5: 101 Facebook friends
I was stuck at 99 friends on Facebook for the longest time. I'm relatively new to the social networking world. I opened my account in January of this year, and I've been accumulating friends slowly but steadily over the last eight months. At least it was steady until I got to the number 99. I was stuck there for over a month I think. I must have stopped meeting people or being interesting enough to induce a friend request once I got a step away from 100. It's never been my goal to build up a giant list of Facebook friends and brag about it or feel like I'm really popular, but the number 100 seemed important for some reason. I'm not sure why, maybe because I think it legitimizes me as a Facebooker. At 100 I'd no longer be a newbie or an amatuer. I'd be a legitimate social networker who knew some people. I'd have connections, and those are supposed to be important when you grow up and become an adult. 99 connections was child's play, but 100 means I'm growing up and really becoming a somebody. Well, since I came home about a week and a half ago I received my 100th and 101st friend requests from people I went to high school with. I can't say I actually feel anymore grown up or any better at facebook than I did last week, but I'm still proud of myself for being at least acquaintances with 101 different people. Things are definitely looking up this week.
4: I get to fix the problem right now
For my first two surgeries I had to play the waiting game. I waited 14 years to have the aortic stenosis I was born with fixed and there was a year between the time my doctors found my aneurysm and the time I had it repaired, but this time there is no waiting. I have been blessed with a problem that requires immediate action. The prolapsed valve that I have now will most certainly lead to heart failure if nothing is done, but I'm not suffering from heart failure now (another little bonus) and to prevent it I need surgery right away. That means no living with physical restrictions while I put my life on hold. This time I'm just putting my life on hold for the surgery and recovery. I get to focus all my energy on productive things like not dying and then getting better.
3: I was home when doctors found the problem
I have nothing bad to say about Korean doctors or healthcare. The few times I had to see a doctor in the past 18 months were pleasant experiences, but I like my cardiologists here in Michigan. I've been very lucky to have one of the best cardiothoracic surgeons in the world perform all of my surgeries. He will also be performing my valve replacement that's coming up and I couldn't be happier about that. I trust him, I believe what he tells me and perhaps most importantly he makes me feel comfortable with everything that has to be done. He is straightforward and honest and doesn't sugar coat things. He speaks to patients the way they deserve to be spoken to. Although, I must admit, I hope I never need to see him again. He's a great person to have holding the knife when things are bad, but I'm not a huge fan of bad. I'd prefer to be in good health. The less I need to see my surgeon the better.
2: I'm still covered by my mother's insurance
The state of Michigan has been facing tough times for quite a while now. The economy is down, unemployment is up and people employed by the state have had to accept pay freezes, pay cuts and fewer benefits in some cases. That been said, public teachers are still very lucky to have the healthcare plan they have. It costs them more than it used to, but without it who knows where I'd be. My family never could have afforded any of my operations without insurance and thanks to the recent changes to healthcare I am covered by my mother's policy until I turn 27. My birthday is in less than 9 months. If I had completed my teaching contract and traveled through southeast Asia like I had planned and had put off coming home and getting a check-up I would no longer be covered by my mother's insurance and I would have to spend the rest of my life trying to pay off the bills I'm about to accrue for this surgery. Children are expensive, but I think I qualify for a different level of expensive. When all is said and done, I think my three open-heart surgeries will have cost about half a million dollars. That's a shitload of money!
1: My friends and family
I'm about to write some things that are relatively sappy and mushy. If you have a weak constitution for such material and would like to stop reading before causing yourself nausea or any other malady please know that I am grateful for all the support I have been given and stop reading now. If you have the courage to proceed please take note that you have been warned.
I am blessed by the amount of well-wishes, positive thoughts and words of encouragement I have received in the past and over the last week and a half. Thank you to everyone who has offered to help or had a kind word to say. I appreciate it all more than I can express. This problem was a big surprise and difficult to get my head around at first, but it gets a little easier every day as I have time to process it and plan for the future. It's also made easier by every word in every message I've received. So, thank you again. I appreciate everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment