Showing posts with label Health Care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Care. Show all posts

Friday, August 5, 2016

Find out why #MOMSLOVEAMWELL and I do too! #Sponsored by @Amwell - nab a discount to try it yourself!

DisclosureCompensation was provided by Amwell via MomTrends Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Amwell or Momtrends.


American Well, Amwell, Telehealth, Healthcare, Wellness
With a bed this inviting, who wants to get out? Need Bedside Healthcare? Find out why American Well (Amwell) is becoming the 'Amazon of Healthcare'

Regular readers know that this butterfly originally aspired to become a Doctor and while life had other plans for me, I am still fascinated with Science and Medicine and even held the title of Science Editor for a Newspaper early on in my writing career.

The healthcare industry continues to change and evolve and intersects with technology in fascinating ways. Telemedicine is having it's day and with people wearing devices that monitor their fitness, blood pressure, rest/sleep and more it's clear that people are more interested in taking charge of their well-being/wellness in both traditional and non-traditional ways.

American Well (Amwell) is positioning itself to be ‘the Amazon of health care’ and was recently featured in the Medical section of the Wall Street Journal!

Amwell is:

  • Created by doctors
  • The most popular consumer Telehealth app worldwide in 2014 according to App Annie
  • The first Telehealth service awarded accreditation by The American Telemedicine Association
  • The first Telehealth platform to integrate with Apple’s Health App
  • The only service that allows you to select the doctor you want to see for an on-demand visit

Check out this Video on how it works:



Two summers ago I got a bug bite that immediately made my arm swell. I of course panicked, because it happened after hours (and I can never leave a voicemail with my primary so I have to call during office hours to get a human on the phone) - I can tell you I wish I had access to this service that day! Thankfully my local pharmacist pinch hit for me that day and I avoided an emergency room visit. (Which as you know isn't as easy to get covered by most insurance providers anymore - many want you to call them in advance to get the ER visit approved. Literally the LAST thing anyone cares about in the midst of an actual emergency!)

American Well, Amwell, Telehealth, Healthcare, Wellness, Laptop, Smartphone
You can connect with Amwell on your Desktop, Laptop, IPhone, Android Device, Tablet from literally anywhere!
Things never seem to happen during office hours do they? Amwell brings healthcare home and their Doctors are available 24/7 on a wide variety of platforms - your computer, tablet, smartphone - iPhone or Android!

I also see this service as an extra added re-assurance when I travel (I am 'sweet meat' for mosquitos! At home and abroad apparently.) and for those of you with children heading off to live in a dorm, make sure to have them install this app on their phones!

And if you are currently between jobs or for some reason you are currently un-insured, Amwell is a cost effective way to get access to needed healthcare services.

DISCOUNT:

Want to try out Amwell for yourself? Ascending Butterfly Readers can nab a $1 Visit (in conjunction with your healthcare  insurance, a little more without insurance but literally less than half the cost of  a co-pay with many carriers for a primary visit) using the code: TELEVISIT13

MY TAKE:

I wouldn't hesitate to use the service again as the need arises (like every time I get a bug bite! LOL) and I definitely recommend trying it out for yourself (that discount code would the perfect way to try it out!).

Readers Sound Off:

Tell me butterflies, have you already tried out a Telehealth service? Would you do it again? If you haven't tried it yet, what would you encourage you to do so?

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FTC Disclosure: This is a paid campaign and sponsored post. All opinions expressed herein are 100% my own and do not reflect those of Amwell or MomTrends. Ascending Butterfly partners with brands that would be of interest and offer values to our readers. If you are unsure of any medical issue you are experiencing you should seek out a Medical Doctor - be it Telehealth or In Person. This post does not make Medical Claims or Assertions. See our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for full information.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: My First Mammogram!





I recently posted about the P&G GIVE Hope Do It For the Girls Day of Action in conjunction with the #GIVEHope Campaign, where I participated live in a celebrity hosted twitter party that was hosted by E! News Anchor, Fashion Police Co-Host, Breast Cancer Survivor and New Mom Giuliana Rancic! If you missed that post, check it out HERE! The photo above is myself and a roundtable of bloggers that were invited to participate in a special roundtable and twitter party about Breast Cancer Awareness. (Ascending Butterfly is second from the left, Center is Giuliana Rancic and far right is Allison Maxwell, a P&G employee and the youngest survivor on the panel).

Last month I had my doctor give me a referral for my first ever Mammogram. but I got super busy and never went. I had to see my primary today for a routine check up and flu shot, and he was none to happy I let my referral lapse. His office was super pro-active and got me a SAME DAY appointment to get my first ever Mammogram done at the only Hospital in Manhattan to acquire the new ImageChecker Computer Aided Detection (CAD) system for use in breast cancer screening to assist radiologists in minimizing false negative readings during mammograms.

Because of the Medical Nightmare of a year I have already been contending with, to say I was 'nervous' is probably a HUGE understatement!

But from reception to the technician everything went really smoothly. And while I'm being pitched right now by every brand under the sun who slapped 'pink' on something and want you buy it, I thought the best way to truly inspire anyone is to be open, honest and truly up front about my own experience.




Giuliana was my inspiration to follow through, she is young and she discovered a tumor during a mammogram while undergoing another round of in-vitro fertilization in an effort to get pregnant. And even though I didn't want to deal with anymore imaging this year after all the tests I have been subjected to, her story, and then meeting in her person where she shared her story and allowed us all to ask her questions, any questions, and was so open and honest, her courage pushed me to move forward and stop putting it off.

I won't have the results for a few days, but I wasn't asked to wait which I take as a good sign, and it wasn't as horrible an experience as others had led me to believe. Is it fun? No, it's a bit uncomfortable, especially if you are well-endowed like I am, think of the pressure a bit like the blood pressure cuff they place on your arm when taking your vitals, except the pressure is being applied to an area a lot more sensitve to the pressure!

My technician was very patient and really did care enough to make sure I knew what to expect and felt comfortable every step of the way.

After getting the chance to interview survivors like Giuliana Rancic, Janelle Hail, chief executive officer and founder National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., and Allison Maxwell, breast cancer survivor and P&G employee (who was actually the youngest survivor on the panel that day) they made it clear that Breast Cancer does NOT discriminate. Youth does not protect you, neither does no family history of the disease, so ladies please do your self exams monthly, make sure your primary is doing an exam even if you are, and be PRO-ACTIVE and ASK your Doctor about when you should have your first exam. While normally the first one is scheduled for women 40 and over, if there is history in your family, if you find a lump you will need to have one sooner. Your survival rate increases with early detection, so ladies, do it for 'The Girls' AND do it for YOU!


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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received to share information regarding my Mammogram experience.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Thank You + Not quite the way I had in mind to lose more weight!




As many of you know I'm going through the fight of my life right now and I have been sharing my journey along the way, you can refer to these posts to get caught up (in order of most recent post about my experience to oldest):


3. Prayers and Good Vibes Needed

4. Today's HA! HA! Moment!

5.  Happy New Year Butterfly!

While in the hospital amazing online groups I belong to have rallied around me to help make this difficult time much more bearable. In many ways my online friends have rallied for me harder and faster than some of my real life ones! A beautiful flower arrangement (done inside a tea cup) and a balloon appeared at the hospital from:

http://llbloggers.com/

I was so surprised and they defintely lifted my spirits, including the messages of support from the group too! And a visit from one of the members of the groups where we got to meet IRL (in real life) for the first time was such a wonderful surprise!

And another amazing surprise was that the Latina Bloggers Connect crew created a chip in account to help with my Medical Expenses, donations have started to come in, and honestly it all brought tears to my eyes. I'm usually the person who gives, and at first was a bit uncomfortable with the idea. But I realized that this isn't a time to worry about pride, but to worry about my health. This gift allows me to focus on my health and not worry so much about bills. It's not just the donations that have come in, but many being from perfect strangers with messages of support and encouragement that have really touched me.

My articles about my harrowing experience at the hands of a hospital have had an amazing trickle effect even I didn't think about, be it from reading my article, or donating to my chipin, people have shared THEIR stories with ME. Horrible medical experiences, their own medical challenges, or those of someone they love, and all the stories have been so moving!

So I also want to thank the amazing folks behind:



For setting up the following Chip In Fund (you can press on the button below if you'd like to also contribute and you will also notice the button on my sidebar as well):



And a special thanks to each and every one of you who have contributed so far!

Now me being the cheeky person I am and having the wicked sense of humor that I do, I have to share I have lost more weight since all this craziness began. The almost two weeks under heavy meds made food pretty un-appetizing and now clothes and even underwear are very loose on me, not the way I had in mind to loose more weight this year! But I guess I have found one positive in all this negative. Last year I slowly lost almost 26 pounds. And this year with this medical struggle I'm losing even more weight. So unlike most, I've kept the holiday pounds at bay! But not in a way I'd recommend of course.

I'm temporarily back home, and enjoying escaping that crazy hospital and my crazy hospital roomie. I can sleep in total darkness and silence again! Well, at least until I have to go back to the new hospital I am changing my care to. I can eat 'real' meals again, and get some air/sun and of course take real showers in a bathroom with a working shower. Even a long bathe. Something we think of as commonplace and even take for granted until we can't have them.....

Have a friend in the hospital? Here are some do's and don'ts:

DO - Visit them. Hours are insanely slow when your life screeches to a halt.

DON'T - Give them the 'poor baby' look. I'm not saying lie and tell them that they look fab, they don't need or want that either, but the 'poor baby' look makes people want to scream.

DON'T - Over tax the patient, don't bring them stress, theirs or yours.

DO - Leave after a reasonable amount of time. The person may feel like they have to keep up energy they really don't have to make YOU feel comfortable.

DON'T - Arrive empty handed. BUT:

DO -  A little recon, find out if they can have flowers (not all units allow the patients to have them in their rooms. My unit did NOT allow flowers in the patient's room which I was super bummed about.) Things most patients will always need: PJ's, toiletries (invariably you will forget something that they don't have), lotions (your skin ends up feeling like sandpaper in there), treats (waiting on the food tray to arrive is nerve wracking, many times you don't get what you want, it tastes awful and you end up hungry way before the next tray is set to arrive). So once you find out what they can have and can't have, be sure to bring treats or food, it will be greatly appreciated.

DO - Ask about the patient's care with the patient and the team, patients who are being looked after get better care. period. Make sure enough people are visiting that patient so the hospital staff knows you will notice anything out of place or any negative treatment or problems.

DO -  Keep in mind the patient's schedule is no longer their own, they often have to take tests so may not be in their room, and when they just get back to the room be it after surgery or after testing, they are exhausted. If they fall asleep, LET them sleep and come back to visit at another time.

Right now it takes so much extra time to do things I normally never had to think about, but I'm actively working at keeping my spirits up and remaining inspired.

If I can keep my spirits up despite my current challenges, so can YOU!

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored Post. I am choosing to thank the online groups that sent cheer my way during a very difficult hospital stay. I was under no obligation to do so and all opinions expressed here are 100% my own.