A lot has happened to me since I naively stated online that I intended to walk 100 recreational miles in May with friends.
The universe has a great sense of humor.
I will admit, I did know the night that I posted that blog that I would be receiving a job offer in short order. The furious walking of the days before and after that offer helped me clear my mind and take a leap of faith.
It wound up being a very swift leap of faith.
You see, I wasn’t even looking for a new job. It found me and I was part so excited and part broken hearted- it was a GREAT opportunity but the job I had felt like family.
So I walked and walked and walked some more. I talked to friends and mentors. And I made the hard decision to leave the company that felt like family and take a big jump professionally.
I started on Monday ie yesterday. I drove down to Atlanta for training on Sunday and have spent the past two days on training. I’ll be home tomorrow.
But…no walking yet this week.
However, last week as I was closing out my time with my old job, I was anxious, panicky, and scared. Not flaring but feeling almost how you feel when you know one is coming on.
I had an appointment with my rheumatologist on Thursday which settled me greatly. We discussed the change and she actually thinks my joints look better.
Something else I learned? When you have choices between insurance plans, ask your doctor for advice.
I had a high deductible and low deductible choice and when she said go high deductible, I looked at her like she was crazy.
She told me to call the insurance company to find out the contracted price for xeljanz and then verify how much money o have left on my copay card.
Apparently, at this point in time, insurance companies don’t track what’s paid by copay assistance plans.
So I have 11k left on my copay card. A one month supply of xeljanz is roughly $3,500. The copay card will cover it. And my $2,600 deductible will be hit in month 1 of coverage. No more appointment copays or prescription copays….until April 1, 2017.
Note: I am not an insurance agent- my doctor mentioned this to me with the instruction to call insurance and copay program to verify in addition to reading my plan.
She was right-this will save me a ton of money.
Anyways, back to my point which is that once I was on the road to Atlanta for training, I felt peaceful. A feeling that walking everywhere couldn’t get me this last week. And a feeling that lets me know this is the right leap.
Back to walking daily this weekend!
All Flared Up: An Arthritis Blog 
Great life story! I love that you took that leap because it didn’t come to you by accident. It was meant to be. Good luck with all the change – you will do fine!
Very best of luck with your new job and I hope you find ‘family’ there too … and commiserations about the cat ‘incident’ … although you seem to have taken that post down! Walking 100 miles, no way (but good for you!), changing jobs – nope, been self-employed for 13 years and not changing that now … but the cat litter … that was one i could totally identify with. 🙂
Wow! The Universe is on your side! I’m delighted for you, Amanda! Best of luck with the new job and with your walks the rest of the month. 😀
Looks like you ended up traveling farther than 100 miles in life. Congratulations on your new job!
That’s a lot of miles. very inspirational.
I’m in Atlanta (well OTP) too! I found your blog from Google. I recently had bloodwork done and they determined that I definitely have the RA factors. I’d love to pick your brain sometime!