In Memory of Jim Shoning

Ever since dad passed away, I have been trying to think of something I could do to keep his memory alive through a charitable organization.  I wanted to raise money somehow and donate it to families of patients who are sick.  I know how hard it is to have a family member who is sick and the financial burdens it causes.

Trying to come up with an idea is hard, especially when you dream big like I do. The problem with dreaming big is usually there is huge overhead and time which I am not prepared for. I saw a Man vs. Food where there was a food marathon that raised money for charity. It was pretty neat and I think it would be something dad would have liked. They got I think 3 restaurants placed about town and each team had 3 people. It's been awhile since I have seen the episode and I am probably remembering parts of it wrong, but it basically had the first person eat a pile of whatever it was, then run to the next restaurant where the person then tagged another to eat food there. Then they rode their bike to the next place where they tagged the next person who I think ran, because I don't recall there being water...but at the end they all three had to run across the finish line. I think that would go over very well, but I would have to find sponsors and spend lots of cash and it would be a full time job. I can't do that.

Then I thought of a walk, but everyone does a walk. Same with bike rides.  Half the people I know don't walk OR bike ride. So, no one would show up!  So, I just kind of kept it in the back of my head this whole time until this weekend. Coleman came into my office after cleaning out his Jeep and had a ramp ticket to Rush Hospital and this:

 

A TEN DOLLAR GIFT CARD WE GOT FROM THE EMPLOYEES AT RML!!!  BINGO!!!  RML was where dad was in Hinsdale, IL that was the ventilator facility before we went to Oelwein. I specifically remember how awesomely thoughtful that was when we were given that. It was only ten dollars but I tell you what! After driving back and forth from Des Moines to Iowa City, then Iowa City to Chicago, then to Oelwein all the while paying for hotels the entire time and eating out for over a year, my savings account went bye bye.  But, I don't care, I would do it all again in a heart beat. Which leads me to believe that there are other families out there who are doing the exact same thing that we did for their loved ones. So, I want to pay if forward what was given to us and give it to others who need it.


I WANT TO START A GAS CARD CHARITY!!!!!!


This is TOTALLY appropriate too because between my dad and my grandma, I can't even begin to think of all the tanks of gas I scored out of those two. Hell, for about 3 years of my life, my grandma gave me an Amoco card which I bought all my gas with, (And maybe a cigarette or two, LOL) Plus, its GAS, and well, Shonings and gas go hand in hand. Coleman once said he thought our family crest was a toilet.


I have been trying to think of names and its been hard. I keep wanting to play with words and be clever with the whole "gas" thing. Like, You Have Been Gassed. Or, We Just Gave You Gas.  A gal I work with said we should call it "Jim's Journey" and then call the gas cards, "travel tokens."  I like that, but I don't like "Jim's Journey."  To me it makes it sound like he is still alive and on a journey. So, I would like to implement his name somehow and I am just drawing a blank, so suggestions are WELCOME!!!


I am going to donate some proceeds from my photography business to this and I plan on putting the names of the people who donate on these cards as well as a "made possible by."  Unless they don't want me to of course. I would love to be able to donate these to Methodist and University of Iowa, and as much as it pains me to say, Mercy. Im not a Mercy fan and thats no secret, however, those are our top 3 trauma hospitals in the state and thats where people get flown to when something happens. So, this creates a drive issue for people.


I can't even BEGIN to tell you how hard it is to have to stay out of town with your loved one and miss work and deplete your bank account. Every little bit helps and I hope to make a difference in some people's lives. If anyone wants to donate money or a gas card, hit me up and we will make it happen!! I am SO excited for this!!!!


I will keep everyone updated on my progress as this comes to fruition. YAY!!!!!  Remember, throw me some suggestions!!

Wow!! I Sooo Did What I Said I Wouldnt!!

I am such a jerk! I said I would't be one of those people who start a blog and then ignore it and I did!!! I feel so bad, but I do have a million excuses:

1. Im still dealing with a dog that has a broken leg.
2. She also has allergies and it's a fulltime job to keep her from licking, scratching and trying to not let her eat her cast.
3. I work a fulltime job.
4. I work another fulltime job!
5. Im planning a wedding.
6. Im reinventing my 2nd fulltime job since Im the owner.
7. Im trying to pay attention to my awesome fiance.
8. All my good tv shows have started back up.
9. Im sleeping.
10. I get tired of staring at the computer all day.

There! Those are 10 reasons as to why Im not on here. Its currently 2:13 AM, I cant sleep and here is a run down of my day tomorrow.

1. Early morning laundry
2. Test drive a new vehicle
3. Pick up nephew, go by bday presents.
4. Go to a 4 year olds party
5. Take nephew back home
6. Go shoot a wedding
7. Go to a dinner
8. Attend another wedding party
9. Go home and crash!

My ankle is better now, I gained some weight because of my injury so today I started the 17 Day Diet that Dr Phil raves about. My fiance started it too. I think I have broken the world record for pissing today since I think I have drunk enough water today to fill a childrens pool.

The weather is warming up here in old Iowa so I plan on getting my bike out. I am an avid bike rider. This last year was ruined because of the flooding. My trails were all under water and I dont like riding in the street by myself. I need to get back on my Twitter too. I wish there were more hours in the day!!!

Anyhoo, Im tired so Im going to turn in. I promise to pay more attention to you, Mr. Blog. Nighty night.

Yeah.....

My wonderful, most sweetest, prettiest girl on the planet, broke her little leg last night!!!  Oh I was just sick to my stomach! My fiance came home from work yesterday and took her and our greyhound out to go potty and she slipped up the steps coming back in. Broke her elbow, right at the joint.

I am SOOOOOOO happy I didn't spend that money on the MRI for myself or I wouldn't have been able to afford her surgery.  I can live with a jacked up ankle but I would have never forgiven myself if I wasn't able to afford her surgery. She is such a good girl. She is right out of surgery in this picture and still waking up so she looks pretty stoned.

What sucks about this is I am supposed to keep her from jumping and running for 8 weeks. I do not see how this is going to be possible. She is the biggest spaz of a dog. This is going to be a fun journey!!

I have to admit that while all of this was happening, it was so nice to look at an xray for the first time in my life and see something that is actually broken. So, broken elbow equals surgery. I wish it was that simple for me and all the other EDS'ers out there!!!!!

This is Albert James. Our retired racer.

Jojo with her lampshade on.

I love waking up to this face!

My little pooper!

iMac-fabulous

Today was just all around a great day except for one part of it, which was waking up this morning at 4AM to a HOWLING cat.  I have a cat that is in heat. Why do I have a cat that is in heat? Because I have been too lazy to take her to the vet to get fixed. She never has her claws out, so I never cared that she was ruining our furniture. So, I just never took her in. Well, so now I have a horny, howling cat.  She woke me up and I was laying on my side. I drilled the side/top of my head into my pillow, lifted my ass off the mattress and went to turn, but instead of me turning, one of my upper vertebrates did. It is totally turned wrong, my fiance could feel it and SO CAN I!!!

I took some vicodin because I had to. It hurts a lot. I slept a little longer and got up to go to the dentist. I haven't been to the dentist in probably 15 years, so I was a bit anxious. After my xrays, my dentist told me that 3 of my teeth looked good. HAHA. He thinks he is funny. I was actually shocked I had no cavities. Not because I don't take care of myself, I kind of just thought after all that time had passed that something rotten had to be in there somewhere. THANK GOD!!!  I do have to get my right upper wisdom tooth out next month though, only because he thinks that it is affecting my TMJ.

I then went to get my acupuncture. I really love my acupuncturist. He is just such a cool guy. While I was waiting for him, I was browsing the books in his waiting room that he has for sale and I found this wonderful piece of eye candy!!!  I paid more for it there though. *sad face.*  Anyway, I was talking to him about me injuring myself like a complete idiot as I was waking up and I mentioned that book I saw in the waiting room. He almost leaped at me he was so excited I found it and told me how wonderful it would be for me. So, I bought it. Once I got it home, I looked up how to treat upper back pain and I swear to God, that coupled with the treatment I had today left me at what would have been an easy 7 on the pain scale all day down to a 2. Because I took my vicodin before my treatment, I did not get that huge endorphin rush like I did last time. I hope that wasn't just a one time thing!!

Bill (my acupuncturist) also gave *sold* me some herbal teas. I got some wild berry zinger tea which I tried today and really liked, and some tea good for the digestive system. He also told me to go and get a liquid prenatal vitamin to start taking. My progesterone is all out of whack and my hair has been falling out. He thinks this will help. While I was browsing the health food store, I found some old ancient Chinese oils that I bought too. One is called Po Sum On Medicated Oil. I had Coleman rub that on my back as well and it seems to help do the trick.  I am getting so excited about all of this Chinese medicine!!!! YAY!!!

The other awesome thing I did today was give in and buy an iMac. Its just going to be way better than a PC when it comes to my photography business.  This is actually my first blog post from it!!!  It is so pretty. I love myself for buying it!!!

Me giving myself a big fat kiss for having such a great ME day!!!

Follow Up to Yesterday

According to the quote I got for the 640 dollar MRI, that was only for people WITHOUT insurance, which  didn't say that ANYWHERE on that website. When I called the SAME place to get a quote WITH insurance, it was 900.  Can you believe that???  I am sorry, but there is seriously something wrong with our insurance companies. Pieces of shit!

I decided to NOT get an MRI. I have had surgery on both of my ankles and I never had an MRI once. So, unless I am told that this will be a threat to my health if I don't get one, I am going to wait it out.

Have I told you how much I hate our health care and insurance structure???

*shakes head*

Really Health Savings Account? Really????

My doc scheduled an MRI for tomorrow. I have a health savings account through my work because, well, I better keep my thoughts to myself if I would like to remain employed. Anyway, let's just say that I do not have group insurance so I get to pay out of pocket the first 2 grand. Then my HSA kicks in and I don't have to pay anymore. Those of you who have a chronic illness knows how bad it sucks paying for co-pays and 20% of whatever your bills are, but you would have to go to the doctor a metric shit ton to pay 2 thousand dollars in a year. Not me!!! I get to shell it out every time I get seen.

Iowa Methodist Medical Center is one of our main hospitals in Des Moines, and that is where it is scheduled. I called there to see what the cost of the MRI would be. After being on hold for awhile, I was told that the estimate would be 5,000 and that DID NOT include the radiologist charge to read it. WHAT?? SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!!  I pooped a bit. That is ridiculous. It is MY ANKLE!! NOT MY BRAIN!!  I hate health care. I HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT!!!!! &%$*! ACH!OAJFOIHJF!!!!!!! SHIIIIIIITTTTT!!!!!

I am sorry. This is the God damn United States of America. I think everyone should have insurance, regardless of where you work, if you work, your past medical history, how much money you have, what color you are or how old you are. It should be a RIGHT that we as citizens should have. I would GLADLY pay more towards my taxes to know that I can go to the doctor when I need to and have my problems taken care of KNOWING that no matter what, I will not go bankrupt because of the insurance that I have. I don't care how it gets fixed, it needs to get fixed. SO SOMEONE FIX IT!!!!

I canceled my MRI. Sorry, I don't want to have to shell out 2 grand for a stupid X-ray. I am not going to die because my ankle is jacked up, so I planned on waiting it out. I was telling my brother about it and he sent me a link that he found somewhere that basically showed what an average MRI costs throughout the nation and the most expensive was in Dallas, TX. It was like 3500. So, I don't know where Iowa Methodist gets off charging 5 grand. That's just BS. The same link also allows you to request a quote, which I did and it came back at 1250. Okay, that's much better. Then I was able to get a personalized quote and it came back at 647 dollars. WTF??? If it is only 647 dollars then WHY does the hospital try to charge people 5 grand??? No wonder people go bankrupt due to health care costs. I think that every procedure should have one cost that is straight across the board and no one can charge more than that.  That way CEO's aren't getting rich and people who can't afford to go to the doctor aren't dying. 

Well, at any rate, the 647 dollar quote also comes with payment up front, so I need to email the gal who sent that to me and let her know that I have an HSA and would need to be billed so I can make payments. We will see if that works. I am betting it won't.

On a good note today, I found a link on Facebook today of Amy Yasbeck, John Ritter's wife. John was one of my favorite actors. Three's Company was my favorite show growing up (My cats names are Roper and Furley) and when John died, I was devastated. He died from an aortic tear that wasn't caught immediately. Amy was on The Talk and she mentions Ehlers-Danlos. Click here to see it : John Ritter.

Another cool thing I found today is this -> Rare Disease Art.  I am a photographer for those of you who may not know and this is an art contest for those who have rare diseases. You have to have one to be eligible to enter, and well since I have EDS, that makes me eligible!! WHOO HOO!!!! Now, to try and think of something neat and eye catching to photograph!! I hope to be inspired soon!!! Deadline for entry is next week!! Wish me luck!!!!

One more thing before I jet. I had my acupuncture on Saturday and OH MY GOD!!! It was freaking AWESOME!!! I loved it!!!! I couldn't even hardly talk afterwards. I made an appointment for next Saturday. Man it was great! I wish I would have done it years ago!!!!

Seriously????

ARGH!!

My friend Dave and I joined the gym together. But he wanted to eat hot dogs last night and sit on his couch, so I went with my friend Mike. We rocked it out for about two hours and I really wanted to get home to watch the new season of Jersey Shore. Who wouldn't want to do that?? Before we left though, I wanted him to show me how to operate the spin bikes. I want to take a spinning class and I have anxieties about making a fool out of myself in front of people I don't know. Then I would be forced to never leave my house and I would end up on some TLC show for sure.

We go back to the spin room and Mike just basically was like, "Wallah!! These are spin bikes!!"  Well, no shit. I am familiar with the biking industry, I have a very nice bike and I bought a very expensive trainer that I put said bike in and ride in my house. I figured the spin class would make me more motivated to spin but I wasn't quite sure of the mechanics of the spin bike vs a road bike. So, I got on it and started pedaling. Didn't seem too tough. Felt like a normal bike. The resistance on it was set pretty high, which was fine due to my very healthy leg build from riding anyway. :-)  I decide I'm going to go balls out. Like, really hard. I'm pedaling the paint off that shit and when my legs got tired I stopped. Here is what I failed to mention to you; my feet were strapped to the pedals. I didn't know that spin bikes don't "coast" like normal bikes do when you stop pedaling. Therefore, when I stopped pedaling, the pedals kept going, I wasn't prepared for that. They took my feet with them and I heard and felt a loud SNAP!

I ripped my feet out from the glue that was the straps and Mike said , "Oh my God! Are you okay?"  I very politely told him to zip it, and to not talk to me for a minute because both my feet were ripped off my ankles and still in the pedals. I think it took me 2 minutes to get off the bike, where I then acted like I was okay and hobbled into the locker room. There were a bunch of women in there so I excused myself to the sauna where I cried for a few minutes. Went and changed my clothes and went to my car. I called my best friend, told her what I did. She insisted I call Coleman to come get me, but I insisted on driving home. The brake pedal was murder.

 

That is what my ankle looks like today. Well remember in my previous blog where I mentioned my high school injury from soccer? Well, my doc thinks I may have re-injured it. So, I get to have an MRI next week!!! Now, I am on percocet and in a boot.

See Dave. If you would have went to the gym with me, than this would have never happened. I blame you for this!!!!!