Where To, Bud?

I couldn't get all I wanted to write on the previous entry, hence this Part II. ================================================ ================================================ A Word Or Two About Medicare And Drug Costs Or Life In The Gap If you're on Medicare or have a loved one who is, you'll know what I mean. For those of you who don't here's quick and dirty explanation. Medicare allows your Part D insurance carrier to pay only a set amount (about $1900.00) a year for drug costs. When you reach that limit, you'll be in "the gap" or "the donut hole" as it is more popularly known. You'll know it right away because (for 2012), you will pay 86% and your chosen Part D carrier will pay 14% of your drug bill. This is for generic drugs only. Sometimes brand-name manufacturers will offer a discount, but until you're out of the hole (when you reach about $4300.00 or the first of the following year) you'll suffer finan...

Hello everyone and apologies for not having posted in a few months. Other things have occupied me, not the least of which is Dondra , who has had 2 hospital admissions for atrial fibrillation (rapid , irregular heartbeat). It was a scary time for us, because she needed to convert to a normal rhythm which sometimes happens on its own, but when it doesn't, off we go to the ER. She was put on an IV and after about an hour and a half she finally converted with the medicine they gave her. She's done this both times, but had the meds not worked, then shocking the heart would have been necessary. Right now all is well and she's feeling good. She's on a new medication which we hope will control the a-fib. =============================================== =============================================== WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON WITH ME Let's go from the latest to the earliest....... A month ago I had another sleep study. We did this because I have sleep apnea...

I'm still "kickin'", so don't forget about me. Got lots to tell y'all and I'll get it posted before the weekend, promise. Bill

Don't worry. I'm not giving you a heads up, and wouldn't anyway. No. That isn't what this entry is about. What it is  about is my wondering, "How many of us diagnosed with Alzheimer's Dementia kill ourselves because of it?" The "short and dirty" answer is, no one knows. No one can  know for sure, because depression   is so prevalent in many of the diagnosed cases. Especially with those of us diagnosed as "Young Onset Alzheimer's" patients. Consider the following true story: A friend of mine, with whom I once worked in broadcasting, had a Grandmother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's by her doctor, went home and promptly blew her brains out with a double barrel shotgun. How can you attribute that to Alzheimer's and be sure? The answer is, you can't.. You can't because there's no way to blame it. Not even if one leaves a "suicide note". You can say, "Well, he or she was so depressed beca...

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dear friend and teammate Marty Neese, who passed yesterday evening at a local hospital due to complications with his heart and lungs. Team C2CR2C, consisting of myself, Dondra, Becky Purkiss and BillDL, will miss Marty, his enthusiasm and his love for people and animals. Each member of our cycling team played a very important part in making the two rides (our first was in 2008) a success, but we honestly could not have done it without Marty, and we spoke of this many times after the cross country rides from Texas to Georgia to benefit Humane Societies as well as the Spay, Neuter and Adopt project. Our friend had not had an easy time of it, having lost his 9 year old son, Joshua to Muscular Dystrophy  and his daughter Brandie to Ovarian Cancer at age 28 in 2010. Dondra and I, as well as our son Jason and daughter in law Susan and our grandson Julian considered him not only a friend and team member but a part of our family a...