I'm really tired right now (I didn't realize it was so late). So this may have to be a two part-er. First (having nothing to do with what I'm intending to write about), I got a sweet gift today. One of the drugs that I've been on throughout this process advances the transition into myelofibrosis, which is what eventually takes the life of many patients with the disease that I have. Several people on the listserve that I'm on for this illness have asked me why I am on this drug at my age. My answer is that I do not tolerate the easier, cheaper drug. I tried it, and eventually, it started to kill off my white blood cells, too. Sometimes the drugs cannot differentiate between the different types of cells they are targeting, so I had to move off of this and onto another whose short-term benefits exceed long term results (it's a great drug for older patients, though). My doctor at Mayo really wanted me to be on a drug that costs about $1200 per month; I have no perscription coverage at all (though I am grateful that I have insurance at all). This drug that many really do well with is simply out of reach for most.
So a non-governmental patient assistance program with which one of my doctors' offices coordinates called me today to tell me that I had been approved to recieve the drug for free. I am humbled, I am awed, I am thankful to God for this piece of new news. Though I'm in a place today that in which the preservation of my life isn't necessarily the highest priority (certainly not higher than obedience), this drug has the potential of working differently with my body and of making the day-to-day a little less of a physical struggle. I hope I can use the better days to bring honor to Him in new and beautiful ways.
I'll have to continue with why God is funny tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment