HIPAA

For the past 12 years, the word Hipaa has been tossed around. No one really know what it is or what it stands for, or even why we need it. The acronym means Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act. It first started off as being a way to protect your privacy when it came to health records. Years ago, anyone could call a doctor and ask about your medical conditions. Now that information can only be released to the people or companies you have given permission to have it. That is, providing your doctor's staff does its job. Somehow Hipaa has morphed out into the mainstream world. Every day I receive mail from credit card companies, Verizon, LIPA, my oil company and other unnamed businesses. They all send a four page letter saying how they are protecting my privacy. We all get these letters, but who has really reads them? I bet no one. If all of the places I do business with are protecting my privacy, how are solicitors getting my information to call and annoy me?

The Man Chair

Most retail stores are built around a psychological mind frame. Items are moved around weekly. It may only be a subtle move, but it is done for a reason. It makes you go into different areas looking for an item that you wanted, but did not buy the previous week. I have recently noticed a new addition to most major stores. I call it the "man chair". I first noticed it a few years back in Florida and it is moving up the east coast. It is a line of chairs located at the front of the store right after the cashier. They are designed to keep a man calm and a woman in the store longer. They are located on the outskirts of the store so the man never gets to see exactly where his wife is. This allows for more shopping time without arguing. If the man is kept "docile and content",  his wife will have time to browse and try on items. Now that I think about it, it is almost like a hitching post. Tie up an animal in front until you need it for transportation later on.

Information Is Power

Information is power. Information is also comfort. For the last week, I have been thrust into a world I was not ready for. The world of "Preemies". It was uncharted waters and I was totally unprepared for it. I feel most comfortable when I know the answers to the questions. If I do not, I make it my business to find out. Thanks to the internet, I now have a wealth of preemie knowledge. I know the correct terminology for everything that is being done for my grandson. I know what to expect. I know what are considered normal preemie issues. Having this knowledge sets my mind at ease. He is doing well and moving along just as he should be, but every time a new procedure is done, I need to research it. The internet posting boards are a god send. I read hundreds of posts from others that have been in the same boat we are in and there is such encouragement knowing that things will turn out fine.

Not Broken, Just Bent

I still correspond with some of the people that attend my lectures. They like to keep me updated on how they are progressing in life. Each one of them is special to me, in their own way. They all have a common bond, though. They are people that have gotten off of the track and need to find their way back. Yesterday, I heard a song that Pink sings, titled "Just Give Me A Reason". There was one line in it that hits home when I think of my students. The line reads, "We're not broken, just bent". That line sums up so many people. There is nothing in their lives that is so far gone that cannot be straightened out. Being "just bent" means that in some way you are off kilter and with time can align yourself back to the way you were. Broken means you have given up and feel that you can never heal. One of the new lectures I am writing is titled "Life Through Lyrics" and I will include this song in the booklet. It makes a wonderful point.

Brain Game

I watched a wonderful show last night on the Discovery Channel. It was called The Brain Game. It is going to be a weekly series. Other channels are copying it, in their own format. The premise of the show is to teach us how our brains work. Obviously, not too well. It seems that we have certain instincts that are in place to protect us, since we are really only animals, in a broad sense of the word. Last night's show was on memory and recall. There was a staged crime with about 10 witnesses. No one saw the same thing, although each person swore that they had total recall. No one picked out the correct suspect in a line up and memories faded almost immediately. We were shown how our eyes filter important information and the time lapses between actions and interpretations of those actions. It was mind boggling. I will be watching this show routinely now, as I learned so much last night. One thing I learned was to never be so sure of anything in life, because the mind does play tricks on us.

Starting Three

Today marks the first day of the third year I am writing this blog. I started it on a whim. I just wanted to see if I could write a daily journal of my thoughts for one year. After the year, I was going to print the blogs as a keepsake for my children. My goal was to never miss a day. So far, the only days I missed were when Hurricane Sandy shut down my electric. I  missed only three days then, when I could not find a computer that had an internet signal. I did not know if I would have anything to say every morning, but I guess that life writes itself. My life has changed from the start of this blog. My second son got married and two grandchildren were born. I put my feelings and opinions on paper and when I read back on some of the days, I smile. I will keep writing as long as my fingers can type. I never thought that anyone would read my entries, but so far this blogs has been read over 27,000 times. That alone, makes it worth writing.

Progressing

My little grandson is still in NICU and progressing nicely. I will be visiting him later today. Soon I will be going off to work. He is already at his job. His job is to eat, sleep, breath and grow. He has been doing it well so far. He has the eating, sleeping and breathing skills, but he is still figuring out how to gain weight. As of last night he lost 6 ounces, but that is normal for all babies. He has wonderful co workers (the NICU nurses). I am so grateful for them watching over him 24/7 and attending to his every need. We all take too many things for granted. This week, I relearned what I already knew. Family is number 1.

Dining Al Fresco

I saw the strangest thing this morning. I was walking Shelby in my backyard and noticed a squirrel. He was standing in the center of my yard eating a bagel. He was holding an entire bagel in his two paws nibbling on it. The bagel was almost as tall as he was. I did not want to startle him as it looked like a delicious cinnamon raisin bagel and he seemed to be really enjoying it. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and realized that he needed to move. He grabbed the bagel with his two front teeth and hopped onto the fence. He then walked the distance of my yard and jumped down to the other side. He pulled the bagel next to the house and stood it upright again and resumed eating. I wanted to take a picture, but it all happened so quickly. I guess if you live in New York it doesn't matter if you are a human or an animal. Nothing hits the spot like a good bagel.

Back to Work

I am returning to work after being off since Wednesday. As Murphy's Law would have it, my lead receptionist is off this week, on a cruise. That makes my return doubly hard. Not only will I have to do my job, I will also have to do hers. As I was lying in bed last night, I was trying to come up with a plan of action for the day. I was making a mental list of the order of what I needed to do. Hopefully it will work as planned and I will have last weeks work cleared up by later this morning. If not, oh well. It will get done, when it gets done. One lesson I learned last week was that family is the number one priority. Everything else will be done in due time.

Time Flies

Today I am going to my great niece's first birthday party. I cannot believe how this year has flown. Last year at this time, we were anxiously awaiting the birth of the first great grandchild of the family. Now there are three. Last  year at this time, I did not know that I was going to be a grandmother. Now I have a granddaughter and a grandson. Some events this year were right on time. Some came so unexpectedly. I keep thinking of the saying "Life happens, while we are busy making plans". It is so appropriate. We were so busy planning for the new baby, never realizing that he had plans of his own. Today will be a day of celebration. It marks the first year of one child and the welcoming of another. Two people that will play an important part of my family history.

The Little Things

Sometimes little things make a big difference. My grandson is doing well, holding his own and growing hour by hour. He will be in NICU for a while. The isolette had his last name only on it, with the words "baby boy". After having it read this way for a day, my son spoke to the head nurse. He wanted the sign to say the baby's name, Luca Matteo. To my son, having the words baby boy, did not reflect the importance of this beautiful child. He asked the staff to refer to Luca by his name and not by the words "the baby". They have been doing it that way since and it means the world to my son. Just a little thing that makes a big difference.

A Gift From God

My grandson was born yesterday. He was 9 weeks early. He weighed 3lbs 9 oz and is 16" long. He is perfect. His middle name means "gift from God" and it suits him well. He looks like a porcelain doll. Every feature is beautiful but in a miniature size. We did not get to take the traditional family photo shoot with everyone holding him. The pictures we took are of ecstatic grandparents looking lovingly over a baby with tubes in him. I guess our eyes can play tricks on us, because when I look at him, the tubes disappear and all I see is his handsome face. I held his hand and he opened his eyes for a second and made a noise. He knows he is loved. He was born on the larger end of the spectrum for a 31 week baby so he has a good start. The doctors and nurses are all pleased at his progress. I will still pray every minute of the day that he grows quickly so he can come home soon. It took one second to fall in love with him. Love at first sight.

Common Bond

We are still waiting for the birth of our grandson. My daughter in law is in the hospital and will remain there until he arrives. They baby may come by this afternoon. My mind is racing and empty, at the same time. I will just go through the motions of the day until I hear the doctor say he is born and healthy.

The Waiting Game

My grandson is due on June 15th. His furniture was delivered yesterday. He wants to sleep in it right away. His mom went into labor this morning. Now we wait.........

Who Would Do Such A Thing?

Terrorism struck Boston yesterday. A happy event was turned into a horror show. A child was killed. People were injured and lost limbs. What has this world become? We are not safe in the streets of our own towns. This was an open air event and no matter how diligent the police and government agencies were, you cannot search every person that walks the streets. My family lives in the Boston area and thankfully no one was affected personally. I am sure that one family member was there to help, since he is a firefighter and paramedic in Cambridge, the town where people fled, in order to to find safety. Within a few days we will probably see the "perk walk", as the guilty parties are marched into the police precincts. We will hear about why they did this horrific act. We will hear about the "signs" that no one picked up on. Frankly, I do not care. If someone does a crime that kills, maims or hurts innocent people, there are no excuses. There does not need to be a long drawn out trial. Admit your guilt and rot in jail for the rest of your life. I am for the death penalty. You deserve the fate that you inflict upon others. An eye for an eye.

Stepping into Spring

The second official sign of spring is here. I am wearing shoes without socks. It may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it is to me. I have vivid memories of being in elementary school when winter turned to spring. In those days, girls were forbidden to wear pants to school, so we had to wear stockings with our dresses or skirts. For some reason, my mother was one of the last ones to allow her daughters to start to wear socks when the weather warmed up. I guess she did not want us getting a chill. On the first day that we were allowed to wear knee socks to school, I felt so free. Sometimes we put rubber bands around the top of the socks so they would not fall down. After school, when we took off the socks we had a fire red mark around our upper calf and it itched as the circulation returned to our legs. Even so, it was a great feeling of freedom. We looked towards the future, until they day we would be allowed to wear anklets. That would come in June.

People Change

The Bar Mitzvah last night was fantastic. The place was beautiful and the food was unbelievable. A lot of food stations with wonderful choices. Some combinations I never had before, like a piece of fig paired with a bite of sea bass. It was literally a one  bite dish (an amuse bouche) that fills your mouth with flavor. There was a fire pit outside grilling filet mignon and an overflowing sushi station. I loved seeing the kids running around. The girls look so mature and tall and the boys barely come up to their shoulders. Everyone was running and jumping and that made the adults join in. They played the same games that we played at my son's Bar Mitzvahs. "Coke and Pepsi" and "Bubble Wrap" never go out of style. The room was filled with love and laughter. There were a few awkward moments, when I did not recognize some close cousins. They had either lost their hair or gained weight and they no longer resembled who they used to be. Some of them said that I had turned into my mother. I was expecting that comment since I do resemble her a lot. I am so glad we attended the party as there is nothing better than reminiscing with family.

From Boy To Man

This evening I will be attending my cousin's Bar Mitzvah. He is my third cousin and I think I might have met him once. I feel like I know him from the yearly holiday picture that his parents send. I think of his mother as my little cousin and cannot believe that she has a thirteen year old son. I guess she will feel the same when she sees pictures of my granddaughter. I am looking so forward to this party even though it is a two hour ride to get there. There will be lots of food, loud music and I am hoping for a candy bar. There will also be lots of catching up.

Stress Test

This morning I am going to take a stress test. I had one about 5 years ago and everything was fine. My doctor would like me to have one every three years but I disagree with him. I finally gave in and made the appointment. I can think of a million better things to do this morning. I am having more stress thinking about this test than I actually will have when I have to walk on the treadmill. I am not a big fan of having dye injected into my body, but that is the way he wants the test done. I cannot have any caffeine or dairy products for breakfast, so my day is already starting off annoying. When I walk out of the test, I will coin my sister in law's phrase and say, "TAGL" (take a good look) because I won't be back here for at least five more years.

On The Big Screen

Last night one of my friends was on television. She was the expert psychologist on a Hoarding Buried Alive show. They flew her to Canada last fall to do the show. I remember speaking to her each day while she was filming and hearing how things were going. I met her a few years ago when she was an intern in my office. We became close friends and she looks at me as a mother figure, since her mother passed away a few years ago. Since then, she has become a college professor and is going to open a private practice this summer. She does radio shows and lectures and will do more television episodes. Last night was the first time I saw her as she was treating a patient and was very impressed. It is funny when you know someone in one context and then see them in another. She was so professional and confident, but the first thing I saw this morning as I got up, was a text message asking how she did. I told her she did great and I was so proud of her. Even doctors need encouragement.

Bot Vy

Years ago I hired a nighttime receptionist named Edie. She was in her early thirties and from Poland. She came to America and went to college and then got her master's degree. She was a quick learner with a wonderful work ethic. She stayed with us for 2 years. She left because she did not get a raise. It was not that she was a monetary person. In fact, she would have been happy with a 5 cent raise. To her, not getting a raise meant she was not appreciated and she could not live with that. My boss did not understand that and after the fact, was very sorry. We tried to get her back but it was too late. Every time we showed her something new to do, she always asked "bot vy?" (But Why?) Sometimes we had a good answer, sometimes we did not. Eventually we told her, some things are done "just because" and you don't need to know why.

Determination

I am very impressed with my son. Once he sets his mind to something, he will do it. He is still renovating his house and has one room to go. He decided that a dropped ceiling would be best in this room as there are pipes in the ceiling. In case there would need to be a repair, all he would need to do was take down a ceiling tile instead of ripping open the ceiling. Once he makes the decision to do something, his process begins. You can see the wheels turning in his head as he figures out his strategy. He measures and researches and then draws it out. When I came to his house for dinner last night, he brought us to his washroom. As soon as we walked in, we looked up and saw a beautiful new ceiling and spotlight. It came out perfect. A professional contractor could not have done better. It was flawless. The most important part of the whole project was that he had never done this before. His determination was the driving force.

Super Market Memories

When I moved into my house 30 years ago, one of the highlights of my day was walking to the local Pathmark supermarket. It was four blocks away and was the perfect destinationespecially if you had small children. It filled up the afternoon with a walk in the fresh air and light shopping. I could buy whatever would fit in the carriage basket. Some memories never fade. I still see myself pushing a large carriage with one baby lying in it and the other toddler sitting on the chair attachment. The employees at Pathmark became the people of "the neighborhood", like Mr Rogers used to talk about. Now that I think of it, most people do not remember the show Mr Rogers. My children loved it. He was a nice man that spoke so softly. As my children grew, so did my memories. A typical day would include walking to Pathmark, stopping at the card store for a 5 cent tootsie roll (only if the kids behaved) and walking through the aisles of the store. We would always go to the bakery, and Ella, the bakery lady was always ready with a fresh baked cookie on hand. We would say hello to the meat cutters and deli slicers. We would then check out at Nora's aisle. She was a sweet lady with an Irish brogue. Now, Pathmark is closing within a few weeks. Now the pharmacy is closed. The bank will close soon also. The shelves are emptying. I can no longer go there and see the desolate store. It is like seeing someone slowly dying. I will not go there again. I want to remember how it used to be.

Language Barrier

Last night I ate in a local Chinese restaurant. I have been there many times before and the food is great. Usually the owner takes the order, but this time a waiter took it. My family is very specific in some things that they eat due to dietary restrictions. This is how I placed the order. "I would like cold noodles and sesame sauce. Are there and greens in it, like cucumber or scallions?" The waiter responded "no". I then said, "I would like orange chicken but I see there is a notation that it is made in a spicy sauce. Could it be made with a mild sauce so it is not hot or spicy?". He said "yes". I then said, "I would like a cup of walnuts on the side. Do you have plain dry walnuts without any sugar or honey on them"? He said, "Yes". Ok, so if you are with me so far, I have ordered cold noodles with sesame sauce, no greens. Orange chicken, mild, not hot or spicy. Plain dry walnuts. This is what I got.... cold noodles in sesame sauce smothered in scallions, spicy orange chicken loaded with chili peppers and sugar glazed honey walnuts. I am not a fussy person, so I scraped off the scallions and I ate the walnuts even though they were supposed to be for my daughter in law. The orange chicken had to be sent back to be remade. By the time it came out, we were full, so it will be today's lunch. I think the owner needs to reconsider delegating the job of order taking.

Till We Meet Again

Yesterday was the last session of my winter lecture series in Manhattan. I had many return "patrons", as the library calls them. It was nice to see the familiar faces, week after week. Some of them traveled to a few of the locations if they could not attend the lecture in their neighborhood. When the class was over, I thanked everyone for coming and said I would email them when the new dates were chosen by each branch. Two of the people did not realize that  this was the last session. I could see that they were visibly upset. One asked, "What do I do now? Who do I talk to when I am not sure what I need to do?" I assured them that I would always be available via email and if they wrote I would answer within a day. That seemed to ease their minds. All of the information I told them was really only common sense. When it was said in a confident tone, somehow it was more comforting.

Time Flies

I was very tired last night. I had a long day at work and after dinner I watched television and relaxed. My eyes felt heavy and I kept nodding off during the show. I didn't want to go to sleep to early because when I do, I wake up earlier than I want to. I held off going to sleep until 10pm. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep. After what seemed like 8 hours, I awoke, all recharged and ready for the day. Too bad it was only 11:15pm.

Taken For a Ride

Late yesterday morning, one of my doctors arrived at work. As she walked in, an elderly lady was following her. She told the woman to sit down in the waiting room. We knew that the woman was not a patient, so we asked the doctor who she was. She then explained the situation. It seems that the woman had been at a dialysis center and called a taxi cab to take her to her doctor. After that appointment, she needed to go back to the dialysis center. She asked the cab to take her to the 900 building but instead he dropped her off at 935. When she went to pay him, he said the fare was $10. She handed him a $20 bill. He said he had no change and would need to keep the extra $10 for his tip. The woman was a bit disoriented and left the cab. That is where my doctor found her, wandering in the parking lot. The woman only had $20 and now had no money to go anywhere. My doctor called her a cab, to take her to the 900 building and paid for it out of her own pocket. She then called the other doctor's office and explained the situation. They said that they would put her in a cab, back to the dialysis center after her appointment with them, and they would pay for it. They would then call the dialysis center and ask that they do the same, in order to get her safely home. After that was all arranged, my doctor called the cab company, explained the story and told them that they needed to have their driver go to the dialysis center with the woman's $10, and return it to her. They said they would have him do that. Your guess is as good as mine if he actually did it.

Try, Try, Again

I am still in the process of hiring a front desk receptionist. I had two openings and filled one. I always tell people that it is just as hard to fill a job position as it is to find one. My perfect applicant would be in her 40's and a stay at home mom who just wants to get out of the house for 8 hours a week. Too bad, life is not perfect. I thought I hired someone that could do the job, but she just did not work out. The first sign of things going downhill was when she asked where we kept the magazines. Obviously, she had no idea that there was enough work to fill her entire evening. That is a bad sign. I interviewed a woman yesterday and she seemed nice but, now I am gun shy. I asked her to come in this morning for one hour and sit with me while I explained the job. I want to see if she understands the basics. I can no longer hire someone assuming that they will be able to do the job. If she knows what I am talking about and I can sense that she will catch on, she has the job.

Wasted Words

Last year my daughter in law needed a special medication and went to a local pharmacy. When she picked up the order, she handed them a form that the insurance company said needed to be filled out in order to be reimbursed. The pharmacy said they have a standard form. She said that the insurance company said that this specific form needed to be used, but again, they argued that their standard form was sufficient. She took their form and sent the claim to the insurance. Three months later, the form was returned with a letter stating that the claim needed to be resubmitted with the insurance company's form. I had my daughter in law give me that letter and I went to the pharmacy. I explained that this specific form had to be filled out. The counter woman said that her form was fine. I said it was not fine and they needed to fill out the correct one. She then looked at my form and began to show me where I needed to fill in her information. I informed her that I have been a medical biller for 22 years and that she was the one who needed to do this. I cannot sign the pharmacist's name nor could I decipher the DEA or license number that they had scrawled on their piece of paper. She kept trying to tell me what to fill out. Now, I had to get nasty. I told her that she was wasting more time and words arguing than it would have taken to have the pharmacist fill out the form. She knew I was not going to let up, so she took the form in the back. Within 2 minutes the pharmacist came out, smiling, and gave me the form, properly filled out. There was no need to make a big deal out of this. When will people learn?

This A Way

I am a person that is good with directions. Tell me once and I will remember forever. If I do not know the way, I will look at a map. I never like to be unprepared but sometimes it just happens. The last time I was in Florida, I rented a car that did not come with a GPS. I know my way around the neighborhood but I wanted to go to a new store. I was not exactly sure of where to go so I asked the cashier. I was looking for the new super Walmart. I do not care where you live, everyone knows the way to the a new super Walmart. This is the directions she gave me. "You go out of the parking lot and either go this way or that way". She actually did the pointing motions. I said "which way"? She said "this way or that way". I knew she could be of no more help. I left the store and chose to go "this way". I was right.