A Virtual 5k/10k

Recently, I created a team to participate in the Albany area Walk to Cure Arthritis.
In the spirit of  full disclosure, I am employee of the Arthritis Foundation. 
However, My decision to form a walk team was personal. Most of you know that I'm an avid runner. Few of you know that I have Osteoarthritis in several of my joints. At this point in my life, it's often uncomfortable to start walking in the morning. Within the past 2 years, I've developed OA in my wrist. I also have several family members with various forms of arthritis, including juvenile, Rheumatoid and Fibromyalsia. Many of the people I love deal with Arthritis pain on a daily basis. Most of them have much more pain than me.
So, it's become very important to me that we fight to find a cure for this lousy disease.

But, I'm not really a fan of just saying, "Hey! Support my Cause, and throw some money at my team!"

So, I came up with a plan. An alternative way for people to support our team, and get something in return.

A virtual 5k/10k run!

So, what is that and how's it work?

 You make a donation of at least $20 to Team Dragonfly on the Arthritis Walk Website. Once I receive notice from the Arthritis Website of your donation, you will be enrolled in the virtual race. I'll send you a race bib, and you'll be ready to roll!

If you'd like a finishers medal, simply add $10 to your donation.

**By making the donation directly to the site above, you will receive notice from AF of your tax deductible donation.**

Once you're enrolled in our virtual race, the ball's in your court! Choose which distance to run, choose your course, and complete the run any time between April 12 and May 10, 2014.

After you complete your run, leave me a message with your time and distance on our Facebook event page

Virtual races are great for lots of people and lots of reasons:
    Want to run your first 5k, but are a little self conscious about joining a huge crowd?
    Is fear that you'll be the slowest runner, preventing you from running your first race?
    Do you work crazy hours, and you just can't find a race that's scheduled when your free?

No worries. We've got you covered!

Please join us! 1 in 5 people in this country has Arthritis. Let's work together to make a difference.

A Rant About our Healthcare System

AS you know, I hurt my neck and back last Sunday. I went to the Chiropractor on Tuesday, and got some relief. Unfortunately, I have continued to have pain, numbness and a feeling that my arm is a dead weight. Yesterday the symptoms worsened and traveled to my fingertips. My arm feels like I swam 1/2 a mile.

The chiropractors office is closed on Thursdays, so I called my primary care Dr. I should say that my PCP is my treatment provider of last resort. I'm not a big fan of the medical Dr's and the insurance and drug companies they are in bed with. But the pain was significant, so I went.

The first issue I had was a big sign at the receptionist desk, stating that effective August 1, a new federal law required that they take a photocopy of my drivers license and scan it into their electronic computer system. That annoyed me for 2 reasons. First, I felt they should have sent a letter out to all their patients letting them know about this. Unfortunately, the second reason it bothered me was initially a gut reaction. That means, I couldn't get it into words while I was standing there at the desk. So, like an idiot, I handed over my license. Hey-I was in pain and not really able to focus on much at the time.

Now that I've had time to process my gut reaction, here's the thing: I think this Dr is misrepresenting the law. I don't think (but I could be wrong) that the law requires them to have a permanent record of my license in their system. Plus, the guise of the law, is that medical identity theft is on the rise. (Okay- I get that, and it opens up a whole other rant that I will avoid at the moment.)So, are you really telling me that the way to prevent identity theft is to add my drivers ID number to the list of things that could be stolen!?! I'm no computer guru- but I think there are a few flaws in this thought process!

The DR. I saw was new to he practice. I felt that she was nice and empathetic. And, while I was there she was thorough. She sent me for an MRI, and told me she would call with the results by the end of the day. She never did tell me what she was concerned about, except possible arthritis.

Sure enough. late in the day, Dr. L. leaves a message on my cell. It goes like this, "Hi. This is Dr. L. I have the results of your MRI and it shows that you have severe arthritis in your neck. At this time we would recommend physical Therapy. You can take ibuprofin for the pain. If you'd like to talk more about this, you could call me in the office tomorrow. I am leaving for the day."

A DR. should answer questions, not leave you with anxiety and 50 new unanswered questions. Like, What type of arthritis? Exactly where in my neck? What are some treatment options? Is this degenerative? What is the long term prognosis? What qualifies it as severe? And how did it get to that point? The list goes on....

It's very frustrating to me that somehow, this Dr. felt that giving me a diagnosis in a voice mail, with no follow up appointment or real instructions, was even remotely acceptable.

So, at this point, I'm still planning to race the Tri tomorrow. I don't see why I shouldn't. I'll see my chiropractor on Tuesday, and discuss everything with him. At least he'll give me some answers, other than "Take ibuprofin."