Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Purses With Power!

Last weekend, my sister, OZL, and I flew to Pennsylvania for our cousin's wedding near Pittsburgh. Since we would be taking an almost three hour flight east, we decided to fly in a day early so that we could drive to Ohio to visit our cousins on the other side of the family. In particular, we wanted to see our cousin and her daughter, who is nicknamed Little Miss.

Little Miss was adopted into our family from Korea and is now five years old. She is a lively, inquisitive, beautiful little girl. I am so very happy to have her in our family and so grateful that we got to spend some time with her. She was very interested in "the baby" and it was really fun (and highly adorable) to watch them play together. 

But Little Miss also faces some challenges, as she has been diagnosed with autism and epilepsy, among other things. Her mom (my cousin) is the ultimate Super Mom. She is constantly battling to get Little Miss the therapies, services, and support that she needs to thrive. She juggles appointments with doctors and specialists and therapists while simultaneously battling the school district to get Little Miss everything she needs in her IEP. She researches and learns everything she can about Little Miss' multiple diagnoses so that she can constantly interact and teach and help Little Miss grow and learn. And somehow my cousin still finds time to blog about her experiences and support the special needs parenting community. (Her blog: Beyond The Dryer Vent).

My cousin also has RA.

On top of everything that she has to do to give Little Miss the best life possible, my cousin also deals with RA herself. Honestly, I don't know how she does it. Moms are totally amazing that way.

Most people probably don't realize that there are actually a lot of moms out there who are dealing with arthritis while also doing a million other things that are necessary to take care of their kids. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States, but more than half of the people who suffer from arthritis are women. The statistic is even higher for RA, as seventy percent of the people with RA are women. But these women, many of them mothers, manage to do amazing things despite their arthritis. 

Many of these women also find resources, support, and community through the Arthritis Foundation, which works tirelessly to towards finding ways to prevent, control, and hopefully cure arthritis and related conditions. Through fundraisers, they support research projects, promote arthritis advocacy, and develop strategies to make arthritis a priority in health care and other areas.

A major fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation is coming up on June 20 in Washington DC. The Second Annual Purses With Power event will be a "Girls Night Out" where attendees can network, socialize, and shop while supporting the Arthritis Foundation and spreading awareness. The evening will feature cocktails and light refreshments, a silent auction, entertainment, music, giveaways, and other fun festivities. If you are in the Metro DC area (or know people who are!) please check it out (or pass along the information!). Help support the amazing women (like my cousin!) who are living with arthritis!

The 2013 Purses With Power Auction & Social
 Thursday, June 20, 2013
6:30 - 9:30
Haworth Showroom, Second Floor
575 7th Street, NW
Washington DC, 20004
Follow @PowerPursesDC on Twitter 

Monday, May 20, 2013

May Articles on Answers.com

We leave for a trip to visit family in California on Friday. We will be visiting our families for OZL's first birthday (?!?!?!?) so I have finished my May articles early!

You can find a complete list of all the articles I have published on Answers.com by clicking here. Below is a list of the new articles I published in the month of May.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

I Don't Even Know Why I Am Surprised

Yesterday morning, while I was feeding OZL breakfast, I decided to call Aetna Specialty Pharmacy to order a refill of my Enbrel. After spending so much time getting things sorted out with them last time, I assumed this would be a quick call. (Can you see where this is going? Foreshadowing!!!!)

It started out pretty well. I picked my way through their menus and eventually got in touch with a human, who proceeded to review all of my information with me. I told him I needed a refill and he said he could have it to me tomorrow. I said great! 

Then he said: that will be $250.

No! No it will not. I already spent an absurd amount of time trying to get enrolled in co-pay assistance and the last person I spoke to assured me that the cost to me would be $0. He put me on hold.

Eventually, he came back and mumbled something about me not being properly enrolled. (Who is in charge of this stuff anyhow?!?!) I asked if he could properly enroll me. He said he could. And so I waited on the phone with him for fifteen minutes or so while OZL screamed and he theoretically "properly" enrolled me this time. 

Eventually he said my Enbrel would arrive tomorrow and it would cost me $0, which was exactly what I wanted to hear!

But then he said next time the co-pay assistance would only cover a percentage of the cost, so it wouldn't be free anymore. What?!? Of course, he was unable to tell me what percentage would be covered or what I would have to pay for my next refill. Awesome.

I don't even know why I am surprised.

Although, to be fair, at least the Enbrel actually arrived.