Rambles about non-GoFundMe things for a while. Skip to the arrow, if you are interested only in GFM info.
It’s always fun for me doing something different, even if that’s cleaning the kitchen, if I have sort of a naughty feeling of playing hooky while doing it. It’s just nice having a break from routine, and nice getting something done not on the weekend, which I really need for rest.
I used to be able to hire a cleaning service once a month, so my cleaning I had to do wasn’t as intense, but I haven’t been able to do that for a while. I also was a little neater, because I had to keep things neat for the cleaners.
Gonna try to do some organizing today, even if it’s mainly getting boxes, and throwing this I never use in one, things I rarely use in another, and things I use a lot in a third, then putting the “never use” in garbage bags, “rarely use” in a closet off the porch, and concentrate my time on the “use a lot” stuff.
Also made some appointments today for stuff I haven’t been able to get to around work. Getting steroid injections in my knees that I get every 8 - 9 months, and am about 2 months overdue for. They take about 15 years off my knees.
I rode a bike literally everywhere, all weather, distances that would have stymied most people, as long as I didn’t have to haul anything or pick up a passenger, and that was from about age 21 to age 29 (when I got a dog, and started to more hiking, less riding, albeit, I did ride around town with the dog sometimes, who loved it). But I still biked a lot, especially with DH. Didn’t really quit biking until I was pregnant.
Result of which is a complete loss of cartilage in my knees, and some arthritis. Also have problems with my feet, but for different reasons (and different in each foot, and not age-related, like my knees).
—>
Hit $2,000, and then went slightly over. Big, big thanks to the people who went ahead and donated even though I am past my goal! I guess I need to update the GFM, but it sounds greedy to say “Hey! keep giving even though I’m past my goal!”
Since the total monthly cost of the CGMs & inhalers is $271, I’m pretty sure that I’ll be using the money in savings a month here and there. I’ll probably try to put $20 - 25 in the savings account in months where I have a surplus, and gift $$ and such (in May, December, and my birthday, parents give me either cash/check gifts, or gift cards; sometimes the cards are from Target, which isn’t so helpful, albeit, I did get new glasses a few months ago from Target Optical, but often to Amazon, or just Visa/MC cards), so it doesn’t zero out.
Big six-zero coming up in exactly 6 months. Other teachers have gotten amazing gifts for milestone birthdays. I just need a subtle way to get the word out.
Anyway, when I told the Executive Director of the synagogue the whooooooole story, including the part about the GoFundMe, she said if I ever needed a little more money, the synagogue has funds for a month or two here and there, and Jewish Family Services has funds that might possibly support it longer term, and she would help me get in touch with them.
As it is, even after the new phone, the copay on the doctor’s visit where everything was prescribed ($10), and one other related expense, there will be enough just from GoFundMe to cover the two devices for 6.5 months, and that is assuming that I need two inhalers every months, which I doubt I will.
—> End of GFM news
I have had serious crises where I could not get my sugar to stay up, and had to call 911, but that has happened only twice in my life. My plan is to fill the inhaler twice for two months at two per, but assume I won’t use it a lot, and refill only after using one, or when one goes past date, with the goal of having 4 - 5 on hand. While I can see going months and never needing one, I can also see a crisis where I need 3.
Previously, I’ve had a glucagon injector. I’ll still have one and a bracelet that says “Hypoglycemic – Please check my sugar – I carry a glucagon injector” because I can’t use the inhaler if I’m unconscious.
In regards to the medicine policy and the inhaler, the ExDir says get her information on the inhaler, and maybe a letter from my doctor. If it is truly something not poisonous to a child, then I could get an exemption for it. All that is in it is glucagon, which is a naturally occurring hormone; a chemical that dilates nasal tissue so it absorbs the glucagon faster; a stabilizer that is very common in medicines; and a preservative that is common in medications and food.
The website says it can be prescribed for children as young as one year. We have younger children, but not in the room where I work, and they probably cannot get the wrapper off, nor depress the trigger, because their hands are too small.
It’s also small enough to be kept in a large, child-proof pill bottle, plus, it can be kept on a high (for a child, like 5’) shelf in a closed cabinet. I’m pretty sure I can open a child-proof bottle, crack the wrapped, and depress the plunger in under a minute.
FWIW, I have not carried a glucagon injector since the new med policy at work.
I flash back on the moment I found that goddam pill in our classroom, and decided to turn it in, instead of pocketing it (which I briefly considered). I knew this is where I’d be, eventually, but I still think I did the right thing. I’m also pretty sure I know whose pocket the pill fell out of. Haven’t said anything, because no one has asked.
And that’s the way it is, Wednesday, June 7th, 2026.
Thanks to those who were interested, even if you just read the GFM part.
