Seven

The Rules:

1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you. (thanks Colleen! :-)
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.


MOLLY'S SEVEN:

1. In college, I worked a summer at Deli Express. Making sandwiches on an assembly line is a heck of a lot harder than you would think!

2. Growing up, I was so afraid of dogs. I would get low being around dogs because it was so stressful. Kind of funny to think of that now, since I spend 24/7 with a big, black dog.

3. My dad bought us gerbils when we were young to teach us responsibility. The last set of gerbils we had were three little guys that lived in a cage in the basement. We were supposed to be learning responsibility by feeding, watering, and cleaning the cage. One day I went down to feed them and the gerbils were gone! Apparently it had been a month since I had wandered down there. The gerbils had died. I won’t go into detail, but there was some cannibalism involved.

4. I love diet soda. There isn’t really a time during the day that you won’t see me near one. My favorite kind is diet mountain dew. I’ve been trying to cut back, because of all the bad press about diet soda. But I really don’t like non-fizzy drinks.

5. I was the first female bag girl hired at the grocery store near my childhood home. The uniform was a button up shirt and blue slacks. The manager asked me what my dress shirt size was. (Apparently he forgot that women don’t measure “dress shirts” the same way that men do)

6. I am the middle child in my family. My sister is three years older, and my brother is three years younger.

7. I used to be an assistant coach for a high school girls hockey team. I played hockey as a child (until I left for college) and LOVE the sport. I coached for seven years. I gave it up because it was becoming another full time job, on top of my teaching career.

DIXIE’S SEVEN:

1. Dixie loves furry toys with squeakers in them. She isn’t hard on them either…she is very gentle with even the smallest toys. If they rip, it’s because she likes to play “tug” with a person. The picture above is Dixie with her new toy at school.

2. Dixie’s favorite treat lately is “real chicken breast wrapped around a slice of apple.” (That’s what the package says) They also sell "chicken wrapped around banana" and "chicken wrapped around liver" and she likes those too!

3. She loves presents. The first holiday she celebrated at school, some of my students brought presents for her. She figured out that gift bags=good things. Now, whenever she sees a gift bag, she wags her tail and tries to put her head in the bag. She hasn’t really figured out that some presents aren’t for her.

4. She has a big dog bed at school that we call her “couch.” Kids love to lay in her couch with her for snuggles.

5. Dixie is afraid of paper or plastic bags that have groceries. She hates unpredictable noises and movement. It’s very hard for her to ride in the car after I’ve shopped. She is stressed the entire time. We’re working on some desensitization.

6. She caught and killed a rabbit at school. She was ecstatic. I was mortified.

7. Dixie loves having her low-back scratched. She will turn around and face her back end to people in the hopes that she gets a good scratch.


Dixie and I don’t think that there is anyone left to tag! If you’re reading this and haven’t been tagged “You’re IT!!”

Happy WDD!

O.k. So as you can tell, I was playing around with blogger today. I know the picture is huge at the top...I'm still trying to figure that out.

I still have not figured out coverage for a replacement pump.

My doctor wrote a letter of medical necessity. I talked to the corporate health benefits people. They told me that there was NO WAY that a replacement would be covered. The only exception would be if my current pump breaks. Then, it would be considered “medically necessary.”

Since I was dealing with the insurance company about the pump situation, I decided to bring up the glucagon issue again. I was transferred between 5 different people. Finally, I talked to the “caseworker” assigned to my claim. (let’s just call her Mrs. Notveryhelpful) I asked why my appeal never was approved. Mrs. N said that she just happened to be working on my claim the day that we talked. (hmmmm, I find that very hard to believe. That would be one hell of a coincidence!) She said that it was rejected. Again, I brought up the fact that it was covered last year. She was surprised by that. She jiggled around on her computer for a couple minutes and then said, “why, you’re right. It was covered last year, and should be covered now. It looks as though your pharmacist just coded it wrong. Tell them to submit it as an emergency kit.” I called the pharmacy and asked them to try resubmitting it as an emergency kit. The pharmacist said that she wasn’t sure how to do that. I gave her Mrs. N’s direct number and told them to call her directly. An hour later I received a call from the pharmacy telling me that the glucagon would be covered and ready for pickup in an hour.

I guess that I missed d blog day. I so love reading blogs of people who share this dam diabetes. And thanks to those of you who reply here, sharing kind words and/or giving me information. ☺

By the way... Happy World Diabetes Day.

The picture above is from last night. I poked my finger to test, and blood came out of an old poke hole. I hate when that happens. It makes me mad that I poked if I could have just squeezed my finger to get a drop. Of course you can see Dixie in the background.

Pump and stuff

My insulin pump warranty has expired. I have been happy with my Cozmo, so I sent the form to Smith Medical to start the process of getting a new one. I thought it would be simple. Then I got a call from the rep handling my case. It turns out that my insurance company will not cover a new pump for another year.

What. The. Heck.?!?!

Has anyone else had to tackle this battle with their insurance company? I’m not sure if it’s even worth the effort after the glucagon fiasco this summer. The company never ended up covering that.

Dixie and I just spent the weekend in New Mexico, to visit a friend who was celebrating a birthday. The flight went as smoothly as it did when we traveled to Atlanta in June. This trip we flew coach. We sat in the bulkhead seat so we had more room than in a regular seat, but it is still pretty tight traveling with a 60 pound dog. I had an ear infection, so that made the flying part uncomfortable for me. (in addition to my big anxiety about flying anyway!)

Dixie had a great time on Halloween. She ended up just wearing a simple costume. I found a furry green collar that had little stuffed bats sewn on to it. She didn’t mind it, and it looked like a costume. At school, we called her the “bat-mobile.” It made the kids laugh.

I loved Halloween as a kid. I know, I know… it should have been my least favorite holiday celebration. But my mom made it special. I went out trick-or-treating with my friends. When I got home, I turned the candy over to my mom. In exchange, she gave me a basket full of surprises. She would find little toys, cool looking fruit, and lots of sugarless gum and fill the basket with them. I never minded giving up the candy. Some of it was saved, and used for low blood sugars. The rest was given to others. A few neighbors would give me money or pencils—things that were diabetic friendly.

I have an endo appointment in a couple weeks. I'm not sure why I schedule these appointments except to get my prescriptions filled and a lab slip for an A1c. Don't get me wrong... I really like my endo. She listens to me and gives me as much time as I need. Which, to be honest, isn't a lot. I'm a rule follower. I go because I'm supposed to go. I hope for an A1c under 6.0. (most likely isn't happening. A realistic hope is for 6.4 or less.) All these years living with diabetes and going to endo appointments, and I still get worried for weeks before my appointment.



DIXIE TIDBIT:

Dixie really loves looking out the window on the airplane, especially during the taxi part of the flight. This was a problem because I only like to travel in the aisle seat. Fortunately, the man sitting next to the window on the way back LOVED dogs and invited her (after asking for my approval) to put her front paws on his lap and look out of the window. She was in heaven.
Dixie and I met up with a woman that we know in New Mexico who has a service dog that alerts her to sounds. (she is hearing impaired) Dixie had fun meeting up with another working dog! I'm sure that they talked to each other about their jobs--comparing notes. :-)

(The picture above is of Dixie and her new friend. Notice how much harder it is to get a good picture of a black lab, versus a yellow lab!)