MS Maze

Having trouble getting health insurance? Maybe you can get on your pet’s insurance plan. Probably not, but that didn’t stop Hal Ziegler from making the call anyway, after receiving the infamous rate increase letter from Anthem Blue Cross.

Terri Carlson finds herself in a similar situation. Her attempt at a solution was to advertise for a husband with health insurance benefits. It’s a fairly drastic response, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Read this post in its entirety:

Pet Insurance for People..Marriage for Healthcare..How Far Would You Go?

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/911229

On Writing

Making goals and sticking to them… last week’s ruminations about my still unfinished book and rambling about a lack of deadlines resulted in a virtual put up or shut up from a writer friend. Actually, he proposed that we set a weekly writing goal and hold each other’s feet to the fire. Casting aside my fear of failure, I took him up on it.

We started with a very manageable weekly minimum that I secretly vowed to surpass. I never did come up with a title for my project, so I started anew with a clean manuscript (lots of edits from the previous version will be transferred over) and gave it the very confident-sounding working title “This Is It.” Okay, my friend, we’re on. My keyboard is burning and I’ll be checking up on you…

We bloggers can have fragile egos. We want to be read and we want to know that we matter. Novice bloggers, while trying to build a following, often harbor serious doubts. This great read on BlogHer fills newbie bloggers in on the cold hard truth behind blogging: Hey, Jealousy: Every Blogger Was a Newbie Once. Every blogger will recognize themselves in this one.

Around the Web This Week

Business owners take note. Discretionary spending to the tune of $175 billion is at stake. People with disabilities enjoy going out and socializing with their friends and family… and they spend money. If they cannot enter your establishment without a great deal of difficulty, they will patronize your competitor. Accessible Design Makes Good Business Sense

“The health insurance industry is the shark that swims just below the water, and you don’t see that shark until you feel the teeth of that shark.” – Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). Despite the bipartisan health care summit, the shark is still circling. After the Health Care Summit : The Shark in the Water

Having trouble getting health insurance? Maybe you can get on your pet’s insurance plan. Probably not, but that didn’t stop Hal Ziegler from making the call anyway, after receiving the infamous rate increase letter from Anthem Blue Cross. Pet Insurance for People..Marriage for Healthcare..How Far Would You Go?

Is there a link between the use of occupational pesticides and Parkinson’s disease? That’s what we’d like to know. Find out more: Pesticides and Parkinson’s: Possible Link Must Be Investigated

The White House released his proposed health care reform proposal on Monday, despite Republican demands to scrap the whole thing and start over with Thursday’s “bi-partisan” health care reform summit. Obama Health Care Plan Targets Insurers, Lacks Public Option

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Care2 Healthy & Green Living with MS
Care2 Reform Health Policy

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Contact: writer@webcampone.com

WebCamp One, LLC: Full-service website design, management, and development company with clients throughout the USA and Canada. Expert in standards compliant website design. From website management to freelance writing, we’ve got the web covered. Visit: WebCamp One on Facebook.

“The health insurance industry is the shark that swims just below the water, and you don’t see that shark until you feel the teeth of that shark.” – Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

Despite the bipartisan health care summit, the shark is still circling. During the great airing of grievances, it became immediately clear that both Democrats and Republicans are confident in their interpretation of what the American people want and need.

A minor exchange between John McCain and President Obama provided a flashback to campaign days, and the stack of papers representing the Senate bill was referred to as a “prop” by the President.

A recurring theme on the Republican side was the admonition to…

Read this post in its entirety:

After the Health Care Summit : The Shark in the Water

Photo: whitehouse.gov

Is there a link between the use of occupational pesticides and Parkinson’s disease? That’s what we’d like to know.

People with Parkinson’s disease have been found to have significantly higher blood levels of a particular pesticide than healthy people or those with Alzheimer’s disease, say researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

A study recently published in the Archives of Neurology found a link between use of pesticides in a person’s occupation, such as farming and other agricultural work, and development of Parkinson’s disease. Three chemical compounds were found to be associated with a three-fold increase in risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Read this post in its entirety and check out the Care2 action items:

Pesticides and Parkinson’s: Possible Link Must Be Investigated

Business owners take note. Discretionary spending to the tune of $175 billion is at stake.

People with disabilities enjoy going out and socializing with their friends and family… and they spend money. If they cannot enter your establishment without a great deal of difficulty, they will patronize your competitor.

If you are under the impression that there are no people with disabilities in your neighborhood, it is more likely that they simply are not visiting your place of business and are spending their discretionary dollars elsewhere.

What does it take to be “accessible?”

Read this post in its entirety:

Accessible Design Makes Good Business Sense

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/758000

President Obama released his proposed health care reform proposal on Monday, despite Republican demands to scrap the whole thing and start over with Thursday’s “bi-partisan” health care reform summit.

The White House frames its plan as an opening bid for the summit and sticks fairly closely to the Senate bill, but eliminating the sweetheart deals with individual states and easing the tax burden on high-end (cadillac) health plans.

Read this post in its entirety:

Obama Health Care Plan Targets Insurers, Lacks Public Option

Sorry, but it’s not me… it’s you. Despite evidence to the contrary, most Americans believe they are managing their own health well, while those around them clearly are not. Only 17 percent of us recognize that our own health is going in the wrong direction and we’re pointing fingers.

It is human nature to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, easier to make excuses for our own shortcomings, even while casting a critical eye on everyone else. We sneak in that extra sugary snack and conveniently dismiss it as just a little treat. Ten minutes of exercise seems like 30 when you’re the one doing the exercising. You smoke, but you’re tapering off.

Read this post in its entirety:

It’s Not Me… It’s You

Health Care Self-Advocacy: Be the Squeaky Wheel

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/905626

On Writing

“I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” – Steven Wright

Sorry to say it, but I can relate to that. I’m a lot further along than page numbers, but definitely not where I should be. I figure that’s because I don’t have a deadline — no one is waiting for a manuscript and there is no editor to call me on it if it’s late. Unlike my blogging gigs, where deadlines loom on a weekly basis, my open-ended project always follows more pressing items on the to do list, last in line for attention. I never would have imagined that I would long for a deadline…

Posting Around the Web this Week

Sorry, but it’s not me… it’s you. Despite evidence to the contrary, most Americans believe they are managing their own health well, while those around them clearly are not. Only 17 percent of us recognize that our own health is going in the wrong direction and we’re pointing fingers. It’s Not Me… It’s You

Do you walk on eggshells around people with chronic illness or disabilities? Maybe you’re a little uncomfortable — you don’t know quite what to say and don’t want to stick your foot in your mouth. You want to ask questions but don’t want to pry. In our politically correct world, eggshells are all over the place. Let’s stop Hiding From Our Disabled.

Is reconciliation a dirty word? Senate precedent for using reconciliation to enact other important policies include The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). Will Senator Reid take the hint? Senators to Reid: Public Option No Longer Optional

If Congressional leaders, both Democrat and Republican, will work with the White House in an effort to do the right thing for the country… well, let’s not hold our collective breath. But do stay tuned. White House: “Stay Tuned” for Health Care Proposal

Earlier this week, I gave a brief interview to WebMD reporter Salynn Boyles, who takes a look at the migraine/multiple sclerosis connection in her article: Migraines in Women May Have Link to MS

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Care2 Healthy & Green Living with MS
Care2 Reform Health Policy

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Contact: writer@webcampone.com

WebCamp One, LLC: Full-service website design, management, and development company with clients throughout the USA and Canada. Expert in standards compliant website design. From website management to freelance writing, we’ve got the web covered. Visit: WebCamp One on Facebook.

Congress dropped the health care reform ball… will the President pick it up and run with it?

Time.com’s Karen Tumulty reports that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, when asked if the White House is preparing it’s own health care plan for next week’s summit, replied “Stay tuned.”

Ms. Tumulty went on to say: “One official told me that a White House measure is likely to look very much like the Senate bill, with a few changes: It would be stripped of some of the controversial special deals, such as the now-infamous “Cornhusker Kickback,” and there would be instead a more equitable provision to help states deal with their increased Medicaid costs. There would also likely be some kind of revision (and probable retrenchment) on the deal that was struck with the unions on the ‘Cadillac Tax.’”

Read this post in its entirety:

White House: “Stay Tuned” for Health Care Proposal

Related Reading:

Public Option No Longer Optional

Health Insurer Defends 39 Percent Increase

Marrying for Health Insurance: Size Does Matter

Photo: whitehouse.gov

Despite claims to the contrary, the public option is not quite dead. At least not if Senator Bennet has anything to say about it.

In a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), along with Senators Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) clearly and concisely states the case for avoiding a filibuster by passing the public option through the process of reconciliation.

“We respectfully ask that you bring for a vote before the full Senate a public health insurance option under budget reconciliation rules. There are four fundamental reasons why we support this approach – its potential for billions of dollars in cost savings; the growing need to increase competition and lower costs for the consumer; the history of using reconciliation for significant pieces of health care legislation; and the continued public support for a public option.”

Read this post in its entirety:

Senators to Reid: Public Option No Longer Optional

Photo: democrats.senate.gov

Do you walk on eggshells around people with chronic illness or disabilities? If so, you are not alone.

Maybe you’re a little uncomfortable — you don’t know quite what to say and don’t want to stick your foot in your mouth. You want to ask questions but don’t want to pry. In our “politically correct” world, eggshells are all over the place.

Most literature about chronic illness informs us that stress can aggravate symptoms and cause relapses, and a lot of us can attest to that fact. Avoiding undue stress is a positive thing. However, we cannot divorce ourselves from planet earth and the reality of every day life. Taking the concept of avoiding stress too far, especially within the family, can result in pent-up resentment by all concerned.

Most people who have a chronic illness or disability are functioning members of society and integral members of family life. Rather than avoiding that person or avoiding the problem altogether, why not approach them as you would anybody else?

Adults with chronic illness or disabilities want… and need… to be included in important issues, even potentially negative ones.

Read this post in its entirety:

Hiding From Our Disabled

Photo:http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1152277

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 13, 2010) – Roush Fenway’s race cars will each carry a special decal honoring the life and cause of Olympic medalist skier and multiple sclerosis (MS) advocate, Jimmie Heuga, in this Sunday’s Daytona 500 race at Daytona International Speedway. Heuga passed away Monday at the age of 66 in Colorado; 46 years to the day that he won his bronze medal in the 1964 Winter Olympics.

Heuga, a college skiing teammate of Roush Fenway President Geoff Smith at the University of Colorado, was a bronze medalist in the 1964 Olympic games, but will most be remembered for founding ‘Can Do Multiple Sclerosis’ (formerly The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis) a national nonprofit organization that has served as a leading provider of innovative lifestyle empowerment programs for people with MS and their support partners.

“Jimmie was one of strongest willed and toughest competitors that you will ever meet,” said Smith. “He was able to take that competitive tenacity and use it in his battle against MS. He never backed down from the disease and in turn was able to do great work empowering other people impacted by multiple sclerosis. His contributions will not be forgotten and it is an honor to be able to remember Jimmie and help continue his cause by this small gesture.”

Heuga became one of the first two Americans — along with teammate Billy Kidd — to win an Olympic medal in Alpine skiing.

He was diagnosed with MS in 1970 at the age of 26, but refused to succumb to the neurological disease. He instead became a champion for others suffering from the disease, and his campaign to demonstrate that MS did not necessarily mean a life of inactivity is credited with helping to change the mindset about MS and exercise.

“This is a very sad week,” said Can Do CEO Kim Sharkey. “But with this opportunity of being part of the Roush Fenway Racing organization participating in the Great American Race – the Daytona 500 – it’s exciting for our organization and partners. Jimmie would be proud of this and thankful for his friendship with Geoff Smith.”

About Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating seven motorsports teams.  Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; and four in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Colin Braun, and Paul Menard.  For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. Become a fan of Roush Fenway Racing on Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway.  And for sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.

Submitted by ‘Can Do Multiple Sclerosis’ organization. For more information visit: www.mscando.org.

February 14 is Valentine’s Day, a day set aside to celebrate love and romance. It is not usually a day when we want to ponder our own mortality, but it also happens to be National Organ Donor Day.

There is something we can do right now to help others after we’ve gone. We can offer the precious gift of life through organ donation.

The need is great: As of February 1, 2010, there were 105,525 people waiting for an organ for transplant, and approximately 35,000 children and adults in our country have life-threatening blood diseases that could be treated by a marrow/blood stem cell or cord blood transplant.

Please… read this post in its entirety and follow the links to give the gift of life.

Valentine’s Day Gift of Life

Photo: OrganDonor.gov

On Writing

I was in the fifth grade when I learned how a single word can change the entire meaning of a sentence. Not the word necessarily, but how it is interpreted by the reader.

We were assigned the task of writing a one-page description of ourselves, both our physical attributes and our personality traits. The teacher planned to read them aloud to the class and we were to guess the author. The purpose, I now know, was to teach us descriptive writing. Fifth grade is a risky time for such an assignment. For one boy, it proved to be very embarrassing.

It was the sixties, when long hair for males was just coming in to fashion. Boys who wanted to be “cool” had longer hair. This particular boy described himself as having “pretty long” black hair. The guessing began with girls names. In fact, no one guessed a boy. That’s because the teacher, being a woman, read the sentence emphasizing the word “pretty.” Pretty was read in a way that would describe a female attribute. Long was read in an elongated fashion. We were looking for a classmate with pretty, long black hair.

When his name was revealed, the flustered boy tried vainly to explain that he meant “pretty long” as in “fairly long.” It was too late. The damage was done. He spent the rest of the year as the boy with the pretty, long black hair.

Lesson learned. People don’t necessarily read things the way you meant them, and we are wise to keep that in mind as we choose our words.

Around the Web this Week

My contribution to Care2’s Healthy and Green Living this week was titled Lie For Me, and is another example of reader interpretation. In this particular piece, I used a little “artistic license” to illustrate a point. The comments confirm that most readers understood and appreciated the emotion I was going for, but some took what I wrote quite literally and expounded on the topic of lies. I figured that would be the case prior to publishing, but decided it would be worth the confusion for the sake of what is, in fact, a sweet love story.

February 14 is Valentine’s Day, a day set aside to celebrate love and romance. It is not usually a day when we want to ponder our own mortality, but it also happens to be National Organ Donor Day. Valentine’s Day Gift of Life

While people are losing medical coverage and, along with it, access to care, Washington is keeping reform in the deep freeze, more concerned about the next election than with making progress. Health Insurer Defends 39 Percent Premium Increase

Obesity is estimated to affect an estimated five million young people in the United States alone. Studies are currently underway to evaluate laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding as a possible treatment option for adolescents. Gastric Banding Proposed for Obese Teens

Have you got style? If so, you probably don’t want to get caught using one of those old clunky metal canes. Fashionable Canes celebrates style with gorgeous decorative canes — check out their beautiful pink cane with a delicate rose!

Mary and Jenny, of Writing Without Periods, bestowed upon me the title of last Saturday’s “Sensational Woman.” Thank you, ladies. And the member spotlight was on yours truly this week at Women on the Verge, in one of their one-word answer interviews. It’s harder than it seems.

There’s a new feature on Care2 Causes. The Friday Wrap-up bundles all this week’s post in Causes, and the first installment packs quite the punch! Care2 Causes blogger Steve Williams definitely put some blood, sweat, and tears into piecing our work together. Thank you, Steve, for a job superbly done. This Week’s News and Views from Care2 Causes.

Read More
Care2 Healthy & Green Living with MS
Care2 Reform Health Policy

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WebCamp One, LLC: Full-service website design, management, and development company with clients throughout the USA and Canada. Expert in standards compliant website design. From website management to freelance writing, we’ve got the web covered. Visit: WebCamp One on Facebook.

Have you got style? If so, you probably don’t want to get caught using one of those old clunky metal canes. You deserve nothing less than a decorative cane that suits your personal style.

Last December, my eye was irresistibly drawn to a passerby with a cane. Not just any cane, mind you, but a ladies’ cane, all decked out in holiday glam and glitter. It was a bit over the top, but I admired the owner’s sense of individuality and playfulness.

My own red paisley cane makes a fairly bold statement, but decorative canes have risen to a whole new level. Whether you need a cane as a mobility aid, or are an enthusiastic collector of walking canes, Valentine’s Day walking canes are functional and fun… pinks, reds, and even an imported hand crafted red rose adorn these beauties.

Fashionable Canes offers a gorgeous selection of decorative canes to suit every taste or occasion. Browse their online store and you’ll see what I mean. You’ve got style — show it off!

Related Reading :

Fashionable Canes on the Front Lines

Cop an Attitude with a Fashionable Cane

“If You’re Going to Use a Cane, Use a CANE!”

More Information:

FashionableCanes.com

Fashionable Walking Canes on Facebook

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a sponsored post. The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I am, in fact, a satisfied customer of FashionableCanes.com and personally use and recommend their products. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255.