Thankful

All month long, many of my friends on Facebook are posting each day what they are thankful for.  I have not participated in this online but I do reflect each day what I'm thankful for.

I do a lot of reading on different diabetic sites.  One site the other day posted a question on how much do you pay for your medical supplies each month.  I read through all the comments and thought WOW!  We are so lucky that our monthly expenses are pretty low.  Nathanael's Novolog is a $15 co-pay every five or six weeks depending on how high he has been and how many carbs he has been eating.  His needles for his pens are also a $15 co-pay and those last just a little over a month as well.  Then his night time medication, Levemir, is more expensive.  It is $40 but this also lasts about 6 weeks.  The one item that we don't make it a whole 30 days is test strips.  Nathanael tests his blood sugar often.  He doesn't have a constant monitor or a pump so the only way to know where he is at is to test.  I am very thankful for the benefits plan that we have where they value diabetic medications and make it affordable.  Also, when he has to go to the doctor for his 3 month check up, that is only $15 a visit.

The other thing I am thankful for is for one provision in the Affordable Care Act otherwise known as Obamacare.  I do not voice my political views.  I do believe that health care needs to be reformed and am not a huge proponent of Obamacare but one requirement in the law is a very good idea.  It is the pre-existing condition waiver.  I find my self thinking more and more about Nathanael's future.  With this waiver, he will never be denied health insurance if he one day ends up going without for a period of time. I never really thought about pre-existing conditions before and what they may entail. Now everywhere I turn diabetes is always being mentioned for one reason or another.  

The other thing I'm thankful for is that Nathanael's diabetes isn't as bad as it could be.  He was not diagnosed with a blood sugar level so severe that he needs to be hospitalized.  He also hasn't had any problems with Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA).  That is a condition in which he doesn't have enough insulin in his body.  Even when his blood sugar has been high for a few days, he still has no ketones.  It is my hope that we can continue to stay away from DKA and visits to the hospital.

Not to just focus on Nathanael, I am thankful for many other things in this world.  I am thankful for a great daughter who may not be my blood but will always be my child.  She has definitely grown into such a funny, smart young woman.  She is a junior in high school and will soon be leaving home and out on her own in just 2 years.  It is hard to believe considering all we have gone through with her.

My life in general hasn't been a piece of cake and there are probably parts I would change if I could.  But if I changed parts of my life, I would not have been given a great son and a great daughter.  Nathanael's name means gift from God.  That is what he has been, a gift. I am very lucky to be his mom.