Friday, August 15, 2008

Six random things I learned this week

SIX – It might take over an hour to get from Redmond to Renton (18 miles) on Tuesday and Thursday evenings but it only takes 25 minutes to get from Renton to the Auburn (16 miles.) I was certain we were going to be late for Sáin’s 5:30 karate class when I didn’t get home to pick up Sáin and Aidan until after 4:45. We arrived at the karat school 20 minutes early!

FIVE – Smog is way worse than heat. I am one of the odd people in Seattle that likes hot weather. Normally when the temperatures are in the 90s I am feeling great. Thanks to the lovely smog – I feel awful. I can’t even get out to enjoy the nice weather and I haven’t used my inhaler so much in years!!

FOUR – Heartfelt prayers said by a five year old are the most pure, innocent, heart breaking things to listen to. I hadn’t realized how deeply Aidan was feeling the pain of Gloria’s condition until this week. When he met Gloria in June, Aidan thought she was one of the coolest people he’d ever met and all his memories of playing with her are in the exact room he will start kindergarten in on the 2nd. I can’t believe I’ve held it together so well for Sáin and Aidan throughout this tragedy but I almost lost it when Aidan said to me, “What’s most scary is that could be Sáin in the hospital and it could be Lillia remembering me in her prayers.” (Lillia is Gloria’s little sister and Aidan has made a special point to pray for her since he knows what it’s like to have a big sister with diabetes.)

THREE – There is no such thing as the “Lawn Mowing Fairy”. No matter how hard I wish for it, no magic fairy will come and mow my lawn while I sleep.

TWO – Strangers can be very kind. As I’ve stated in previous posts, we’ve been lighting candles for Gloria online and it touching the kind words that are showing up from all around the world.

ONE – Having the “big guns” in your corner feels pretty nice. This summer I’ve been talking to some of the producers at Good Morning America as they are doing a story about insurance companies denying CGMs. I really didn’t think they would choose our story but it’s looking more and more like they might be coming out to Seattle next week. Funny thing is, I sent in my request for a level II appeals hearing with Premera and I am honestly more nervous about talking to Premera than I am about talking to GMA. GMA gets that this is an important technology that can greatly improve Sáin’s life – Premera seems blind to that.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amazing you got their attention, and it is SO necessary! The CGM battle continues for most diabetics, leaving those who cannot get coverage with a
less than deserving feeling! Lets work together to get all diabetic kids and adults on CGM's and covered. We are still waiting for the coverage, and just last night - 3 times, our 6 year old son's CGM went off to alert us and him that he was going low and needed some attention... you can't always catch a low with intuition or rely on the body to wake from a deep sleep after a busy fantastic weekend, when purely exhausted@!!!

Three cheers for you for standing up and standing out not only for Sain, but for the rest of us (We are here in Seattle too) and would love to support you in 'our' battle anyway possible.