Hello Friends!
Well this should be interesting. I have been writing  for over an hour and the whole thing just disappeared.
GRRRRR.

Well, start over. It is what it is.

First things first. Please send good thoughts that my sister’s shoulder surgery gets bumped up.  She had a complication right after anesthesia was delivered on September 7th.   That has since been straightened out.  New surgery date is November 30th. Ugh. So far away.

Her shoulder is bone on bone and extremely painful. Her last pain shot in late May basically didn’t work; it’s been a long summer waiting for that September surgery date.

So, I ask that you send good thoughts for a cancellation.

And today, after receiving the blow of  new date yesterday, she is back volunteering.

Her take on the whole thing? “It is what it is.”

And that brings me to my second subject: Hillary’s pneumonia. How many times have you heard a woman say, “It’s all right.  I’m okay. I can do it.” ?

Or “It is what it is”?

How many times have we heard our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters say that?

So, why are we surprised at Hillary’s continued work while she was sick?

Women and men are different.  The differences are not right or wrong, they’re just different.

In addition, she has grown up professionally in a man’s world of politics in the U.S. She has had to be twice as tough to make herself heard and respected. Sickness is still perceived as weakness. Why in this campaign, would she open that door?

I know, I know. She’s so secretive. She doesn’t tell all.

I don’t mind that.  I expect her to lead and to know more than I do, to  make the tough decisions, to tell me what I need to know.  I expect her to be smarter than I am.  I don’t need to know everything.

I already have Kanye West and the Kardashians to tell me everything. And Taylor Swift to write a song about it.

Enough on that.

The real reason for the title of today’s post is about my foray into politicking.

Most of you know that I have secondary lymphedema which is a byproduct of breast cancer treatment. I wear a glove and sleeve, day and night, 24/7. I sit for an hour a night entrapped in a machine which moves my lymph from where it is to where it should be.

Those with primary lymphedema originally were not covered by insurance. Then the  woman who started this movement had twin boys, one of whom was born with it.  Knowing how it has impacted my life, I can’t even imagine having a baby, then toddler with lymphedema.

There is not a lot known about it, other than you have to constantly keep compression on it for it not to swell out of control, infections are dangerous, and you can’t put stress on it.

Well, there’s a bill before the legislature in D.C. that calls for Medicare to fund these gloves and sleeves. It’s called the Lymphedema Treatment Act.

All but one MN representative have signed on as cosponsors as have both senators.

But, Senator Franken wasn’t on board until a few days ago. And that’s when my politicking enters into the picture. I was part of a group who supports LTA.  We met with one of Senator Franken’s aides in early August to lobby for passage of the bill. Then, the aide brought the issue to the attention of the senator.

A few days ago, we heard he agreed to cosponsor it. Yes! It was waaaaay out of my comfort zone to go to St. Paul to do this, but I am glad I did.

Now, in order to pass the bill on this election cycle. we need 108 more representatives and 53 more senators. This is the third or fourth Congress this bill has been before and this is the closest that we have been.

We are set here in MN.  Kline won’t sign on. Everyone else has.

Here’s my plea: do you know any legislators in other states besides MN who haven’t sign on? Is there any connection that I could make that would help passage of this?

Here are the numbers of Representatives who have signed:

• California[25]
• Florida[23]
• New York[21]
• Pennsylvania[16]
• Illinois[13]
• Texas[11]
• Massachusetts[9]
• New Jersey[9]
• North Carolina[9]
• Washington[9]
• Ohio[8]
• Minnesota[7]
• Tennessee[7]
• Wisconsin[7]
• Arizona[6]
• Oregon[5]
• Virginia[5]
• Connecticut[4]
• Georgia[4]
• Indiana[4]
• Iowa[4]
• Kentucky[3]
• Maryland[3]
• Michigan[3]
• Colorado[2]
• Kansas[2]
• Louisiana[2]
• Missouri[2]
• Nevada[2]
• New Mexico[2]
• Oklahoma[2]
• Rhode Island[2]
• Alaska[1]
• District of Columbia[1]
• Hawaii[1]
• Maine[1]
• Mississippi[1]
• North Dakota[1]
• Utah[1]
• Vermont[1]
• West Virginia[1]

And here are the Senators:

• Arkansas[2]
• California[2]
• Delaware[2]
• Iowa[2]
• Maryland[2]
• Minnesota[2]
• Mississippi[2]
• New York[2]
• Wisconsin[2]
• Colorado[1]
• Connecticut[1]
• Illinois[1]
• North Carolina[1]
• Ohio[1]
• Oregon[1]
• Pennsylvania[1]
• Rhode Island[1]
• Washington[1]

The website LymphedemaTreatmentAct will bring you to the names of  those who have signed.

I can write letters. I can send you My Lymphedema Story to pass on. Just let me know.

And now I am going to publish this before it, too, disappears.

Have a fantastic Friday evening and an even better fall weekend! I know that’s my plan!

Love,

Janet

P.S. Don’t bother sending me any anti-Hillary comments. It would just be a waste of your time. JW