Sunday night

My friend Sheila got worried last week when I missed a "daily post."  She told me I should at least tell friends that I was not feeling well, or I was too busy or whatever . . . 


With that said, I did not post today for a variety of reasons.  I had more energy today than I've had in a long time.  So, it seemed like a good day to clean my closet.  


It was a busy day with friends today -- Maggie and Mickey, Eddie, Frances Jane and my brother -- and I enjoyed the time with them.  All of them were good medicine for a rainy day.  


Tonight I watched the historic health care debate and the ultimate vote.  Better than a college football game for a policy junkie like me.  I posted plenty this evening on my facebook and twitter, so I won't go into much detail here.  But I will say this . . . I have never thought of myself as a radical socialist, nor have I ever desired to live in a communist or socialist country.  However, by virtue of the passage of this bill, I will no longer need to worry about being plagued by the pre-existing condition of inflammatory breast cancer.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was right when she revised the famous quote by Tip O'Neill: "All politics is personal."  Tonight's debate became very personal for me.  I've recently learned that with inflammatory breast cancer, there are some companies that might try to prevent coverage for my own daughters.  That's just not right.  


This new health care law is not perfect, but I think it moved America's health care system in the right direction.  The gender gap for younger women has grown significantly in the last year; in 2009, 25-year-old women were charged as much as 84% more than men for individual health plans, compared to as much as 45% in 2008.  Gender ratings by the nation's largest insurance companies has been in practice for many, many years.  Now is the time for women to stand up and be heard.  Being a woman should not be a pre-existing condition.   


More tomorrow.  Looking forward to my much-welcomed second chemotherapy on Tuesday.  The good news - I can physically tell that my chemo cocktail is working!!!  This is good . . .