Is Walker Capable of Honesty?

http://fox6now.com/2016/04/20/is-states-foodshare-employment-training-program-working-walker-says-yes-others-say-no/

A Year of Recovery

Last January I had my second surgery to remove the reoccurring tumors that grow in my abdomen, along with that recovery (which has been a long one) came a diagnosis of diabetes. Apparently abdominal surgery can trigger diabetes, I was predisposed for it but the surgery kicked into motion. Because of high blood sugar the massive incision took 4 months to close and just recently started to fade.

While in the hospital the doctor but me on insulin injections four times a day in order to get the numbers down and to assist in the healing process. I have since learned that high numbers can cause all sorts of complications, my biggest concern is how it affects the heart, since I need cardiovascular clearance in order to have surgery to remove the tumors, it's vital to get control over blood sugar levels. So now I'm waging war on another front and that's potential heart disease, if my heart can't handle surgery, that will be a death sentence too.

 For the past year I have been working with multiple doctors in order to keep everything under control. The surgeons monitor the tumors, a family doctors handles every day stuff and an endocrinologist helps manage diabetes. Since October, it's been one appointment after another as new growth has emerged, my morning numbers are still to high and my cholesterol level has increased. I still inject insulin four times a day in addition to taking metformin and a cholesterol pill.

The hardest part to deal with has been the diabetes. The numbers can fluctuate wildly with no rhyme or reason. The endocrinologist sent me to diabetes education classes, the first was with a dietitian, the second, a nurse and the next three are group sessions. While there I found a book in their library that has helped me greatly, it's by the American Diabetes Association: A Month of Meals A diabetic Meal Planner. I have been able to get my daytime numbers under control by using the planner for meals and snacks. To be honest, I've never eaten better and am feeling much better, plus I'm losing weight. I only wish I would have had this information a year ago and not have put my organs at risk during that time.

I highly recommend the above mentioned book if you have diabetes or a loved one with it. I found personally, I need to keep my carb count at 45-55 grams per meal and snacks at no higher than 22 grams. My daily routine is, test, inject, breakfast, take metformin, 2 hours after breakfast, a snack, 2 hours after snack, test, inject, lunch, 2 hours after lunch, snack, 2 hours after snack, test, inject, dinner, metformin, 2 hours after dinner, snack, bedtime test, inject, cholesterol pill. For me, eating something every two hours keeps my daytime number down in the 100- 120 range, before using the menu planner they would be in the 150-200+ range. I'm still struggling to get the overnight number under control, it's usually around 160, which is to high, the doctor put me back on lantus and I've been slowly increasing it every three days to get me to a better number.

I was glad to put 2015 behind me, it was a stress filled year not only due to health reasons but we also had to put our beloved dog to sleep, we were almost killed multiple times in near car accidents and our summer income took a hit as well as losing over half of our foodshare thanks to Gov Walker, which will be the subject of my next post.

Thank you for your time and stay healthy!

New Video Case Tips Just Added!


HealthWatch members continue to request fresh Video Case Tips with a focus on hot topics - and we listened! Check out these brand new videos recorded recently in ABC for Health's studio:

• What's my Federal Poverty Level? (FPL)?
• Special Enrollment Period from Income Counting Error
• Pregnant Women and the Marketplace
• Marketplace Eligibility - Immigration
• Data Matching Issues in the Marketplace
• Shared Responsibility Penalty: Short Gap Exemption

Each informative video in our Video Case Tip Library includes links to resources or more information. You can watch these videos at any time—they’re on-demand and available wherever there is an internet connection!

 

URGENT ALERT

State Budget & Bucks Arena Town Hall

July 23, 2015 from 6-7:30pm

Please spread the word

Find out how the $73 billion state budget and the $500 million proposed Milwaukee Bucks arena deal will impact you. I welcome you to join invited guests from the state, City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County for a briefing and question and answer session. Please, stop by my Town Hall Meeting tomorrow night, Thursday, July 23 from 6-7:30pm at Greater New Birth Church, 8237 West Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, WI. To RSVP, click here. To help spread the word, please forward this email or share the event on your Facebook wall. 

            WHO: All interested persons

          WHAT: Town Hall Meeting to discuss the state budget and Bucks arena deal

          WHERE: Greater New Birth Church, 8237 West Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, WI.

          WHEN: Thursday, July 23 from 6-7:30pm 

Here to serve,

      

Sen. Lena Taylor

4th District

From Healthwatch

WI Budget Signed Into Law

Last week, state Assembly passed Wisconsin’s proposed budget. The bill passed 52-46 with a GOP majority vote, each member of the Democratic minority, along with 11 Republican members voted against the proposal. The two year, $72.7 billion state budget passed after senators repealed salary minimums for employees on local government projects and discarded changes to the state’s open records law. Lastly, it made its way to the Governor's desk where Walker made 104 vetoes.

What's Next?

 
 Gov. Walker will now seek federal approval for the following changes:

• Imposing monthly premiums for childless adults, and increasing premiums for “behaviors that increase an individual’s health risk”
• Limiting eligibility for childless adults to 4 years
• Requiring health risk assessments and drug screening as a condition of eligibility for childless adults

The bill also makes changes to programs effecting individuals with disabilities and the elderly. These changes include:

• Include, Respect, I Self-direct (IRIS): Eliminating IRIS and instead requiring the managed care organizations of Family Care Reform to offer the option to self-direct their care.
  
• Governor Walker vetoed Family Care and IRIS' processes used to make sure rates paid to agencies are sound, specified the state has to have at least 5 regions for the programs, and put limits on enrollment periods.
  
• Mental Health and AODA Services: Expanding Medicaid coverage to include residential-based substance abuse treatments.
  
•  Personal Care Services: These services currently help beneficiaries in need of assistance with daily activities such as eating, drinking, bathing, dressing, and household chores. The proposed changes require beneficiaries to conduct an “independent assessment” for all fee-for-service prescriptions.
  
•  Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs): The Joint finance committee negated Gov. Walker’s proposal to eliminate county-run ADRCs, but included provisions which require DHS to conduct studies relating to the reliability of the ADRC processes. These include: an assessment of duplicative functions between ADRC boards and DHS procedures, and integrating income maintenance consortia and ADRCs.

From the Desk of Lena Taylor

Open Records Law change blows up in Republicans’ faces
 

As you may know, late last week, Republicans slipped several provisions into the Wisconsin state budget as part of the Joint Committee on Finance’s motion #999 that essentially wiped out the state’s open records law. Luckily, the Senate voted to pull the provisions completely out of the state budget. Wisconsin has such a rich history of open government. We've recently learned that the deal even included input from Governor Walker's office. Governor Walker and Republicans showed their true colors on this one, proving we need to keep our eyes out for something like this returning in the future.

 Senate passes Walker’s budget

 

Walker’s controversial budget drew major bipartisan votes in opposition due to its negative impact on public education, transportation, and jobs. This budget should have been better from day one, except Governor Walker has been more focused on his presidential campaign than his Wisconsin constituents. Walker failed on his job creation pledge and Wisconsin is poised to face more fiscal irresponsibility in the future because of this budget. To see my full statement on my disappointment with the budget, please look here.

State Senate key budget amendments

 

On July 7^th, the State Senate met for an extraordinary session, where we worked through many amendments. Sadly, the Democratic notion to help bolster the now-cut funds of our K-12 public education was voted down, as was our attempts to lessen the cuts to the UW System and lessen student debt.  Unfortunately, Republicans also killed a measures to increase funding for disabled students in our school system as well. Education is a right that every person is afforded; these cuts are just seeking to hurt our children and their future. Eighty-five percent of our Milwaukee students cannot read at their grade level and we must address education first and foremost.

HealthWatch WatchDog Season 8, Episode 1: “Moving Forward...Finally!”

The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of subsidies for all Marketplaces. In this Episode of the HealthWatch WatchDog, Bobby and Brynne recap the opinion highlights and talk about moving forward for Wisconsin consumers.

Click here or on the image at the right to watch the episode!

Miss an episode? Visit our WATCHDOG LIBRARY to catch up on topics from previous seasons!