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Heading North

9 Nov

A big “THANK YOU” to those of you who helped set me on the path toward finding an acupuncture doctor, and “thank you” to Karen (Flaca), for putting us in touch with Dr. Jing Li.  Cole and I both met with Dr. Li yesterday at her Irvine clinic, and she is an Anthem Blue Cross provider–YAY!  It was an extensive 3 hour visit!  Our scheduled appointment was for 10:30a.m. and we left the office at 1:00p.m.  Thankfully, I packed a lunch ‘just in case’, and as we were devouring our goods in the car Cole stated, “we sure have been eating a lot of lunches in parking lots since seeing so many doctors.”  It is true, and in many different cities!  Which brings me to my title…

Dr. Li thoroughly evaluated Cole.  She listened, asked questions, took notes, and nodded her head.  She excused herself for a moment, returned and sat down on her stool then took a deep breath.  She spoke with confidence and purpose, choosing her words carefully and methodically.  She addressed Cole directly as well as engaged me into the dialogue when appropriate (I love it when a doctor recognizes Cole’s intellectuality by addressing him directly–that wins points with me right away!).  She spoke to us with an authoritative knowledge and experience, yet she eagerly drew upon our resources of Cole’s condition as well.  We both immediately respected this woman and felt confident with her recommendations.  The following is our first step, at her suggestion, as paraphrased by me:  “I first have to tell you that acupuncture, in a case such as yours, is most effective within the first six months.  That being said, it is in your best interest to get started as soon as possible.  However, since you are so young, I believe you should have access to the best in the industry for your condition.  There is a world renowned doctor who has devoted his life toward studying and treating people with neurological conditions.  I know many cases who have flown him in for treatment.  I am not saying you should go to him, I could treat you here myself…I have learned from him.  However, I want to not withhold any opportunity from you, because you are so young and if it were me or my child, I would want to be seen by him.  Honestly, I can probably do a better job treating your other conditions (Cole’s GI issues for example) because Dr. Zhu is so specialized.  But for the neurological conditions, he is the best.”

Dr. Li went on to tell us that Dr. Zhu has one clinic in California, in northern California.  San Jose to be exact.  Cole told her he was interested so she got on the phone and called Dr. Zhu on the spot.  She first had to check if he was presently in the country and then second wanted to discuss Cole’s case with him.  Turns out he is in the country until the end of next week, thus I will be driving Cole up north to the bay area on Monday the 14th (I would leave sooner but it is Esther’s 16th birthday on Saturday and my sister Leah and brother Aaron will both be in town for the occasion).  Unfortunately, Dr. Zhu does not bill insurance so this will be an out-of-pocket expense, though his rates are more in line with what I consider reasonable and acceptable (unlike that of Dr. Connealy’s $425- fee for the consultation).  All in all–with our travel expenses and 5 already set appointments, I am expecting the costs to fall under one thousand; in fact more in the range of $800…not too bad, all things considered.  Wait, wasn’t “all things considered” a radio program on NPR? 🙂

Anyway, we are heading North.  Not to Alaska, but to San Jose…do you know the way?

 

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100% Cotton Mouth

7 Nov

About four years ago, my mom decided to move my great aunt Hilda from her apartment to my mom’s home.  At the time my Aunt Hilda was 100 years old.  Her health was in bad shape and it seemed she would require additional care which my mother could better provide by having her live in the same house.  So my sister and mom (as well as cousins, aunts, uncles, and maybe my brothers), took on the task of packing up the apartment which had been home to many, many years of saving.  Saving stationary; saving pads of paper, books, pens, pencils, purses, clothes, magazines, linens…the list goes on and on; and it wasn’t even that big of an apartment!  But Aunt Hilda managed to save many of her treasures which also serve as (mint condition), historical markers.  One such marker I was fortunate to receive.  It is a small tin, coral colored, filled with cotton.  It is called the, “Cotton Picker Cotton”, a Curity product.  It was sealed and ready to be used.  If you have been to my house, you know that one of our two bathroom’s is decorated with the colors salmon, pink, and orange.  Since we live in a house built in the year 1956 and since the sink console is original to our home, the Cotton Picker fits very well with my motif!

However, unlike my Aunt, I prefer to utilize the things that I have instead of save them .  For example, if I have a hand towel hanging near a sink, you can be assured it is ready and awaiting the task of soaking up water from your skin after you have finished your cleansing routine.  And because Brian is my husband, this means I do NOT have nice hand towels…I have stained and very used hand towels, and when he is working on a car or art project, sometimes those hand towels “disappear” altogether!  Anyway, because of my ‘use it’ mentality (though sometimes this  does backfire and I find myself wishing I had held onto something instead of use it up), I decided to open my new cotton filled gadget and put it to work.  So for the last few years I have been pulling cotton from my “cottin’ pickin’, “Cotton Picker.”  I periodically pull out and cut a piece of 1950’s era cotton from my vintage tin and save myself a trek across the hall to the other bathroom (a 10 second walk east) where the more modern cotton balls can be found.  Well last night I pulled from my retro well only to find a sticker adhered to the 100% fluff which read, “Buy Another Cotton Picker Today!”

Now mind you, I am currently wandering around, on this planet, in (pretty much) a constant state of exhaustion.  You must also know that with exhaustion comes delirium.  And for me, delirium manifests in form of crass dialogue with myself.  So after I read the words, “Buy Another Cotton Picker Today!”, I said the following out loud:

“NOW HOW IN THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?!?  I MEAN REALLY, WHERE THE HELL AM I GOING TO GET ANOTHER COTTN’ PICKN’, COTTON PICKER?!?”  And then I laughed at myself, and my own absurdity (I think I even gave a shout out cursing toward my sister, Leah, for salvaging the darned thing for me in the first place…yeah I’m pretty sure I did!).

Well aunt Hilda will be 104 years old in February, her health goes from bad to amazingly well on a rotating schedule of every other day; and I know that if she still lived in her little apartment I would have a trusted source to go to for my cotton replacement.  For your enjoyment (and mine), I share the following photo…

Thanks Aunt Hilda!

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Have Flu, Will Travel

1 Nov

Well it didn’t happen as my title suggests.  I traveled, then returned home and awoke the next day with the flu.  That was yesterday.

Once a year my girlfriend and I take a weekend respite on the island of Santa Catalina.  Our weekend is typically planned one year in advance of our departure, so when the time comes rolling into view, our internal engines get revving for take off.  Or in this case, being it’s an island we are traveling to, our engines get ready to set sail.  Of course there have been a few years when circumstances on the home-front threaten to call off the voyage.  Such as when Brian’s mom was in the hospital in 2007, and such as this year when our family is still undergoing the recuperation of Cole Bent.  But alas, I needed this break so very much that I practically ran to the boat, luggage in hand, with the threatening promise to keep my phone off for the next three days (as well as the derogatory commentary which accidentally slipped through my lips that went something like this; “They’ll be lucky if I ever return!”).  And come Sunday, the last day of our Isla del Sol, I was seriously, though not wholeheartedly, considering taking myself up on the threat in parentheses.  Which is probably why I was punished the following morning with “Moctezuma’s Revenge” and had to spend most of the day connected to the latrine and when not in the bathroom, in the prone position.  Cole took over the candy duty for our neighborhood trick-or-treators last night as Brian had a gig, and Esther had other plans.  I remained on the couch, where I’m sure all the parents’ of excited children, were grateful to have me.

Today am feeling better, though a bit sluggish.

A strange occurrence happened to me while on the island this past weekend…I was plagued by hay-fever type allergies.  So much so that I actually bought allergy medicine for an exorbitant fee from the local store.  But the medicine did help stop the incessant sneezing.  It was strange for me to be in the shoes of an allergy sufferer because I have not been one in the past.  That was always my brother, Greg’s, familial position.  I was always the vocal bystander, the one who would point out to my brother how irritating his continuous sneezing was for all of us in his presence.  Anyway, I’m thinking my body chemistry is changing–which is something that has been “winking” at me for some time now.  An irritating reality!

Now the past two weeks or so, Cole has been asking me to find him an acupuncture doctor because he is interested in looking into the effects of acupuncture for his cranial nerve damage, more specifically, his face.  So while on Catalina, and because of my own personal health revelation, I mentioned the scenario to my friend.  She spoke of a doctor who came highly recommended in the arena of natural medicine, though she didn’t know much detail about her practice.  So today I followed up with the lead and learned this doctor is an MD who embraced holistic medicine because its benefits, she found, are more helpful to the patient on the long term.  Yet she still supports the influence of Western Medicine for acute scenarios, such as that of a brain tumor.  Anyway, her name is Dr. Connealy and her practice is in Irvine.  Turns out she has a broad range medical facility, with many medical partners and disciplines, including but not limited to, acupuncture.  I called and learned they do take many insurance plans, but not that of ours.  Dr. Connealy is not an Anthem Blue Cross provider which means we would have to cover the fee at time of consultation and then submit it to our insurance for “hopeful” reimbursement.  The fee?  A mere $425.00 per person.  Yes, I had hoped to go as well for my new found allergy issues as well as imbalanced hormone issues, but at $425- a pop, it’s not going to happen!

Here is where you come in…

Do any of you have a lead for Cole’s request specifically and firstly, as well as mine secondly.  I am hoping to find a naturalist doctor who is also an MD, who is in the Anthem Blue Cross network of providers.  I hope and pray you or someone you know will point us in the right direction; a direction we can afford preferably.  I look forward to your feedback.

Now back to my happy place I go, “Twenty six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is a waiting for me…”

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