Jewish Musings Tuesday, July 25

[hollygail]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Frieda
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

And for those of you that stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!

[hollygail]

In Deuteronomy chapter 4, verses 6 through 8, Moses tells the people that God’s laws are proof of God’s greatness, and will be their way of creating a sacred standing among the nations. So it appears that Judaism is bigger than just the Jews. Deuteronomy introduces a new idea: what Jews do has implications for the whole world, and Jewish teachings create the way that the world perceives Jews.

In your own life, what may you have done, sacred or not, that had implication for other people, whether in your family, circle of friends (or acquaintances), or any other individual or group of individuals, whether "whole world" or a smaller group of people?

I've been teaching in religious schools since 1992. I've seen my effect on more former students (and their parents!) than I can count. Maybe being a teacher gives me more exposure to young people than most of us, but when a former student comes home to visit his/her parents and wants to attend services where I'll be and then comes over to me with a big hug, I know I've had a profound effect on that person's life. Whenever a former student asks me for a letter of reference (or letter of recommendation) for graduate school or for a job, or even for becoming an Eagle Scout or for admission to an undergraduate program, it is beyond comforting to know I influenced that young adult's outlook on life. When former students used to go away to college and "friend" me on Facebook (I don't think they still use FB, but when they did), that was another sign for me on the influence I've had on them. And when they send their own offspring to one of the religious schools where I teach and are proud to tell their children that I too had been their teacher, I don't think I can fully express how I feel about recognizing the influence I've had on that young parent.

[louise]

Was feeling off the last couple of days - sorry to be MIA.
Proof of Jews greatness is also problematic, as in the thinking of people who think Jews run everything. I won't go off on this tagent but could say a bunch about it (think Colleyville).
I know that I influence people with my teaching style and my methodology. I will try to get people up on the bima just to dress the torah if they are shy/intimidated about being on the bima. I remind them I will be there with them and will show them what to do. As a result many people in our community have "gotten over it" and gone on to do more. When I'm functioning well my way is to break things down into parts and delegate or time the small parts as appropriate. This is effective at my job and in the synagogue - long after I'm gone I'm quite sure my synagogue will be running our Mishloach Manot program and making bags using the systems now in place. I'm sure my system of index cards for aliyot, index cards for HHD readings, and HHD outlines will continue as well.

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well and SAFE!

Re today's topic: I think that the way I have the most influence is by small actions. I vote and am active in getting others to be active, for example. I try to keep a positive attitude, and share that this helps everybody. I smile more than I used to; this has changed me and I hope helps others.

There are plenty more but my brain isn't working right now.

Have a peaceful day, Lee

[peachymom1]

I know I've had a tremendous influence on my kids, and I also know that's so obvious it's cliche. But I truly did not realize the scope of my influence until I had children. They repeated my phrases, they absorbed what I taught them, then they decided who and how they wanted to be as grownups. I'm proud of who they have become.

My sisters and I have all influenced and encouraged each other to process and manage our feelings about our parents and everything that was harmful from our upbringing. It took me a long time (and a great therapist) to learn that my sisters could learn from me as much as I could learn from them. We are all very different from each other, but it's been totally worth it to reach for some extra patience and understanding, so we could do more than just get along with each other. I have to stretch and sometimes contort my way of thinking in order to grasp a foreign concept, but that doesn't mean I necessarily change my position, just that I have a greater level of understanding from it, and certainly more empathy.

[happysavta]

Shalom, chaverot,

The 2nd, more sensitive Dotate Pet Scan I had in Houston revealed a 0.2 cm x 1.2 cm nodule in my right breast (non-palpable) so I have to get an ultrasound and possible biopsy or excision to figure out what it is.  (Imaging shows you something is there, Pathology tells you what it is.)  Could be an off-shoot of the skin cancer (very rare), could be an incidental breast cancer, could be inflammation.

Last Wednesday, I called the Imaging Center and was told they had the doctor's order, but it takes 4 hours for their tech team to process it. Turns out, though, they had my internist's order for a screening mammogram, cuz it's that time of year again. What I need to do is not a screening mammogram, but a diagnostic ultrasound guided biopsy - which my oncologist ordered.

I call back after 4 hours.  They tell me it takes 6-8 hours to process and then I can be scheduled.

On Thursday, I call them again, and they tell me it takes 24 hours to process and then I can be scheduled.

On Friday, I get a text l telling me the doctor's order has been approved, and now I can call in to be scheduled.

I call in and am told their policy is that they don't do follow up outside Pet Scans and since the finding was from Houston, they won't do anything at all. I ask for a supervisor, and she agrees that because I did do a Pet Scan with them in June and because I've been doing mammograms with them for the past 25 years, they will take care of me.

However, we have a problem because the oncologist's office ordered a diagnostic mammogram only on one breast and nothing on the other and it has to be bilateral, so since Friday, I've been trying to get the doctor's office to fax in the correct order. Meanwhile I keep getting text messages that it's been approved, and I should now call in and get it scheduled and I do, only to speak to yet another scheduler who wants to start all over from Square 1 with the screening mammogram.

On Monday, I call the Imaging Center and they claim the oncologist's office still hasn't faxed over a corrected order.  The oncologist's office, of course, claims they did fax it over.  I ask for a supervisor again and he promises to call me back by the end of the day, which he doesn't do. 

Today, I was in the oncologist's office and verified that his referral team has sent in the correct order, so by tomorrow, it should be processed and I should finally be scheduled. When?  They tell me they are scheduling regular mammograms into December right now, but they'll try to get me in sooner.  At this point, I think I'm just going to different Radiology Imaging group. 

Our health care system has deteriorated. 

And while I'm whining, please give me another minute so I can describe the Patient Portal system which is how you access your medical records nowadays. It's so great to have your records online, but every physician and every facility has its own portal system. I am enrolled in one portal for my internist, another for the radiology imaging group, another for the surgical oncologist, another for the medical oncologist, another for the radiation oncologist, another for the nuclear medicine doc in Houston, another for one lab, another for a second lab. That's 8 different portals so far. And when I do the consult with the Merkal expert in Seattle in 2 weeks, I'll be need to register on yet another patient portal. The whole idea of these online patient portals was to consolidate your medical records and have access to them, but you end up with a fragment here, a fragment there. And most of them don't communicate with each other.

Oh, what fun it is to be a patient in our modern health care delivery world! NOT!

[lee058]

happysavta, Posting this Wednesday AM: I'm sorry you have to deal with all this mishegoss!