So I have been behind on my posts since we have moved to Canada. I will work on getting some more updates through the next week or so. My post tonight is to just give people some color on what I have learned about the healthcare system so far here in Canada. I thought it would be interesting to share my first hand experience with learning about how insurance works.
0 Comments
Good morning all! Just thought I would make a post about some recent funny and surprising diabetes experiences with moving and traveling to a new country.
Before I go into it, maybe it would be better to back up a bit. I haven't really ever been too open to others about having diabetes. No, I am not ashamed of it, but more out of the fact that when it comes down to it, I normally just didn't want to have to explain it to people. Yes, it is a pretty personal situation too. Travel: So when TSA asks, "Whoa, is that your phone?" As they are referring to my egg shaped Dexcom, I just kindly replied, "No it is a medical device". As she looks weirdly at me again, I should have just held it up to my ear and said hello. She didn't ask any other questions after that. "Now I'm feelin so fly like a G6, Like a G6, Like a G6, Now I'm feelin so fly Like a G6! Poppin bottles in the ice, like a blizzard, When we drink we do it right gettin slizzard, Sippin sizzurp in my ride, like Three 6!"
So, I got my new Dexcom G4 and I absolutely LOVE IT! Whenever I talk about it my wife always starts singing the lyrics above, but subs out G6 for G4. Kinda because she thought that those were the actual lyrics. Hahah. I think it's hilarious! Welcome from Vancouver Canada! I start my new job tomorrow morning with a "pancake social" with real Canadian maple syrup, followed by Yoga. Yeah I know sounds pretty odd, but there are fourteen other people starting tomorrow at Lululemon that will be in my "training", and that actually does include fitness classes during the week. Pumped about that!
So how did I get here you may ask. It took and still continues to take some serious logistics. As my best friend, always refers to me as the master logistisizer, so I can handle it :) From trying to figure out some new medical devices, Animas Ping and new Decom G4 (post to come), to stockpiling insulin, the determination of everything I need to survive for a month or two depending on when we find permanent housing. Everything else will go into storage up here in BC. The hard part is what can actually go into storage without breaking or spoiling. Obviously ALL the insulin needs to come with on my carry-on. What about the dogs you ask? Yeah they were carry-on as well. So when my doctor told me I was going to be getting my first ever pump in the mail by 2nd Day Air, I was excited to get home to check it out. In all honesty, I just wanted to use my allotted insurance for medical devices before I moved to Canada in case I wanted to eventually try the pump. Five days after my tracking was published, I rushed home from work to meet a nurse to walk through the functions of my pump since it was supposed to be delivered by 3pm. I talked to multiple UPS representatives that assured me my pump would be delivered, but it never showed. My nurse had to leave, so she showed me some basics for the infusion site in the trunk of her car, but not much help.
The following day it arrived. I opened my new Animas Ping and three months worth of supplies! This was all covered by insurance, how crazy! Thousands of dollars! I am so thankful! JANUARYFEBURARYMARCHSo it has been a few too many days since my last post, but I came down with a nasty cold and havent really had the energy for a post. Not to mention my last day of work is this Wednesday, then move to Vancouver Friday, and start my new gig next Monday. Kinda busy and this sickness has been untimely. [So excited too, because I also got my ANIMAS PING insulin pump a couple days ago and have been doing the saline trial (post to come soon)]
That being said, this is just going to be a quick post about being sick. Being sick consists of watching quite a bit of T.V. and when the news came on the other night, I wasn't too surprised to see that this is one of the worst flu season ever. Everyone at work has seemed to be sick this last week. The story was about a healthy 17 year old teen who came down with the flu and ended up passing away from pneumonia. I was blown away. They mentioned a staggering statistic of people that die each year from the flu, but it is usually because of an existing condition that the flu complicates. Of course, first thing I think about when I hear "pre-existing condition" is Diabetes. Doctors always recommend Diabetics get a flu shot. I sometime do and I sometimes dont with no rhyme or reason. I am not sure how I feel about it. Leave a comment below to your experiences with the Flu Shots. Below is my experience with the Flu shot this year. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Make 2013 the best and healthiest year you can! With New Year resolutions upon us, I thought I would write a quick post about carrying around some equipment while working out. I typically don't use the arm band for crossfit, but works really well for running or biking. The Dexcom 7, "the egg" will fit okay in my phone arm band, but looks forward to the new G4 that should fit much better.
In the crossfit photo below (left), you can see my Dexcom leaning up against the wall in the bottom left corner. I was doing burpees in the photo, so it gets in the way in your pocket. Also, something else to think about is sensor placement because it is pretty difficult to do burpees when my sensor is on my stomach. At this point, I was actually wearing it on my my lower back/side. However, lower back/side or stomach are both difficult spots if you are going to use a weight belt. Those are the only places I have tried, but would love to hear how other wear theirs? So last week, I went into the nuclear medicine dept at Kaiser to get a test done to see if I had a condition called Gastroparesis. Yes, I am sure it sounds pretty foreign to most, but it is basically a type of nerve damage somewhat common with Type I diabetes that delays the stomach from emptying. The test lasted four hours! I basically had to eat an egg scramble that was injected with radioactive material, so they could take a two minute x-ray of my stomach every hour for four hours to see how quickly the materials emptied from my stomach into my intestinal track. I hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday and Santa was able to fill your stockings with all your goodies. I also hope those goodies didn't wreak havoc on your blood sugars like it did mine :( I didn't have the best self control the last few days with all the good food and treats! I am going to need to get back in "normal" eating order after cookies and rolls and more rolls and did I mention cookies? You can't be perfect all the time. You need to be able to indulge every once in awhile, right? I had to correct some pretty high, highs that I am not proud of but, back to healthy eating! Speaking of gifts, my wife got me a really cool new toy that made me feel like a kid again :) My niece and nephews were all jealous, hahaa. Also, I got really good news while I was out of town with the family. I will be getting my new Animas Ping pump this week and will start with a saline trial. I haven't used a pump before, but I thought it would be a good option to have and be able to use when needed. I will report on my findings when I get it and see how I like it.
Wow! 2012 has been a crazy year to say the least! All of the count downs have already begun recapping the year. This was probably one of the greatest last years, but 2013 holds a whole new adventure for me and my wonderful new wife. It is official, WE ARE MOVING TO VANCOUVER CANADA! Such a beautiful city! It still has a west coast vibe, everyone was really nice and it has somewhat of beachy feel when we were up there. Almost like a San Diego mixed with a Denver. It doesn't feel like a big city, like San Francisco or Los Angeles, but it still has a ton of great shops and restaurants. Im excited because Whistler is only a couple hours away and there are a couple local ski mountains about 30 mins from the city. Our move will provide lots of great opportunities and give us the ability to experience a new perspective of living outside of the USA. I know, it is just Canada and we will only be an hour from the border, but it is still a new experience. |
BRAM HUTCHINSONCategories
All
|