AMAZING week!

Hi there! This has been an amazing week. It started on Sunday when we left to go camping. We went to Gun Lake (only about 30 minutes from home). This was a good choice so if something happened we weren't too far from home. Being that I woke up on Friday morning to go to see my PCP and found that I had cellulitis again, close to home was a good choice for vacation. The good news was that I was seeing my PCP anyway, so we started ointment and antibiotics and it cleared up quickly with no complications.

Anyway, we went camping Sunday through Tuesday. It was Andrew's first camping experience. He had a wonderful time and can't wait to go again. When he got home, he informed Becky that he had to go to sleep so that he could get up and have breakfast at the campsite! I had a great time too. I got to read until my heart was content. I enjoyed just sitting in the great outdoors and experiencing nature while I was reading. We had great food and an amazing time with each other. Each night, we sat around the campfire mezmorized by the glow of the fire.

When we came back, I got a delightful call from a gentleman at Social Security. For the first 5 months of disability, you are not eligible for any money, which meant that I didn't start getting money until July. I had learned this information last week when I got the notification that I had been approved. Well, this gentleman was calling to tell me that I qualified for Social Security Income for those first 5 months and I would be getting a check for those 5 months! YEAH! MONEY!!!

Friday, I went to the Wound Clinic and we decided to try the Wound VAC. I had contemplated not doing it because the idea of complications such as fistulas in the bowel due to the suction scare the crap out of me, but Mary Beth was very convincing that she was taking every precaution to keep that from happening. It is a very quiet machine. It is basically silent, but it does occasionally make a sound like it is burping. It is a little heavy and does throw my back off when I am walking, which is making me a bit uncomfortable. It is also a little awkward to have the drainage tubing hanging out all the time where people can see the drainage. I didn't think that it would have much, but it is draining more than I had anticipated. Mary Beth said that we would know within the first few dressing changes if this was going to work or not. She is really just looking for some granulation tissue so that the Applegraf has something to attach to. We will see what happens, especially with the news listed below. It will complicate things a bit.

Yesterday, I checked my bank account and the social security income money was there and I was able to write mom a check to start my repayment of all the money she has loaned me and I was also able to invite her out for a nice dinner which I paid for. So, we went to Red Lobster and had shrimp and crab legs. It was very tasty and it was even more tasty knowing that I was not having to ask for money to pay for it.

Then when we got home, I went out and got the mail. I was nervous to find 2 envelopes from the state in the mail. The first envelope revealed that my food stamp money had been reduced from $155 to $113 a month. I thought, oh no, how am I supposed to do this??? Well, I opened the next envelope to find that the reason my food stamps had been reduced was because I had been approved for state disability assistance and am now receiving a cash benefit which was more than they reduced my food stamps. In addition to the cash benefit, I have also been approved for medicaid as of January 1, 2007. So, I will now be able to have all these places bill medicaid and I can also stop paying COBRA benefits as well. It looks like I am going to have to pay the COBRA bill for July because I haven't been able to get anything pre-approved by medicaid and I don't want to end up with a bunch of bills that I have to sit on for a year, but I will get everyone working on pre-approval for August so I can get rid of that bill.

So, this has been a great week. We had such a good time camping and then to end the week with the high note of getting all my disability approved and the medicaid situation finally approved. It is such a relief to know that I have insurance and that everything is approved. I am still in awe that I got my social security disabiltiy approved on the first try. It is a little disconcerting to know that my situation is so dire that they approved it so quickly, but I am trying not to focus on that. I am just looking at the positive side of this situation.

So, I am off to WalMart to get a couple things, including the new Harry Potter book. I am looking forward to getting that read and learning how Harry's life continues on. I am hoping to go see the movie some time this week, but it is a very busy week for me. I have to go to the Wound Clinic on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for dressing changes and then I also have an appointment on Thursday to see Dr. Borozan and then on Friday I have my IVIG infusion. Like I said, a very busy week. On Tuesday, I am hoping to catch up with my Aunt Sue and have breakfast with my sister as well as dinner with "the girls" on Monday evening. YIKES! I am tired already!

Anyway, hope you all have a great day! I think that I shall go take my movie back, go to WalMart and then maybe take myself out to dinner! Such fun!

Sally