Happy Birthday to Me, and Happy New Year, too!

MY BIRTHDAY!

New Year’s Day was my 48th birthday.  I have to say I felt pretty happy this year!  Hubby still remembers how depressed I was to turn 40, but getting older hasn’t really bothered me much since then.

2019 was a really tough year for me physically.  I had 4 surgeries in the course of a year (3 laser surgeries for narrow angle glaucoma and my shoulder surgery that included 6 different procedures, all done at once).  I also had both strains of flu in the spring, back to back, and a few bladder infections woven into my down time.  I really had a hard time getting well by the end of spring.  And mix in all the physical therapy and various treatments on my shoulder before my surgery, and it was just a year with lots of doctor and urgent care visits for me…probably more than I’ve had in the last decade, all added together!

All that aside, though, I’m ready for a fresh start in 2020!  I am starting off the year with a positive attitude.  After all, God allowed me to see another year in my life, and I celebrated 25 wonderful years of marriage to my very treasured husband, Steve, less than 2 months ago.  We have a stronger relationship than we’ve ever had, and the ordeal of recovering from my shoulder surgery has only served to bring us closer together.

I ordered my favorite cake from Kroger this year…chocolate cake with whipped chocolate frosting, fresh strawberries and gel on top, and sprinkled all over with real chocolate curls.  Yum!  I have had a piece every day since my birthday, and the scales reflect that.   It was worth every calorie, too.

ENJOYING MY BIRTHDAY FREEBIES!

Hubby and I have already begun to enjoy going out together to enjoy many of my annual birthday freebies!  If you didn’t catch my special 4-part blog series in 2018 on signing up for the best birthday freebies, then take a few minutes to look it over now.  It’s never too late to register for your goodies!

Part 1   -   Part 2   -   Part 3   -   Part 4

MY ONGOING RECOVERY AND HOW TO PAY FOR IT!

I’m still in a lot of pain and discomfort in my arm, but it’s from the challenges of the physical therapy sessions.  I can live with that, because I’m finally making some marked progress in passive range of motion.  YES!

There’s a lot of hard work ahead of me physically speaking, but at least I’m on the road to recovery.  There’s light at the end of the tunnel!  I’m thankful to have insurance to cover most of my therapy.  I’m only paying $25 per session twice per week, which is remarkable, considering how terribly expensive therapy really is.

I think we’ll survive the cost of my surgery, as well.  Thankfully, there’s a special credit card you can get that’s only for medical expenses called the CareCredit card.  I had never heard of it before my surgery, but it has turned out to be a great way to have an interest-free payment plan for my portion of the charges.  I was able to pay for nearly $3,000 in facility charges over 24 months with deferred interest, and I just paid the surgeon’s bill of $554 with the card over 18 months with deferred interest.  Together, that will cost me about $150/month, and I’ll pay no interest.  That sure beats having to take all that from savings in one big chunk.  This ensures that our savings stays intact.  I still have a nominal bill coming for durable medical equipment (my immobilizer sling and the rental of my nerve block pump), and I am still waiting for insurance to settle the claim for anesthesia so I can see how much of the $3,400 I will have to pay, but I plan to finance that the same way if that provider accepts CareCredit, too.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am feeling very optimistic about 2020!  I hope all of you have a wonderful year that is everything you hoped it would be.