HaleMom.Com

Well, for the most part, everything is finally moved and we’re in our new place.  It’s been intense, and I feel bad that I didn’t have much time to write until today.

Now that everything is *sort of* done, I can get back to business as usual, but I still have a lot of organizing and other fun stuff of the sort.

While I was away, I was given an opportunity to do do some research about a company that provides hardware and software for digital mammography and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System.)  I’ve never really heard about such thing before, but I was rather intrigued about what I read.

First of all, PACS is a way to retrieve, store, present, and distribute images that are taken (mostly for medical reasons, especially mammography)

Anyway, I most recently heard about the guidelines rolled out about mammograms and how women over 40 are now only recommended to get them every other year instead of annually.

I was rather shocked by the recommendation because the earlier it is caught, the greater the chance for survival.  It’s good to know that there is at least technology out there that would be able to get a better look into what’s going on in the body with high quality results to provide for better images for diagnosis from doctors.  No matter how often a person is screened for breast cancer, it’s important to know that the images provided from technology from Carestream Health will help in the detection of breast cancer.

If you’re a woman over 40, do you go get a digital mammography screening annually, or do you think the recommendation from the task force is more practical?

~Hale Mom

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, and the opinions above are my own and are in no way influenced by the company above.

Reading this article just made me upset.  I wanted to do the right think for my daughter, being in a high risk group, but with what we know now, the swine flu was not all that pandemic, and not much to worry about.

I feel fooled, and even though my better judgment was to not get the vaccine for my daughter, I still went ahead from the fear of having the risk of my daughter dying from a severe infection of the swine flu, amongst other things.  I found it weird that I would not have to pay for a vaccine that was so crucial to get, but now I understand why.  It’s not that I directly had to pay for the vaccine out of my own pocket, but my government already forked over the money for truck loads of vaccines that are now being disposed of in masses.

It makes me sick that there would be such a scam on a global scale to fear people into getting a vaccine that they didn’t need.  Trusting the body is hard to do, especially when you have doctors and professionals telling  you that you need to do this and need to do that, but where is the urge to get a nutritionally complete and balanced diet to promote a strong immune system to be able to fend of infections without vaccines?

Well, there’s no money in promoting natural ways to avoid getting sick and to avoid many ailments, but there is money is promoting the popping of pills and convincing us that we need injections.  When are we going to stop letting fear drive our decision making, and start fighting back against these big companies that only have the bottom line in mind, and health of the general public is just a laughing point.

Anyway, don’t mind me while I steam about this.  What do you think about the whole situation?  Do you think it was just an elaborate scheme to get millions of people to buy into the idea of getting vaccinated, or was there a legitimate worry and the government was right in forking over millions of dollars to big pharma to keep people from dying?  Do you think there are other worries down the road from the promotion of vaccines that we don’t know about the long term effects of?

Let me know where you stand, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

~Hale Mom

Although my family receives insurance through an employer, it’s also a good idea to examine what is available out in the market, especially  with the fiery debate over health care reform.

I was given an opportunity to take a look at a company, Tonik Health Insurance to discuss their benefits, and examine what it offers as an insurance provider.

Simply by going to their site, I immediately saw that they are only available in six different states at the moment, so for those that do not live in Connecticut, Colorado, California, Nevada, Georgia, or New Hampshire, then you’re out of luck.

I like that this company offers not only offers medical insurance in their coverage, but it also includes dental and vision. Normally, you’d have to find three different companies to find all of the services needed.

Apparently the copay won’t exceed $40, and the copay for generic drugs is $10. Pretty reasonable, but there is a catch: it doesn’t cover maternity or brand name drugs. If these are services that are needed, they will work you though.

I’m not really sure how much the plans cost, but it wouldn’t hurt to contact the company if interested in finding out.

~Hale Mom

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I have in no way have any other relation with Tonik Health besides being asked to discuss what I learned from their site. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by this being a sponsored post.

With the heated debate about health care reform, it goes to show how lucrative the health care system is in the status quo for those that are on the winning end of the equation.  Even in a perfect system, where everyone has some sort of insurance, the rising cost of health care makes coverage a moot point.

It’s almost as though the politicians are trying to distract our attention, so that we don’t realize that the cost to run our health care system will continually rise over the next few years, eventually bankrupting us as a nation.  The path that we’re on frightens me, because as a family that gets our health insurance through an employer, we are still at risk for becoming individually bankrupt simply through inflation in our medical system.

Doctors are incessantly pushing that we try the latest and greatest, even though the latest technologies might not make a difference in overall health, thus pushing up costs.  Insurance companies are also no angels in the system, and have proven to be inefficient.  The cost can be more (on average) if an individual or family simply saved up and paid for services on an as needed basis.

Now, we can shift blame to this or that, but it would be unfair to not take a closer look at the high instances of obesity and smoking that puts an overwhelming strain on the health care system.  Obesity and smoking cause preventable diseases that can be averted by simple changes in lifestyle.

Is it fair to ask others that depend on health insurance to help pay for those that choose to live a lifestyle that brings preventable diseases?

I’m still on the fence about the whole health care debate simply because I don’t think the right issues are being examined and the problem is certainly not being solved.  I’d equate the current health care reform to offering a child that needs open heart surgery, a rub, band-aid, and kiss from mommy…for the mean time, at least.

I know that health care is a heated topic, but I would like to hear where you stand on the debate.  I don’t care if your opinion is different than mine, or is even similar.  I understand that we do need a reform, but I think that costs should be examined more closely than is currently.  Make your case about the health at hand.

~Hale Mom

The day is nearly over, but for today, I’d like to give others an opportunity to toot their own horn.  Give yourself some credit.  Feel free to add your story at any time that you may happen to read this post.  I’d love to hear your story about something you’re proud of that you’ve recently done…or just anything that you’re proud of.  Most moms can understand about all the things that we do for our families, that sometimes, go without recognition and I want to hear what those things are!  Give yourself a pat on the back, and just let us know what makes you AWESOME!  It doesn’t matter about what, just whatever is on your mind, and something you’d like to share.

I’ll start off with my own toot:  I’m the kind of person that doesn’t have the most immaculate house all the time (and not a great decorator either,) so when Thanksgiving dinner is being held at my house; I’ve got some work to do!  Today I’m proud that I’ve been able to get the house looking great, and able to do it all on a budget.  I feel truly grateful for all the friends and family and everything in between in my life;  I love Thanksgiving (this year it’s my ANNIVERSARY too!!!)

Anyway, that’s all for today, it’s been a long day.  Baby bear wasn’t as fussy as I thought she was going to be.  When she got her shot, she literally said “waaaahhh” and that’s about it.  The nurse was talking to her about how cute she was, and she forgot all about the pain.  I think that’s also something to be proud of today too: my daughter!

I look forward to your stories and what makes you so proud of yourself.  Go ahead! Toot your own horn!

~Hale Mom

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