So I have been tagged in 9 people's notes regarding this one topic ("chain-note") so I decided that I am going to do one and one...and I am going to do it in my blog so I kill a 'few birds with one stone'. So here it goes...and these are in no particular order...
1. My favorite movie ever is Dirty Dancing. I LOVE IT!!! I have probably seen it 20 times or more (all the way through too). When I was younger, I would always try to convince my parents that we needed to go to a family resort just like Baby and her family. And my favorite quote from the movie is, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner" and my favorite song (well, it is actually a tie) "She's like the Wind" and "Overload" (by Zappacosta)...which most people don't know but I really love it! And sadly I can sing every song off the CD from memory and I always have the CD in my car (so sad!).
2. With the help of Tivo, I have the lamest addiction to "reality" TV shows. The Bachelor, ANTM, Jon and Kate + 8, Little People/Big World, Real World, Celeb Rehab/Sober House, The City, The Hills, Project Runway, Top Chef, Kitchen Nightmare, etc. etc. etc....it's pathetic and ridiculous but I just can't stop the addition!
3. I am secretly in love with Simon Baker. The Australian accent, the curly blond hair...it gets me every time. He is sooo cute. Too bad he is married!
4. I have this "creepy" relationship with my doctor...and when I say "creepy", I mean "creepy". When I was younger, I would dread going to the doctor. Now I see one every 2 months and I talk to my PH doc at least 1-2 times a week. To me...that is "creepy". But when you have the dumbest disease ever with no cure, what do you expect? I have 2 Rheumatolgists (Dr. Furst and Dr. Charles,UCLA) , a Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist (Dr. Rajan Saggar), a secondary Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist (Dr. Shapiro/Dr. Ross), a third Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist (Dr. Rajeev Saggar- Rajan's little bro) a Cardiologist (Dr. Kean UCLA), a primary doctor (Dr. Rokhshadfar) and a secondary doctor (Dr. Trihn), a case coordinator (Anne-Marie Harvey) and a transplant coordinator (Stephanie Lackey UCLA). And then there is my team at my Pharmaceutical provider, Accredo (the list just gets longer). The saddest fact is that my medical file is 6.3 inches thick (yes, we actually measured it last time) and someone's sole job at Blue Shield is to work only on my medical case. Her name is Anne-Marie Harvey and she's the best. She probably knows more about me than I do...ha ha ha...
4. I get paid about $363,000 a year at Hampton. Yes, it's true. With my medical benefits and my two 401K plans...I really can't lose my job! I have a life insurance policy, a 401K plan, a great HMO (with specialist access for free--thank you Dr.Saggar and Anne-Marie!), a awesome dental plan, a special insurance that allows me to have a nurse at my home 24/7 when I need one. Its a extra 10 bucks a month. It's well worth it if you have a terminal disease like myself. Especially if my parents still have to work, when I can't and I need assistance when they are gone. Every year I get a account "summary" from Blue Shield. Here is what my bills kind of looked like the past 2-3 years and I only had to pay 2-3K total. You will see why I can't lose my job!
Heart Cath (one done in 2005 and another done 2007)- $52,000
26 days in ICU fourth floor at UCLA- roughly $427,000
2 weeks at UCLA and 2 weeks at Saddleback Hospital for line infections-$86,000
2 Hickman Catheter insertion surgeries at UCLA-$32,000
2 PICC Line inserts-$12,000
2 Hickman Cath removal Surgeries-$17,000
4 years of Remodulin- 2 bottles of Remodulin per week ($10,000) x 4 weeks x 12 months x 4 years=$3,840,000
Saline, syringes, needles, tubing and 2 pumps for Remodulin (each pump is $10,000) x 4 years= $460,000
Pills (Lasix ($14,400) , Revatio ($86,000), Ultram ($51,840), Postassium ($20,160), Digoxin ($24,750))=$197,150
And I haven't even hit the appointment fees for all my docs that Blue Shield pays for...Dr. Saggar alone gets $200 bucks for every 15 minutes. Yikes...
So no, I can't loose my job!
5. I love to travel. The only problem is most of my income goes towards my car, medical co-pays, shopping...that I don't have much dinero for travel. But I started a travel savings account that pulls from my paycheck every time and I have 1k already saved up for my next destination.
6. I get irritated really easily. Slow drivers in the fast lane, people who ask thousands of questions, people who show up late, people who are lazy, people who never work...all irritate the hell out of me. Especially people who live off of the State. Umm...I pay my taxes to pay for your booty...grow up and get a job and also, don't have more kids than you can afford or pay attention to (hello octa-mama and others!!).
7. My mom says that I have this weird habit of getting interested in something (i.e. knitting, wii, a car) and I am obsessed with it for like 2-3 weeks and then I move onto something else. What's strange about that?...lol
8. I got better grades in college than I did in high school. I guess I learned my lesson.
9. I have "only child syndrome". I like to be by myself most of the time. I excel at video games and arcade games. I hate sharing. I rely on nobody. I am extremely independent and I probably will never live with roommates. I will be lucky if I get married....who wants to deal with relationship drama??
10. I have never done any drugs that are illegal or even smoked a cigarette once. I think it is disgusting. Yet I am on the heart and lung transplant list. Figure that.
11. I love water...I used to swim 2-3 times a week. Now I can't even take a "real" shower because I fear that I will get another line infection from water.
12. It is estimated that about 25,000 people in the world have Pulmonary Hypertension. I am one of them. Seeing that there are BILLIONS of people on Earth, that is a very rare disease.
13. Dr. Saggar says that I should have a tubal ligation (permanent birth control) because I can't have kids having PH. The pill increases your chances of having blood clots due to hormones which can be deadly for me. I am hesitant to do it because I still want to believe that eventually they will find a cure in time and I will be able to have my own kids. Surrogacy and private adoption is always on my mind too. I don't think I will be able to do normal adoption because of my status on the transplant list. The real question is whether I will be able to afford all this?? Till then Ayden will have to be my wanna be child. =)
14. I have learned that my parents are right. All the time. Regarding everything. I think it is due to old age...I mean "experience".
15. I love to decorate...numerous people think I have some kind of talent in it and I think I am pretty good at it. I actually got to decorate our office at work and everyone loved it.
16. I love photography. I don't think I am as good at it as people think I am but I still love taking photos. If I am doing something...my camera is no far away.
17. I am a awesome party planner. But I never do it enough! =)
18. The best date I ever went on was a mini weekend vacation to Santa Barbara, where we got lost on the way up, talked the entire way up, he stopped any place I wanted to take a photo and we stayed in a private home on the beach in Pismo and he cooked EVERY meal while we were there. It was awesome.
19. It do better in small groups than larger groups. I hate talking in front of people. Most would never know that though.
20. I am constantly looking for a home to buy. I would like to buy a beat up Joesph Eichler Home in Orange and redo it in a contemporary style that fits the 60's era that the homes were built.
21. I definitely believe that life experiences=your level of maturity.
22. I love my friends and family like no other. They are my ultimate support group.
23. I love my car. It was the most expensive thing I have ever purchased. It might have been extremely expensive but was worth every dime. I saved my butt off for it and I worked Longo Lexus like no other. 10K off the fleet price (my mom retired from Toyota in 1990 so I got her discount on top of what I worked off)...I think I did a great job at lowering it's price!
24. I love dogs. Only small furry ones though. I have had one dog in my life and it lived 19 years. Oh and by the way, I am allergic to cats AND dogs. Figure that.
25. I would rather give than receive. I hate it when I get presents but I love giving others presents. Especially kids. And I always think about the gifts I give. They usually are unique, or homemade, and usually trigger some memory of a good time for the recipient. I always put a lot of time and effort into them. Here's a tip: How it is wrapped is half of the wow factor!
2.
No comments:
Post a Comment