So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[Edward]

I'm not sure how it's a good deal for me. Instead of paying $200 for a phone and $50/month for service, I'm paying $800 for the exact same phone and $50/month for service. Yes, the former locks you into a 24 month contract, but the penalty for leaving the contract early is paying the additional $600 on the phone or the remainder of your monthly fees, whichever is less. I'm not seeing how paying an additional $600 for exactly the same thing us much of a bargain.

Soundsl ike an odd business plan. Here in the UK, the free or reduced-price phone is nothing of the sort - it's recouped from the contract. I killed the old contrat when the two years had run up (or they'd have carried on charging me at that rate), went sim-only at a vastly cheaper plan-rate for the same service, bought my own phone and saved money. Maybe your provider is gambling more on you spending a lot more on top of the contract price than mine did (and it's once in a blue moon I do spend over the contract).

 

[HudsonHawk]

Soundsl ike an odd business plan. Here in the UK, the free or reduced-price phone is nothing of the sort - it's recouped from the contract. I killed the old contrat when the two years had run up (or they'd have carried on charging me at that rate), went sim-only at a vastly cheaper plan-rate for the same service, bought my own phone and saved money. Maybe your provider is gambling more on you spending a lot more on top of the contract price than mine did (and it's once in a blue moon I do spend over the contract).

It worked the same way here, they recoup the phone discount on the contract, except that they said most people nowadays want a new phone every 8-10 months, so they're simply doing away with the contract and making you pay the entire amount up front. Of course, plan rates didn't change, so it doesn't cost people any less, it just gives them the "peace of mind" that they don't have a contract and can upgrade phones without penalty at any time. They claim this is what customers wanted, and that the vast majority are thrilled with it. I guess I'm just an old Luddite, not needing a new iPhone that often.

On the bright side, I've always had unlimited data (grandfathered from an old plan), but Mrs. Hawk has not. AT&T finally brought back unlimited data along with unlimited minutes and texts, so now we're both on that. Which was good, seeing as she has an iPhone 6, which blisters through data, at least compared to the older models, and I use my phone for data a lot.

 

[MisterCairo]

Beets.

 

[Charmin]

They do make beautiful lymphadema sleeves that actually look like you have a tattooed "sleeve" on your arm. They are gorgeous, and not too much money (about $100). Right now I am in a custom sleeve, though, which is all medical looking. Mainly because I need the glove.

Luckily I have the best physical therapist *in the world* and she sends me to her former workplace to see a fitter for the custom sleeve because there is a grant at that hospital. The fitter has gotten all of my sleeves for free for me from the Komen Foundation grant, which has saved my family over $5,000 in out of pocket expenses over the past two years. My physical therapist also convinced my insurance company to pay for the most expensive lymphadema pump for me ($6,800 of which I paid 10%) rather than making me "fail" 3 lesser pumps ($2 to $3,000 of which I would pay 10% for each) as is their usual policy.



We have this "culture" towards cancer, which I think steams from the fact that even a few decades ago, cancer was a death sentence. Thirty years ago you didn't meet survivors who had been alive for decades. That has improved A LOT. So we haven't had, as a society, time to figure out how to interact with people like myself. (Twenty years ago, my type of breast cancer was a complete death sentence, but improvements in ports which allow larger chemotherapy doses straight to the heart and combined chemotherapy have increased five-year survival odds to about 40%.)

In addition, we have this glorification of cancer by the media- they don't make movies about people living life to the fullest as they die from heart failure or diabetes. And a lot of that glorification pushes the "positive attitudes beat all!" type of thing. That puts a lot of pressure on cancer patients to be "cheery" and "positive."

I will say this- it is up to the cancer survivor to label their own cancer experience. Even if someone is in a sunny mood and chatting about how cancer changed their life for the positive, no one has the right to ever repeat that back to them when they are feeling down. No one- not even another survivor.

I think it is a positive thing that we are TALKING about cancer today, rather than treating it as "the C word" in hushed hushed terms like happened a couple of decades ago. I think it is a lot healthier for survivors and their families. However, we haven't figured out *how* to talk about it; mainly because we have a lot of mixed messages coming at us from all sides.

I know this is an old post, but I came upon it and just had to give another perspective, but before doing so, I completely understand how you feel, I had an infant who was in Kosairs children's hospital for over 3 months at birth, so I hope this isn't taken wrong or turned into an argument. Coming from someone, who I guess is guilty of being the person who feels a lot of empathy for meeting someone who is a cancer survivor or has cancer, for me it's because almost every family member I was ever close to on my mom's side of my family had some type of cancer and it didn't end well. I practically grew up in a hospital visiting family who were sick with cancer (none anything like what your condition seems to be), now this was 20+ years ago and I'm happy to say that our family does boast several survivors including my mom. So a lot of times meeting someone who is suffering with some type of cancer makes me think of all the pain my family went through and I hate that anyone else has to go through it, so it kinda tears me up inside. However, I was raised well enough not to just make comments to someone I don't know about their health situation or body, without at least having a somewhat "normal" back and forth first, and only then if I feel the person is open to talking about it. I definitely wouldn't insinuate it was a gift or any of the other inappropriate responses you and others have gotten.
So anyways, I do have to say that I sincerely hope that you are doing well.

 

[Stearmen]

On the bright side, I've always had unlimited data (grandfathered from an old plan), but Mrs. Hawk has not. AT&T finally brought back unlimited data along with unlimited minutes and texts, so now we're both on that. Which was good, seeing as she has an iPhone 6, which blisters through data, at least compared to the older models, and I use my phone for data a lot.

Thanks for reminding me to call Verizon and mention that AT&T has been offering me unlimited data to switch to them. That's how I got the cheap plan a few years ago. Amazing how they will give you extra stuff just to keep you! Of course, I won't tell them the AT&T plan cost more then my current plan, by quite a bit.

 

[GHT]

Charmin, it's good to know that you have family members who are long time survivors of cancer. The best of health to them and good for you for telling us. Cancer is anything but trivial, however it can be so therapeutic just to talk of the difficulties that cancer patients and families endure. So well done you. I wish your family members a long and healthy life.

 

[swanson_eyes]

Speaking of Sheeplady's quote, she said

I will say this- it is up to the cancer survivor to label their own cancer experience. Even if someone is in a sunny mood and chatting about how cancer changed their life for the positive, no one has the right to ever repeat that back to them when they are feeling down. No one- not even another survivor.

This applies to sufferers of many chronic illnesses. My boss does that to me: tells me why I shouldn't feel the way I do or to act like I'm not in pain because that's how she deals with medical issues (to the point of being chastised by her doctor because she should've been checked into the hospital instead of staying at work--craaaaazzy). I don't care what she does; she's not me. As long as I'm not taking it out on people--which I absolutely do not--I'm doing nothing wrong in feeling however I feel at the moment. If my microexpressions offend people maybe they shouldn't go out in public. I'm not here to decorate anyone's world, retail or not.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Know what really yicks me off? Having to drop everything in the middle of a busy week for an emergency appendectomy.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Know what really yicks me off? Having to drop everything in the middle of a busy week for an emergency appendectomy.

You are in hospital, now?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I went in via the ER right after the matinee yesterday, they operated this morning, and they let me out tonite when I advised them that I have a really crappy insurance company.

The kids are taking care of me at home, and they don't charge me $5,000 a night.

 

[BobHufford]

Lizzie -- hope you heal up soon and I hope the surgical procedure has improved over when I had an emergency appendectomy 20 years ago.

 

[2jakes]

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

I went in via the ER right after the matinee yesterday, they operated this morning, and they let me out tonite ...

A colleague had abdominal pain on a recent Thursday night, had is appendix removed on Friday, and was discharged early Saturday evening, shortly after I visited him in his hospital room. He must have better insurance.

He was off work for two weeks. I visited him at home. He told me that he hadn't felt as bad when he had had a quadruple by-pass about ten years ago. I observed that he wasn't the perky sexagenarian he had been then.

 

[LizzieMaine]

They said I caught mine early -- I noticed I was unnaturally bloated when I went to work yesterday morning and had no appetite, which is unusual for me. It wasn't until I still wasn't hungry and started feeling sharp pains when the matinee let out at three when I decided I'd better get to the ER. I had felt really exhausted over the past weekend and I'm wondering if that might have been an advance sign of it.

I'm feeling OK enough to sit up, which is better than I was last nite, but the pain and the bloating are still there, so I'm thinking I'm going to stay off work the rest of the week. I've given the kids detailed instructions for everything they need to do to keep the place going until I'm back, but I hope it's not going to be longer. I really don't like not working.

I had a surgical procedure involving Female Issues twelve years ago that made this one seem like trimming a hangnail -- that one kept me hospitalized for two weeks, and I was pretty much stir crazy by the time they let me out.

 

[Paisley]

Get well soon. You'll probably rest better at home than at a hospital, anyway.

 

[tonyb]

Dang, Liz, sorry to hear of your difficulty. Having oneself cut upon, even for a "minor" surgical procedure, is an insult to that person's body. And psyche, often.

It can affect a person in ways often not apparent except in retrospect. On reflecting on my own medical history, I note that my inner "wounded animal" came to the fore in the periods immediately following surgeries. The more traumatizing the surgery, the stronger the impulse to curl up in my cave and hibernate.

 

[LizzieMaine]

What traumatizes me is the embarassment of having to be helped out of cars and walked thru stores like I'm 150 years old. We had to stop at the store and get groceries this afternoon on the way home from the hospital, and parked in the "for moms to be" parking space, and when some guy gave me the side-eye, I just stuck out my bloated gut and swanked right past him. Or as swank as one can do while wincing in pain with every step.

 

[dh66]

Bless you Lizzie. I hope you heal up without issue and are back in business soon. My thoughts go out to you.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Stearmen]

I hope you have a speedy recovery Lizzie!

 

[Stearmen]

I went in via the ER right after the matinee yesterday, they operated this morning, and they let me out tonite when I advised them that I have a really crappy insurance company.

The kids are taking care of me at home, and they don't charge me $5,000 a night.

I hear you on the insurance. A friend of mine that I had lunch with today, his wife has been in the hospital for almost two weeks now, she has great insurance! I remember being kicked out when I could barley walk, almost went down the stairs the hard way several times the first couple of days back home.