Hi there! Thanks for the reply.. As far as Insurance goes ( I am 62, not medicare YET!! ) They did cover in the past any braces I may have needed. Also paid for home PT I think 6 or 8 weeks of it,. I did very well with everything regardless of how challenging.. I still will do certain things I can recall e=especially stretching which I should do daily prior to the treadmill to loosen up,, I have had to lay off the rowing machine for now, I think It is too much on spine,,, and the treadmill is now reduced to very to no incline and certainly not the speeds I used to do prior to cancer. I have given thought to taking a break from the treadmill as I do wake up in the am and my legs are so tired,, however, once up and moving they feel better so the treadmill has become my savior . Dealing with running a full time retail biz, that stress alone will kill you add caretaker for both elderly parents, I do not have any other outlets than give me my 2 hours, do not call me , bother me and let me watch my silly reality tv for 2 hours,, lol.. The old me would be out hiking for hours or taking the dog of the moment walking, all of which I just can not do anymore due to my spine,, I love my dog but having to care for her is too much work now, With the Insurance they seem to want to keep you sick but at the same time they don't want to help you get there,, with my Mom they did pay for a wheelchair, . handicap cards come from DMV with a Drs orders, I do not recall price but Insurance will not pay. They also do not pay for walking sticks,, with my parents I say get what you can from Medicare,, sadly Drs don;t help you or tell you what to do so the chore to find out falls on me. Initially I thought the stuff with my mom would be a short term temp thing and I would get her taken care of etc, and she would be fine . The last year and a half has sucked the life out of me,.. I had to yank her out of the last rehab /.nursing home she was in and get her home with my Dad, Hard on him too, especially being alone.
I appreciate the idea of having a chat with my brothers but they are useless especially the one that lives here with his wife of 45 years, with tons of money they like to talk about, and what they buy...,does nothing,, other than they do leave town every time they may actually needed.. Even though my folks are old they manage to leave town anytime they may be needed,,,and my parents have never asked them to step up and help,,and refuse to ., When I tell my Dad that I just can not keep up this pace and take care of my own health he says you have 2 brothers, Im well aware of that and remind him he has 2 sons . I am not the messenger. I did say to older brother not long ago that "you have never in all the years of my life ever stepped up and said can I /we (they are attached at the hip lol) help you or anyone else. Way over his head,,, as the middle child I am / was the one with all of the money pre cancer , I have helped raise both of their kids . 2 of them living me at different times and got my niece to graduate from High school during the time the youngest brother was getting a divorce,, I raised him as well as there is 10 years difference between us and my parents at the time had their problems so he came to live with me,, NO mystery why I never really wanted kids,,, I paid my dues... Thank you so much for allowing me to vent/.spill. You do not have to read it or reply My fingers get going when I should be writing a book!!!!! I hope that you are feeling better,,, I know that at 72 you surely have been through your fair share,.. I do hope that life is treating you well, You seem to be a caring person and I do wish you a pain less life for you to enjoy,,, I have a tremendous amount of "used to's" I need to get moving and start doing the again...No better time than the present right ?? Have a wonderful rest of the day! 🙂