I have a lot of catching up to do and will do so. But before I even begin to start responding to comments, I want to thank all you out there in the Blogosfamily for your kind words, encouraging words, prayerful words, hopeful words.
I thank you and my mother thanks you. it encouraged us both that so many people showed infinite kindness to me and to her – a stranger to you all but not a stranger in your hearts.
God bless you all.
kanzen sakura 
Aug 21, 2014 @ 10:58:17
❤
Aug 21, 2014 @ 11:05:27
❤ ❤ ❤
Aug 21, 2014 @ 11:27:19
Glad you’re back! And glad your Mom felt the prayers and encouragement so important for healing. As for me, I think I only added one chapter to SURREAL during your absence, as I had to take a bit of an unplanned hiatus myself. So it won’t be difficult to catch up with me (-:
Aug 21, 2014 @ 12:59:37
welcome back! ❤
Aug 21, 2014 @ 15:11:19
And God bless you and your lovely mother!! 🙂 I have been praying for you! 🙂 ❤
Aug 21, 2014 @ 20:23:06
Thank you dear heart. Mama was so pleased and happy that people were praying for her. it helped us both. Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 19:11:21 +0000 To: thspencer51@hotmail.com
Aug 21, 2014 @ 16:28:18
What everybody has said, I echo. So glad you and your Mama felt our support. 🙂 ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ and so on and so forth….
Aug 21, 2014 @ 21:04:38
smooches to you and the fur kids
Aug 21, 2014 @ 21:26:08
They smooched you right back – duck the nails! They mean well, but are highly enthusiastic! Love you, Huntie
Aug 21, 2014 @ 21:48:15
Awwww shucks, doggie and kitty nails never bother me. they may scratch but I’d rather have them than not get them.
Aug 21, 2014 @ 22:50:09
Ummm, she says reluctantly, yyyyesss….
Aug 21, 2014 @ 17:50:13
Glad you’re back and your mom is in the path to healing! Blessings. ❤ 🙂
Aug 21, 2014 @ 21:04:18
Thank you! 🙂
Aug 21, 2014 @ 20:11:34
You and your mom has been in my thoughts and prayers.
Aug 21, 2014 @ 20:20:31
Thank you! Those prayers got both of us through a very trying and hard time. I told her how so many people were praying and sending positive thoughts and it gave her much encouragement, as well as me. Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:11:35 +0000 To: thspencer51@hotmail.com
Aug 22, 2014 @ 12:55:21
I am glad that the prayers and positive thoughts helped you both. 🙂
Aug 21, 2014 @ 20:50:49
❤
Aug 21, 2014 @ 21:04:01
❤ 🙂 ❤
Aug 21, 2014 @ 21:30:35
hugs and kisses. Blessings.
Aug 23, 2014 @ 10:23:09
Welcome back, my friend. Hope you are doing well…and cooking and dancing up a happy storm! xxo
Aug 24, 2014 @ 15:00:45
Kanzen – Hi there – I’m searching for a question Huntie alerted me to that you asked of me. I feel terrible that I didn’t see it. Please feel free to contact me at sheri@sheridegrom.com and I’ll answer to the best of my ability. Please feel free to contact me at any time. I’m headed back to Huntie’s blog now to see if I might locate the question there. Sheri
Aug 24, 2014 @ 19:39:10
Hi Sheri….I was asking about those “replacement” or “instead of” policies instead of Medicare. Mama in Virginia, had an excellent instead of with Humana. When she moved to florida, apparently, they offer different policies. She is elderly and while she is still sharp, people blasting her with information confuses her. She was urged to get a Humana policy that would be no cost to her but they were not clear about the extremely high deductibles and low copays. She quickly went into debt with medical fees, visits to hospital, etct. When she was placed in the rehab facility, to strengthen her so she could return home (and give her physical therapy which included teaching her a better way to swallow as she has a curved esophagus and frequently choked and sometimes aspirated) Humana only paid half of the fees for the therapy and about half of the rehab care. While down there, I got it together to switch her from Humana to regular Medicare and start the process for Medicaid eligibility. I worked for Medicaid for about 12 years and so knew what to do and the ins and outs. They will pay what has accumulated in the medical bills and between Care and Caid, get her next door into assisted living as long as she needs it. I guess my question is, how can people be assured about whether an instead of, or Medicare is best? What sort of tips do people need to know or be aware of when choosing. Warning people to be sure and to not just plan for retirement, but to plan for the next 20 or years of their and more serious health issues. I was really angry about Humana regarding my mother and they put me through all kinds of hoops about switching from Humana to Medicare. I was forceful and assertive with them and told them to stop the sales spiel. that mother wanted to change and the rehab social worker would get hold of them to confirm and mama would confirm via phone the switch. They wanted to know how they could know it was my mother. I told them because unlike them, I didn’t prey on the elderly and I was honest and that in their fine print, they stipulated the policy holder could agree to a switch by verifying certain information and my mother wanted to assert that right, NOW or I was calling the Florida State Corporation commission to report their misleading practices. I finally got them to talk to her and she verified the information they kept repeating and asking several times over, hoping we would give up. I have a feeling this will happen to more people in our generation. It just seems to be something folks need to be aware of. And I was wondering if you had come across similar instances and what could be done/looked at so an individual gets the health care they need. I thank you very much for wanting to take your time to answer my concerns. I also thank you for your incredibly kind and encouraging comments about my cancer surviving post. Sincerely, Toni Spencer Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 19:00:46 +0000 To: thspencer51@hotmail.com
Aug 25, 2014 @ 10:51:44
Toni – I’ll go on record at the beginning and say I’ve never seen a good policy from Humana. The ‘Instead Of’ policies you speak of could possibly turn out to be ‘Instead of Any Insurance At All.’ The laws governing Medicare are specific about the dates an individual must be signed up or when you do sign up, there’s a large penalty to face.
I’m headed to your e-mail in a bit to continue this conversation. Unfortunately too many of today’s elderly accept something when the word free is attached and someone on the other end of the telephone is trying to sign them up for something. It’s not just insurance – but then you and I both know that. Sheri