Taking Charge of my Health Care

It has been a long journey these past two years. Throughout the experiences of many doctor visits, lab tests, ultrasounds, and a surgical procedure, I have been very grateful for health insurance. I cannot complain about being in the Army and the ability to just go to the hospital and get lab work done without paying anything for it. But there came a point when we exhausted our resources here in Fairbanks, and had to chose between putting our family on hold or paying out-of-pocket to see a fertility specialist in town (there is no Army fertility specialist in Alaska).

At first, my Army gynecologist said I would be able to get the initial consultation with the specialist paid for by our health coverage. But after the referral was denied, she said that because fertility is an elective procedure, nothing would be covered.

This is why we have savings, no? After a few weeks of praying and thinking about it with Marshall, we decided it was time to go forward and make the appointment with the civilian doctor, no matter what the cost would be. I was getting the tiniest bit frustrated because I felt like even though I had been praying to know if this was the right thing to do, I hadn't received a strong answer either way. That is, until after I made the appointment. It was only a few hours after I made the appointment that I received a very strong confirming feeling that we had made the right decision. I suppose it is true that faith comes before the blessing.

Our first appointment was on Monday. It has been so nice to have Marshall by my side and supportive the entire time. He told me that because we are paying for it, he would be at every single appointment with me, at least the ones he is in town for. It was a lot easier to get our point across to the doctor with Marshall there. He's just better with words!

We left the appointment feeling good, like we were on the same page as the doctor--a definite plus, especially after working with Army doctors for so long! It was kind of nice to pay for the appointment with cash, and we even got a 10% discount for doing so. How good it felt to be taking charge of my own health care!

I don't know what the future is going to bring, but I am confident that the "future is as bright as my faith."

Hoping for a Rainbow

I'm really not sure if I ever thought this day would come. The day that I made it past 13 weeks pregnant without losing the baby. #miracle. I know I am not out of the woods yet, and honestly, when are we really? I am just trying to live every day with gratitude for the life inside of me, living with hope for the future. Part of me wanted to wait until next week, when I was past 14 weeks and officially in the 2nd trimester, but I couldn't wait any longer. I've been getting a little thick in the middle, which is getting more difficult to hide, and I feel like I haven't been able to be completely honest with friends when they would ask, "how are you doing?" All I wanted to talk about was how nauseous I was or how nervous I felt. So now, the news is out, whether or not you already suspected something was up. Seriously though, the 1st trimester is not for the faint of heart! There were many instances when I thought I would lose the baby, but dee...

Grandpa is Always Right | Gender Reveal |

I was hanging out in our rental apartment in Salzburg, Austria with my sister when my dad walked out of his bedroom and announced that I was having a girl. I was only 11 weeks along at that point and while I was wishfully hoping for a girl, I was preparing myself for a boy. His strong conviction of the gender of our child without any hints from an ultrasound surprised me. My dad seems to always be right about things, so I secretly hoped he was right this time too. Today during my scan, my favorite sonographer announced that we were having a girl. Grandpa is always right. I never imagined our family starting with a baby boy. I don't know why, but a baby girl seems to fit just perfectly. Now I just have to keep calm and stay healthy for 19 more weeks.

Learning to Speak Like an Alaskan

Denali in the background No one wants to feel like a newbie, so a common practice before traveling to a new city or country is to learn the language of that particular place. Well, when my Aunt Joan picked me up from the airport last December when I first arrived in Alaska, one of the first things she told me was if I didn't want to sound like a tourist, I needed to refer to Mt. Mckinley (the tallest mountain in North America, located some 120 miles south of Fairbanks) as Denali . Denali is the native Athabaskan name for the mountain, and means "The High One." So, from day number one in Alaska, I refered to that majestic mountain as Denali instead of the name I had learned growing up. This is just about what it looked like yesterday morning! Another thing I learned recently is how to say the temperature. I was saying "Gosh it's cold outside because it's negative 30 degrees." But luckily, a kind skating mom...

Tender Mercies

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