On the Up Side

I found out yesterday that we are (finally) getting health insurance at my job. Medical, dental, AND vision (and anybody who knows me will tell you that vision is an absolute must for yours truly). Thank God...finally. I have a few things I'd like to go to the doctor for, but I'll have to prioritize those things once I find out how much my insurance will be covering and how much I'll be paying for it.

I'd like to get my pinkie fixed. Last year I was at a barbecue with some friends and we were playing football and at one point I tackled someone and landed on my right hand - and my pinkie bent ALL the way back to my hand. I don't think I've ever had quite that much excruciating pain before. I literally could not sleep that night because my entire arm was throbbing. At the time, I worked for a chiropractor, so at work we were able to x-ray my hand. It didn't appear I'd broken anything, but it was very obviously badly sprained. Anyway, I never went to the doctor for it at the time, I just figured it would heal on its own. I splinted it myself with a popsicle stick and medical tape, but...it never healed properly. So now, it's still slightly larger than my other pinkie, and I can't straighten it all the way - it's perpectually bent at a strange angle.

The reason this bothers me is two-fold. First of all, it still hurts sometimes. If I bend it funny, or put too much strain on it, it tweaks it and it hurts. Secondly, I can't play the piano properly with my right hand. I have small hands anyway, but I used to be able to reach one note more than an octave...and I can't do that anymore. So, I'd like to get it checked out. Chances are they can't do anything for it at this point anyway, but I'd like to find out. I'm a little nervous they'll say, "Sure we can fix it, but we'll have to break it and re-set it properly," and I'm not quite sure what I'd say to that. We'll see.

I also get headaches really often. Sometimes they're migraines, sometimes they're just really bad headaches. Either way, I'd like some sort of prescription pain medication to take when those worst-case-scenarios pop up.

Finally, my eyes...it's been a long time since I've had them checked. My eyes are so bad I should probably have them checked once a year at LEAST, and it's been probably close to three. And I can tell they're worse...time for new contacts. There is always the option for Lasik surgery, too. I don't know if my insurance will cover any part of that or not, and to be honest, I'm not sure I'm willing to take the risks that come along with that. To me, the point would be to get my eyesight as close to 20-20 as possible...and I've heard too many stories of people who got Lasik and their eyes were "much, much better" but they still had to wear glasses or contacts. I don't want to waste money on surgery if I'm still going to have to spend just as much money on contacts. But we will see.

I'm not mentally "here" today, at work. I've had a cough for probably close to a month now, and it's starting to wear me out. I just don't feel that great...and I'd really just like to go home and sleep. Damn the need for money, or I wouldn't be here today.