nope, anyone hurt or ill who are in Canada receives free care. I had a friend break his leg there, and he was treated for free. There are bus loads of American seniors who take their prescriptions to Canada to get them filled. There are people on the border who will go to Canada when they are sick. They find a clinic or chemist to take care of them, and they return to the US.

If you all have not seen Sicko, it is worth spending an evening.

Yeah, such BS. They almost always come around to seeing it the right way (your way), but the rigmarole you have to go through is pointless. I think there is usually an X amount of time that you have before reporting a true emergency though. And retro authorizations are done very often. As far as a good reason other than parental preference to go to the children's hospital...I don't know. Gotta think on that one. I wish I had read this while I was still at work this afternoon and has asked one of the peds. They are good at getting around things.

Well, off to bake my 3 yo's bd cake. Of course, being a child after my own heart, she requested chocolate with chocolate frosting. Big party tomorrow...I plan to stay OP!!!

The fact that she will need general anesthesia at the in-network and a better-suited one at the ped. hosp. The doc's office was confident they would find a way around it. Over sedating a child should be reason enough.