I need your help for my daughter

Thank you to each and every one of you who poured out your generosity on my family. Elisabeth has enough for her medicine this month, as well as some to cover the bill for her checkup next week to adjust her meds. The generosity of my friends, family, and just plain old-fashioned strangers will never cease to amaze me. And thank you from my little girl, who doesn't have to go without her medicine, thanks to you! 

I'm not one to ask for help often; I believe firmly in doing what needs to be done, and taking care of your family.

But sometimes, pride has to take a back seat to necessity.

On June 1, Elisabeth's Medicaid expired. Because I had the audacity to make $200 extra a month, we exceeded the income limit for the children over 6 medicaid program. By $1. Because of this, Elisabeth was summarily booted from the Medicaid program, and left uninsured. We can still get her on Peachcare for Kids (a state run program for uninsured children) but that's going to take time... up to 30 days. The earliest we could conceivably have coverage for her is July 1.

The problem? Her much-needed prescription for Concerta, an ADHD medication that keeps her sane, happy, and able to focus, costs $168 out of pocket. And she has one left.

That is a LOT of money, and frankly? We don't have it. We have the cash, but if we spend it, that leaves us with no money for food for the rest of the month. We won't talk about things like gas, etc.

Now comes the part where I swallow my pride, and ask for help.

I'm not asking for much, just what you're willing to spare. Every dime will go to Elisabeth's medication. This should be the only time I need to ask for help, because hopefully by the time her next prescription is up for refill, she'll be on the state healthcare plan, and we won't have to worry about it. Even if she isn't, I will be able to plan for it out of my next paycheck. We were given no notice of this... our review was on the 25th. I received her rejection letter telling us that she would no longer qualify on the 2nd. Copays I can handle. Out-of-pocket, with no warning, I can't.

If you're willing to help my little girl, then please, consider doing so. Even $1, or $5, or $10 will help. In the unlikely event that we receive more than we need, all money will be used to pay the doctor's visit next week (where she has a checkup to change her existing evening med from Adderall to something that doesn't make her sick.)

I have a Paypal account. If you're willing, send a paypal payment to hmdudley@gmail.com - and if you're willing to include an address, Elisabeth and I will send you a thank you card for any donation over $10, customized by her. She makes adorable cards, as anyone who received a Christmas card from us this year knows!

And thank you, either way. Whether you do or don't, we love you, and thank you for the time you took to read this.

Couch to 5k, Week 1, Run 2

I DID IT! I did it, I did it, I did it, I did it!

It wasn't quite the traditional way; I ended up having to stop with 3 runs to go to talk to a neighbor (this is why I don't like to run on my street) but it actually worked out well. I was about to give up, because my ankle was screaming, but while I talked to her (for about ten minutes) I stretched and ran in place... the ankle stopped hurting, and I finished my last three runs!

I exercised for 45 minutes total (including the neighbor chat) and ran/walked for 1.9 miles! (That's according to my pedometer, the accuracy of which I doubt.

I drank plenty of water, and stretched afterwards after my cooldown walk, in the house.

I feel fantastic. I grinned like a total moron during my last run.

It was SO much easier. After two runs the first day, I was already panting and breathing so heavily, but this time, I hit run three, and again with the idiot grinning.

I feel so proud of myself. I can do this (and kept telling myself that during my runs. I had to coax myself to do this, a lot.)

Not Writing, but Exercising!

I know this isn't writing related, but I felt the need to include it anyway. I mean, any update is better than none, right? I'll apologize in advance for the length of this update... it's actually two updates in one, lifted more or less straight from Google+.

I've embarked on the wild world of running. The UK NHS has a program called Couch to 5k... and I figured it was PERFECT for me.


My first steps into the world of fitness were abortive, but not for the reasons you think. I was all set yesterday morning, had my mp3 player loaded with my NHS couch to 5k podcasts. Got up, got Elisabeth ready to school, and discovered the gate had been left open, and our newest dog, Ozzy, was gone. So I spent half the time I should have been walking/jogging riding around. I gave up riding around in the car, and used a little dog logic about his past escapes and what I know of the neighborhood. I drove over to the next neighborhood (where there's an empty lot connecting it to ours that's infested with feral cats) and decided to walk there, calling Ozzy occasionally.

I got about 4 minutes into the 20 minute routine, when something bumped into my leg, and nearly scared the shit out of me...

...it was Ozzy. Muddy, shaking, scared, and happy as hell to see me. I put his collar and leash on, and walked for a few more minutes, but by that time I was too giddy and tired to continue walking, so I brought Ozzy home (muddying the hell out of my car's passenger seat in the process) to his worried Papa. By that time, it was getting too hot to be outside.

So it was a good and bad morning. Bad, because I didn't even get halfway through the first day's run, good because I found my dog, whom I was certain had hauled ass halfway to Atlanta and would have to be picked up by the pound to be found.

Stupid dog. I'm glad he's home, even if he spoiled my run. (And I did get 7 minutes of exercise in... that's 7 minutes more than I got the day before!)

After yesterday's abortive attempt, I decided to go ahead and start again today. Today went much better; although I did make a couple of mistakes. My first mistake was not properly stretching; I really started to feel it about halfway through. My second was forgetting my water bottle... I was REALLY parched.

I did good though, I got through 15 minutes of the 20 minute workout. I would have done more, but my ankle started to flare up (I had a severe sprain/broken foot bone a couple years ago that still bothers me) and I had to stop. It actually hurt so much by the time I got home that I had trouble driving.

But, I decided to join my neighbor who was walking to cool down, because I was still overheating and breathing heavily. We walked at an old lady's pace for a while, and I felt much, much better. I've only got a distant ache in my ankle now, and it didn't swell up, in the end. I'm probably going to take a break tomorrow, let it recover, and run again thursday, although I may walk tomorrow. I haven't decided.

Total exercise? about 6 minutes of running (60 second intervals) and 38 minutes of walking. 2754 steps on my pedometer, roughly a mile and a half total.

I'm very pleased with this.

Places I can feel the burn: My ass (woohoo!) calves, and surprisingly, my arms. I know a little bit about running/walking, and know about moving those arms. Once I get into running to where I'm not having as much trouble keeping up with the full routine, I'm going to get some arm weights.

Lessons learned: Stretch, you idiot! Don't forget your water! Don't forget to do a cool down walk. I knew that last one, but I wanted to reiterate it to myself so I don't forget.

I'm probably going to repeat week 1 until I can do the whole 20 minutes, whereas normally you'd do three week 1 sessions before moving to week 2. I want to do this right, so I don't give up.

Spanish Engrish

On the recommendation of a friend, I went and picked up some real Mexican hot chocolate... more specifically, handmade salvadoran chocolate tablets.

The short of it: milk, chocolate, and a cinnamon stick... boil and serve.

That's not the fun part. The best part were the directions. This is a direct transcription:

1) Dissolve one tablet of Salvadoran chocolate in two cups of milk or water.
2) Cook moderate fire. Constantly revolve.
3) Boil for one minute and retire of fire.
4) Serve hot

How awesome is that. You couldn't make this up if you tried.

Spanish Engrish

On the recommendation of a friend, I went and picked up some real Mexican hot chocolate... more specifically, handmade salvadoran chocolate tablets.

The short of it: milk, chocolate, and a cinnamon stick... boil and serve.

That's not the fun part. The best part were the directions. This is a direct transcription:

1) Dissolve one tablet of Salvadoran chocolate in two cups of milk or water.
2) Cook moderate fire. Constantly revolve.
3) Boil for one minute and retire of fire.
4) Serve hot

How awesome is that. You couldn't make this up if you tried.

Of sprained ankles and Trick or Treating

Yesterday started great. We went down to Cordele, GA to ride Thomas the Tank Engine (the real one.. full sized passenger train, not just the dippy little thing at Six Flags).

It was an absolute blast, although my husband almost had a seizure and the staff freaked and called the ambulance. It was more embarrassing than anything.

We got home, carved pumpkins, went trick or treating. All went well, until we left the last house, and started walking to the car to go to the next neighborhood. I put Elisabeth on my back, and lo and behold, a pothole grabbed my leg. I went down, candy and Elisabeth went everywhere and I started hollering... fortuitously, I fell down in front of a freakin' golf cart. They helped me over, and rode me down to my car, and Nathan came to get me and take me to the ER.

Four hours later, I've got a really bad sprain, (yes, crutches) I can't walk, can't do much but sit around.

Ah well. Necessity is the mother of invention, and it won't be that long and I'll be back on my feet. The good news is, this means I've got lots of ass time for writing and modding the forums. Naturally, I've done neither this morning.

Back to the grind.

Oh, and last night, I did manage to get 200 words in before the painkillers knocked me down.