Globex Corporation Newsletter

A little bit before 2am this morning, I reached something of a milestone, though I imagine in the years to come I won't think much of it. After coming home and taking a couple of Tylenol, I watched recorded episodes of King of the Hill and The Simpsons, enjoyed some cheddar cheese toast and jabbed a needle into myself for the 100th time.

The hypodermic was full of Betaseron and Sodium Chloride solution in the amount of 1cc. I've been doing this every other day since a Sunday evening in October (the Colts beat the Broncos in what was a really good game). I give myself a shot at night before bedtime in hopes of sleeping through the worst effects of the drug, the flu-like symptoms that I've only had once or twice since taking Betaseron. It does nothing to alleviate the hightened MS symptoms I feel for the next 24 to 36 hours, though I guess I sleep through seven hours of that so it's not a bad thing.

I guess the point is that I'm doing something every other day that I never thought I was capable of. I've always hated getting shots. I guess it stems from moving to Guam in my preschool years. The whole family had to get a battery of shots, I reacted to mine and had to be given smaller doses, but had to receive the same amount of drug. Do the math, I needed to get three times as many shots as the other members of the family. I didn't handle it very well, but, then again, I was 3. I remember it, though, and it's not a good memory.

So here I am giving myself an injection every other night before bed. I rotate the injections in 24 different points on my body, I've been through the rotation 4 times now, this mornings injection just to the right and below my naval. That's (4 X 24) + 4. That equals 100.

I imagine that injection 200 won't be a big deal. Or 300. Or 400. Or 1000. I'll lose track of the total number of injections. I'll only know where the next one goes and what day I get it. It's a part of my life now and there's not a whole lot I can do about it.

I'll continue to bitch about other things, though, like the cost. Because of [Nameless Company]'s shitty insurance plan (but we sponsor a NASCAR team...) these every other night necessities cost me about one-sixth of my salary annually. That's after my shitty insurance pays their share.

I'll bitch about the Pharmacy that I use (which is associated with the shitty insurance). I've placed six orders with them for 30 day supplies of the drug. They've screwed up every single order in one way or another. I was told that the head of the company is supposed to write me a letter apologizing for "piss-poor service" (I requested that he use that term specifically), but like everything else, it looks like they've screwed that up too.

I'm about to make a call ordering my next 30 day supply. I have a person I talk to specifically, a number I call to talk to an actual person who will handle my order. She seems nice enough, but she'll get tired of me sson enough as I'm sure she'll get annoyed with me yelling at her every 30 days.

BOJ