I know many chronically ill people who are unable to leave their homes whenever they want due to pain, medication side effects, being unable to drive and just not feeling well. When this happens loneliness can set in. If you are young and your peers are working and have a family of their own it can be difficult for them to make time to visit you. You may not feel well enough for visitors. You may be embarrassed of how your house looks because you’re not able to keep it clean.
Whatever the reasons, being almost homebound or totally homebound is quite common. In the Chronic Illness Support Group I run, this is a very big issue for our members. We have members who are no longer able to come to meetings because of their health issues. I try to keep in touch with them though.
There’s a trend now of people with disABILITIES and chronic illnesses using a computer and the internet to connect with the outside world. Just look around and see how many blogs are authored by people with medical conditions, how many websites and message boards are made for us too.
Having the right equipment for your computer is a must. If you have arthritis you may need an ergonomic keyboard. If you are paralyzed, you may need a head pointer to type. There are so many examples of technology that make using your computer easier or even open up the means of computer usage.
Many of these products are expensive. Some government agencies and non-profit groups provide the technology. If you are looking to buy something for yourself shop around and even tried refurbished. You may be able to find something among used cisco parts, or other companies that sell used equipment if new is too expensive. Be sure to check for a warranty, the company’s customer service ability to work with you and other types of feedback from buyers.
Being online can help you feel that you are a part of society, especially a section of society that understands you.
Sjogren’s Syndrome is a very expensive illness. Although I am on a prescription medication for my dry eyes called Restasis, I still use artificial tears without preservatives in individual ampules. They are over the counter so our health insurance doesn’t cover them. I also use ointment for my eyes at night and a special toothpaste. Another thing I have to do is go to the dentist every 4 months as Sjogren’s causes me to have a dry mouth.
When you have to spend money on medical supplies and medical procedures on a constant basis you are always trying to find the best buy possible. I scour the newspapers and online for coupons. I get a lot of health information through snail mail and sometimes I get rebates or coupons that way.
I can’t look for cheap products, but the ones that work. That changes every so often. So one brand is “my brand” for a while. That brand becomes a household name so my family knows to look for sales and coupons.
I’d much rather be trying to save money on shoes but that’s life!
I take one of my medicines for Myasthenia Gravis every three hours. What I do is break up the many pills I have to take so that I can take a few of them during my three hour time frame. It’s a lot easier that way because I’m not taking like ten pills right before bed then.
How do I remember to take my pills every three hours? sometimes often don’t. I may remember when I start to feel my eyelid drooping or wonder why I’m feeling weak. It’s not because I look at my watch though. That’s because I can’t see the hands on my watch. My lovely, wonderful Mickey Mouse watch!
And I really can’t set my cell phone alarm because it’s not like I know where I’ll be all the time when that alarm goes off. I’m thinking of looking at some new pocket watches. I bet I can find one with hands large enough that I can see. This may help me and add to my quite unusual fashion sense.
I have an opportunity to take part in a treasure hunt. Staying healthy often means finding things to do that make you happy. Well I have a chance to do something new and exciting. PayU2Blog and jewelelegance.com are running a treasure hunt where the winning prize is a 14k God Anklet.
Some other things that make me happy are diamond pendants. If I could have a few of those I’d feel great! Just kidding…or am I?
I hope that we have enough insurance to cover everything that my health issues may cause. I think we do. I know we still need life insurance for me but I think that may be out of reach for us financially right now. Once a company learns about all of the medical conditions I have the fees would go sky high.
The health insurance through my husband’s company is very helpful. I also have Medicare as my secondary insurance. The deductibles have increased this year but we make them very quickly. We have some dental insurance that helps to pay for cleanings and basic dental care, so we’ve put away some money for major things like root canals and braces that our daughter will be needing soon.
We’re doing quite well with car insurance even with having a 21 year old driver. We use a company that is for military or retirees only so we save a bit with them.
We really don’t have choice with home owner’s insurance. Living in Florida we’re stuck with the state’s policy as the area where we live has had sink holes and of course the hurricanes from the past created a lack of insurers for us.
Now if I can only find health insurance that will pay me when I have flare ups, even if it’s a few pennies a day, I’d be doing quite well.
If you have a chronic illness or a disABILITY it is quite possible that you may not be able to work. I was in that position when I was terribly sick from the five autoimmune diseases I have plus anemia. The anemia was so bad that I had to get Iron through an IV on a weekly basis.
Now that I have the major chronic illness, Myasthenia Gravis under some control and I no longer am anemic that badly I work from home. I only work a few hours a day and if I’m not well I don’t work at all.
I’ve had to learn many things about working from home as a professional blogger. One of the most important things is marketing. I am a member of many social networks online and have placed links to my blogs every where I can.
Another way to market yourself is by using business cards. Professional bloggers hand them out to friends and family, to fellow bloggers at conventions and of course to advertisers. I learned about a site that not only helps you create your own business card but a logo design too.
Branding is also helpful in marketing. You want people to recognize you by an image or photo. Having a logo and business cards that incorporate that logo kills two birds with one stone.
The site logoyes.com was simple to use. It has a demo video to get you started if you need some extra help with the easy to follow directions. The whole process took me about 5 minutes to complete. It would have been shorter but I kept changing my mind about the logo because there were so many choices. I’m fickle, what can I say?
The finished product looks so professional. I was very pleased with my work, OK the site’s work. Here’s a look at what I would go with as this is a health blog:
As someone with multiple chronic illnesses I’ve prepared my Living Will, Health Care Surrogate and my Will. I’ve spoken to the people who I would like to help my husband raise our youngest daughter if something happens to me physically or if I die. I have some of my funeral arrangements made. Is this morbid? Not at all. The reality is that I’m sick with many health conditions. They are under control, thank God but something minor can happen and it can cause me great physical harm.
My husband doesn’t like to think about these types of things. When I got us an appointment for an attorney to write up our will, he was angry. I needed to have this done before I had major surgery almost five years ago. I wouldn’t feel comfortable unless I did this.
I don’t have life insurance any longer now that I don’t work a regular job. I know that we need this as our income will drop when I die plus we’ll need childcare. I’m trying to talk my husband into looking into life insurance rates for me. This is another way to feel prepared.
Having numerous problems with my eyes and my vision including Myasthenia Gravis and Sjogren’s Syndrome, my Opthamologist has his work cut out for him. He not only has to concern himself with my eyes being dry, putting plugs into my tear ducts, checking my eye pressure (due to medication I’m on that can cause glaucoma), checking for serious eye issues due to the chronic illnesses I have, he also has to make decisions about my need for glasses.
It’s difficult to determine my correct vision because my eyes are so dry. He tries to save me money by having me purchase over the counter reading glasses because he doesn’t want me to have to change lenses if he’s wrong about my vision or if my vision changes when my eyes have more moisture.
I’m going to see my Opthamologist tomorrow. It’s a regular checkup but I’ve been having some serious problems seeing. I’m going to tell him about this great discovery: $ 8 Zenni Optical Rx Eyeglassess. This way if I need to keep changing lenses it won’t be a problem.
As I’ve mentioned before on my blog I’m the Nervous Nelly type. I worry because it’s my job. I’m a mom and a wife and the daughter of an elderly Mom. With my health issues I have to be careful about not catching colds (yes I know I have one now, achoo), take my meds on time, keep my doctor’s appointments, blood test appointments and be cautious about my overall health condition.
I won’t even mention how I worry about my daughters - 9 year old Peanut and 20 year old Lady Ali - and Hubby who works too much, does too much around the house and smokes…..nope let’s not go there.
One thing I don’t want to worry about is Identity Theft. We have shredder where we shred all of our paperwork and check our credit reports. There’s a way to keep even safer now.
You’ve probably seen the commercials for Life Lock. Todd Davis, the CEO of Life Lock drives a truck and shouts out his Social Security number knowing that no one can use it without Life Lock alerting him. The service guarantee is up to 1 million dollars (with some restrictions).
Right now there is a Life Lock promotion code on new services. It offers one month free and an annual discount. This is the perfect time for me try this out and save myself some worry.
There’s a brand new service called Wallet Lock which helps you if your wallet’s lost. They will help you get replacements of all of your credit cards, insurance cards, your social security card, driver’s license and more. This is a free add on to the regular service.
With my Brain Fog I’ve lost my wallet on numerous occasions. I’ve been fortunate that it’s always been found either in my home or car. But this is another service I could really use too.
Now’s the perfect time for me to sign up. I can use the Life Lock Promo Code to save on some peace of mind. I can really use some of that.
Yes people are still shopping! Me too. I’m looking for bargains. People who have gift cards are ready to use them. There’s sales everywhere. And guess what? Our eBay store is having a sale!
We’ve also been interviewed by Avid Cat so we’re hoping for some extra traffic and sales from that. Avid Cat is a store directory that’s free and helps direct traffic to your online store.
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Get your online store listed on the Avid Cat Store Directory.
ShawnsBidness Collectibles sells Disney items, clothing, antenna toppers and souvenirs. We also sell Die Cast Cars and Vintage Americana. We offer advertising spots on our website Shawnsbidness.com where we also have free eBay advertising for eBay listings.
We love eBay! We’ve been sellers for a little over four years now. Why not take a look and see if there’s something you didn’t get for Christmas. We accept eBay gift cards too, hint, hint…
I take one of my medicines for Myasthenia Gravis every three hours. What I do is break up the many pills I have to take so that I can take a few of them during my three hour time frame. It’s a lot easier that way because I’m not taking like ten pills right before bed then.
