Friday, August 10, 2012

Our LA Trip

I was really scared to go on a trip for a wedding in La Mirada, CA last weekend. Last year on our trip to Southern CA Elyssa was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes so I was so afraid something could go wrong on this trip too. I was worried to the extent that I mapped out the nearest hospitals with P.I.C.U units by the hotel and in the town where the reception was going to take place.
Las Vegas to LA is only about a 4 hour drive and I think I held my breath almost the whole way. I wanted to rush and get there so nothing could happen on the road or in the middle of no where. It took us forever to get there which added to my stress. We past 2 accidents and I totally forgot how horrible Southern CA traffic was. I have no idea why I was freaking out so much. We keep Elyssa's BGs in a really good range majority of the time. I just have the worse luck and I couldn't handle anything else going wrong right now.
Well all that worrying was for nothing. We made it there with no problems. I even let her have an ice cream on the way because she was being such a good girl in the car just looking at the clouds, mountains & cacti. I even get bored looking at that stuff so she deserved a treat. We also treated her and took her to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. She had a blast, she loves aquariums. At the wedding we got a couple 60s and 70s from all the running around she did. I didn't even bolus her for dinner or cake and we still got some lows I couldn't believe it. She played, she danced, she ran around but most importantly she had a good time.
Me on the other hand, I was a nervous wreck watching her running around, I checked her probably every 30 mins., I was tired, sweaty from CA humidity, and I really wanted a drink. Our drive back home went even smoother. We didn't catch any traffic and BGs were in the 100s. I feel sort of stupid for worrying so much about everything but I know Diabetes has a mind of it's own and can wreck havoc in a short period of time. Diabetes was good to us on this trip and I am so thankful.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

A Little Encouragement for Elyssa

I've been trying to encourage Elyssa to put sites on her stomach but nothing is working. She has an awesome sitter that had a great idea of practicing on her stuffed animal. Elyssa was soooo happy and proud of herself. I don't think I've ever seen her smile so big! THANK YOU TRISTA & KAILEY!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Yiippeee, No More Medical Bills

I am so happy I have finally paid off ALL Elyssa's medical bills from when she was in DKA and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It's such a relief and I feel this tremendous weight lifted off my shoulders finally.
At the beginning I tried so hard to understand this disease and not go crazy from lack of sleep but then when I got slapped with bills for thousands of dollars it truly broke me. I cried so much. I felt like how was I supposed to provide a future for my Type 1 Diabetic daughter when I owed thousands of dollars and had to pay for tons of supplies on a monthly basis. I cried for the diagnosis, I cried from all the threatening calls saying they were going to send me to collections or start taking money from my paycheck, I cried for all the $$$$$ signs flashing before my eyes every time I opened the mail.
Since we were out of town in California when Elyssa was diagnosed my insurance didn't pay for all the doctors fees. She was diagnosed in 1 hospital then transported to another hospital so I had bills from 2 different hospitals, tons of different doctors, nurses, endos and the ambulance company. I took it day by day. I made tons of calls, sent tons of emails & faxes trying to get costs down. I called doctors directly to see if they would lower their fees and a couple of them did so that was a great help. Also, I kept sending a ton of bills back to the insurance company as claims because I felt we shouldn't pay all the out of state costs since the local Pediatrician & Urgent Care doctors that "were" covered by my insurance missed her diagnosis a few days before we left town. The insurance company did end up going 50/50 with me on a couple more bills. Even though it was all so stressful and such a big fight I find myself lucky because I did have some kind of insurance.
I thought for sure we were going to be in & out of the hospital all the time due to diabetes complications. I'm so glad that hasn't been the case. No more hospital stays this whole 1st year of diagnosis. It's given me time to pay off all medical bills, Woo Hoo. I'm finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and do my little happy dance. I no longer have to be scared to open the mail or answer the phone anymore. One whole year of Type 1 Diabetes.... I didn't let the diagnosis beat me, I didn't let the bills beat me.... I just keep taking everything day by day and try to do the best I can for my little girl. I just feel like all the hard work is finally paying off... Literally! =)