Why is it that man (woman, person) will always sink to the lowest common denominator when they think no one is looking? The obvious answer is sin nature, but even culturally, I am still amazed when people strive for mediocrity rather than excellence. We should want to do a good job at all times, not just when we think someone is watching us. Don't people want to take pride in what they do anymore?
I am watching the destruction of health care "as we know it" in Pittsburgh. This latest hospital downsizing/closing is a marker of changes in the industry, even ahead of "Obama-care." Or perhaps it is the beginning stages of it. As a nurse, it concerns me. As a health care consumer, it terrifies me. Choice is being eliminated for both consumer and health care provider. As a nurse, if I want to work in acute care, I have basically 2 hospitals in the city that just happen to have a lot of geographical points. One hospital is a behemoth and the other is a crumbling mess. One is known for paying poorly, and the other is known for being a financial mess. Neither one is serving the people of the city and its suburbs. As a consumer of health care, I am told where I can go and who I can see by some bureaucrats at the insurance company. Wealthy. Bureaucrats. Who probably have never even been to Pittsburgh and don't have a clue about what I want or need. And now these hospitals are the next level in the dictatorial ladder, telling me which hospital in their "system" I have to go to based on my particular health concern. Heart problems? Hospital #1. Having a baby or gyne issue? Hospital #2. Live in the suburb and have to go to the ER? Whoops, we closed hospital #3's ER and Hospital #2's ER is closing soon.....
I'd better go to bed before I get too riled up.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Contact Lenses
It's 2010 and why is this still such a problem???? I've been wearing contact lenses since 1973, when soft lenses had to be boiled and they turned yellow after a couple of months due to enzyme build up. I've worn soft lenses, hard lenses, and gas-permeable lenses. I've worn glasses since first grade and while technology has made glasses thinner and less disfiguring, they're a pain to wear.
I'm nearsighted- my prescription in glasses is -11.75 and in contacts, -10.50. Until very recently, soft lenses above -10.00 didn't exist, and in those higher numbers, the lens increments were in halves instead of quarters. While I agree that there are fewer of us in those lofty numbers, why are we not afforded the ability to correct in quarterly increments like our less visually-challenged friends?
The best thing that happened for me was the contact lens that you can sleep in. Waking up and being able to see without fumbling for glasses is phenomenal. Unfortunately, they only came in a -10.00 and I walked around feeling as if I was missing something, because I was under-corrected. Dilemma- do I get glasses to go over top of the contacts, to give me sharper vision for driving and other long-distance activities? Or do I just live with it?
At my last eye doc visit, to my great joy, I discovered a contact lens in my prescription of -10.50. I can sleep in these, too, but they have to come out once a week. A small price, I thought, until.....I put them on and tried to read. NOW I need reading glasses and computer glasses. But I can see! Mostly. With this season's high pollen count, I can see just fine, through the haze of eye gunk produced by the allergies. I have never had to clean off my lenses this much in my life.
Last week I tried wearing -10.00s again, just to see if I was happier with the new system and its drawbacks. Neither system is perfect, but I guess I prefer being able to see long-distance, even if it means I need to wear reading glasses.
It's too bad that LASIK surgery cannot be done at my prescription level. My eye doc told me that the best option for people like me is the intra-ocular lens implant that is used after cataract surgery, but that's not FDA approved for those of us with soda-bottle bottom glasses.
I'm nearsighted- my prescription in glasses is -11.75 and in contacts, -10.50. Until very recently, soft lenses above -10.00 didn't exist, and in those higher numbers, the lens increments were in halves instead of quarters. While I agree that there are fewer of us in those lofty numbers, why are we not afforded the ability to correct in quarterly increments like our less visually-challenged friends?
The best thing that happened for me was the contact lens that you can sleep in. Waking up and being able to see without fumbling for glasses is phenomenal. Unfortunately, they only came in a -10.00 and I walked around feeling as if I was missing something, because I was under-corrected. Dilemma- do I get glasses to go over top of the contacts, to give me sharper vision for driving and other long-distance activities? Or do I just live with it?
At my last eye doc visit, to my great joy, I discovered a contact lens in my prescription of -10.50. I can sleep in these, too, but they have to come out once a week. A small price, I thought, until.....I put them on and tried to read. NOW I need reading glasses and computer glasses. But I can see! Mostly. With this season's high pollen count, I can see just fine, through the haze of eye gunk produced by the allergies. I have never had to clean off my lenses this much in my life.
Last week I tried wearing -10.00s again, just to see if I was happier with the new system and its drawbacks. Neither system is perfect, but I guess I prefer being able to see long-distance, even if it means I need to wear reading glasses.
It's too bad that LASIK surgery cannot be done at my prescription level. My eye doc told me that the best option for people like me is the intra-ocular lens implant that is used after cataract surgery, but that's not FDA approved for those of us with soda-bottle bottom glasses.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Just an intro.
Why Momma Donna? I collect children, mostly adult children, who need some extra mom love. I have lots of "adopted" young adult kids- my own kids, plus some special ones like Becky, Chrissy, Holly N, Hannah, Sarah W, and another Becky. Then there are my own kids, Daniel and Caitie.
I am a nurturer, so it's no surprise that I'm a nurse. And the best place for a nurturing nurse who happens to be 51 years old, slowing down, but still wants to be involved, is to work in long-term care. I have a management/clinical position in a nursing home that lets me do a lot of loving without injuring my already bashed up spine.
I nurture my hubby (I do NOT mother him). He is the most important human in my world. He is easy to please and it brings me great joy to please him. If I do something that hurts or bothers him, I beat myself up over it for days.
I nurture 3 very different cats. The only thing they share is complete dislike of each other, which makes me sad, because I got multiple cats to keep each other company. Mia, our first kitten, was a sweet and playful kitty until....Nicky, an adult cat, came into the picture. Mia became aloof and stand-offish and remains that wasy to this day. Nicky can only be described as ungainly, adorable, and yet annoying. Sydney is the eternal kitten and she was the last kitten to leave the WPHS to become a member of the household. She's around 6 years old but acts a lot like a kitten, which is especially endearing because she is as fat as a tea cozy and as graceful as someone whose feet are stuck in buckets.
Lots of folks blog and I like to write, so I'll try this out for awhile, and see what comes of it. Welcome, to anyone who stumbles here and decides to follow the life of an overweight, overworked and yet overloved Mamma.
I am a nurturer, so it's no surprise that I'm a nurse. And the best place for a nurturing nurse who happens to be 51 years old, slowing down, but still wants to be involved, is to work in long-term care. I have a management/clinical position in a nursing home that lets me do a lot of loving without injuring my already bashed up spine.
I nurture my hubby (I do NOT mother him). He is the most important human in my world. He is easy to please and it brings me great joy to please him. If I do something that hurts or bothers him, I beat myself up over it for days.
I nurture 3 very different cats. The only thing they share is complete dislike of each other, which makes me sad, because I got multiple cats to keep each other company. Mia, our first kitten, was a sweet and playful kitty until....Nicky, an adult cat, came into the picture. Mia became aloof and stand-offish and remains that wasy to this day. Nicky can only be described as ungainly, adorable, and yet annoying. Sydney is the eternal kitten and she was the last kitten to leave the WPHS to become a member of the household. She's around 6 years old but acts a lot like a kitten, which is especially endearing because she is as fat as a tea cozy and as graceful as someone whose feet are stuck in buckets.
Lots of folks blog and I like to write, so I'll try this out for awhile, and see what comes of it. Welcome, to anyone who stumbles here and decides to follow the life of an overweight, overworked and yet overloved Mamma.
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