Thursday, January 19, 2017

An end in sight

Howdy do?

It's been a productive week on the leg front.  Tuesday I had what is potentially my last PT appointment.  I get this feeling she knows I haven't been doing my calf raises because she's asked me about them the past two times I've gone.  The chiro and I agreed doing those prior to the trip was not a good idea.  I didn't do PT the first few days I got back since I was taking care of the Mr and started up the first day of the new year.  It wasn't feasible for me to go ovaries out after about 2 weeks off of PT, so I did light calf raises a few days a week before going back Tuesday but obviously it wasn't enough.  She had me do them for her and I thought I busted them out pretty good but she's like "you came down too quickly, control it on the way down."  

Damn.

So now my progression on those is to do them hanging off the edge of a step which will also stretch those yank points.  My next progression on the clam shells is to do them in a full side plank the entire time.  Yay.  I haven't progressed my bridges yet because I don't feel like with all of the other exercises I'm trying to build up to that my legs can take it quite yet.  Maybe a week or two.  Lord knows she'll be checking on my next...and last...appointment.  The insurance company has made it clear they'll cover two more and that's it.  The word "cover" is rather laughable though considering they're out of network so each visit cost me anywhere from $68 - $108 depending on what was done to me that session.  All of my visits for 2016 totaled just under $1100 with "coverage."  I will miss my therapist though.  She's tiny but tough and there's no way my amazing time in Vermont would've happened without her.

Yesterday was the first time I saw the chiro since we got back.  He asked how the trip went and how my legs felt.  He said they felt much less "angry", though tight from the paces she put me through the day before.  He released some of the knots in my legs front and back and then ultrasounded the bad one.  He did say using the term "the bad one" will no longer apply though which is good news.  He's moved my visits to bi-weekly for now but I got the impression I may not need them much longer.

I gave myself the night off from heavy PT since I was pretty sore from the dead lifts and other exercises she gave me the day before.  We did Walk Away the Pounds but that first mile of three was long and excruciating.  So on mute Leslie went and on came a playlist with some Bruno Mars, Gwen Stefani, The 1975 and Empire of the Sun to get us through the rest of the workout.  

Then it was time for dinner...


Big salad with black beans, corn, red peppers, walnuts and salmon.

We caught up on the DVR which included Timeless, Bull and This is Us.  Is there ever an episode of This is Us that doesn't make me sob?  The Mr was even close and he's not a crier.  It was the whole um, let's see, how do I not spoil this.  The life event the doctor was dealing with in his own life.  Of course the Mr thought about if he had to go through the same, so did I so Puffs Plus commenced.

What exercise instructors do you occasionally mute?  Do you have insurance with laughable coverage despite paying a buttload of money for premiums?

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5 comments:

  1. I am so glad the end is in sight for you. It was wonderful to see you able to enjoy our trip and I know it kind of threw you when we got back and some of the tightness returned but the muscles you are working are the right ones and you have tools for life now that will help maintain a new level of protection against issues like that. I am proud of and for you!

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  2. What wonderful news that you're seeing real improvement with your legs and have great tools going forward to keep your therapy going, even if it's at home. I could not be happier for you!! What a long journey it's been for you and how much you've learned about your body. Congrats on working your butt off (or legs off as it were) to get to this point!

    I know all about crappy insurance coverage. My therapy is at about $2100 right now because they've only paid ONE portion of ONE bill since September - and that was only $75. It's just sickening. Pfft.

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  3. Your comments on your health care costs just re-enforce my happiness that I don't have to worry about that in Canada. PT, massage, chiro, and other similar health treatments outside of the hospital are not covered by Canada's universal healthcare plan, but they still seem to be lower cost. Through my employer I pay for Blue Cross, which covers 80% of the cost of treatment, I don't need a doctor's referral to visit, and I can pick any provider I want.

    I am back in PT now for my neck and shoulder, where she is using a combination of dry needling and laser treatment. An hour long treatment costs $85. I pay $17 out of pocket. So, what you seem to pay out of pocket for an out of network visit is almost what I would pay if I had no coverage at all. Crazy!

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  4. This is Us is one of the best series I have seen in a long time. Surprises on every single episode!

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  5. The Doctor grieving over his wife really got to me. I was in tears. That is one of the many things in this show that hits home for me. I think there's something in this show that we all can relate to, I know Carla Birnberg (MizFit) watches with her adoptive daughter and finds it relateable for that reason. I know we can all relate to Kate's weight battle, I really look forward to following her journey (did you see the show has been renewed for TWO years already?), and hope to watch her lose weight. She is close to that age (40) that I was when the weight really started affecting my health, so hopefully she can get it under control before that happens for her.

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