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MED I CAREBLUEPR INT.COM Health Matters
JULY-AUGUST 2021
THE SILVER LININGS OF AN ADD DIAGNOSIS
“I’m not perfect by any means, but I am proud of how far I have come with my ADD diagnosis.”
I was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) — which is now called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) — when I was in elementary school. Today, I view my ADD as an asset, but it took years for me to view ADD as a good thing. As I’ve grown, I’ve learned how to cope with my ADD, allowing me to see the blessings it brings to my life. As we approach World Listening Day on July 18, I can’t help but reflect on how far I’ve come since being diagnosed with the disorder — a disorder that often makes it difficult to listen. Most people knowwhat ADD is, but there can be some misconceptions. Everyone with ADD experiences it a little differently. However, its symptoms often include inattentiveness, distractibility, poor memory, and trouble focusing. I like to explain that my ADD sends my brain running at 100 miles per minute, and the moment I’m interrupted, I lose all focus. It can make being a good listener very difficult. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned how to be a better listener with ADD. My tactic is to take a ton of notes. If you hear me scribbling or typing during an appointment, it’s because I need these notes to process all of the information. I value the
time our clients give to us, and I know that I need all of the facts to provide the best recommendation. You have to be a good listener to do what Tim and I do every day. So, that’s a skill I worked very hard at improving. Listening can be a challenge, but there are parts of my brain I would never want to change. I’ve found that I have a greater sense of imagination than others, and I’m not afraid to take risks. When I discovered that my medication for ADD quelled this trait, I learned how to manage my ADD without it. I like the grand ideas that come with ADD. (Tim and I have a running joke that he holds tighter onto his wallet when I call him with a “big idea!”) Consequently, I’ve had to learn a lot about follow-through. For people with ADD, actually completing tasks and putting ideas into tangible results can be challenging. I’ve learned that I need focused, supportive people — like Tim and my family — around me to ensure that I actually get tasks done. Their support pushes me to see those big ideas and sometimes daily tasks come to fruition. I also found that listening to audiobooks helps me. I’m not perfect by any means, but I am proud of how far I have come with my ADD diagnosis. I may have to consistently rewind my audiobooks because my mind was wandering or request absolutely no interruptions when working on a big project to ensure that it gets done, but my ADD is part of who I am. It’s a blessing some days and a curse other days. Yet, it’s part of who I am, and I wouldn’t ever change that.
Jason Mackey
888-335-9498
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Why You Should Sign Up for MyMedicare.gov
As we approach open enrollment, our team wants to ensure that all of our clients utilize a Medicare-supported platform to access their medical history and pertinent details about their coverage. While it’s always important to have detailed information about your medical history, this can help make the re-enrollment process this fall much easier. Our recommendation is to sign up for Medicare’s easy-to-use MyMedicare.gov. This free platform stores all of your Medicare information in one secure location. You will have access to your enrollment status, details about your coverage and claims, and your medical history on one platform. This can also make it easier to share your medical history with new providers, compare pharmacy prices, go paperless, and see a calendar of your preventative services. Medicare enrollees are often warned of the potential scams thieves use to attack them, but MyMedicare.gov is a safe and secure platform. Because MyMedicare.gov is a medical platform, it’s required to be compliant with privacy regulations. However, you can take extra steps to protect yourself. Log out after every session on MyMedicare.gov and do not share your login information with anyone. Keep that data in a secure location just in case anyone does need to access your MyMedicare.gov account. You can learn more about MyMedicare.gov’s features, enroll, or explore the platform online at MyMedicare.gov. To set up a MyMedicare.gov account, you will need your Medicare number, mailing address, birthday, and Medicare Part A effective date.
“You took care of everything so I didn’t have to do anything. Good to have a very friendly family! Jason, when it was time for my husband and I to start to get our Medicare questions answered and make our choices, we were very confident putting our trust in you since you were recommended by a trusted friend. We left after our two visits with you fully informed and confident that we were given trustworthy advice for our needs. It was a huge relief to finally be confident with our coverage based on all of your recommendations! We are so thankful that you helped navigate us through this overwhelming process! We also appreciate that you offered to help us with our current open enrollment for Part D, so we know we can always place a call or send you an email with any questions or help with our different coverages! I still can’t believe you called me to answer one of my questions from an out of state conference. That kind of customer service is amazing! Thank you for being our one-stop source for all of our Medicare questions and additional coverages. Many, many thanks, Jason!” What Our Clients Think!
Thank you for enrolling in this helpful, easy-to-use program!
Could the American Rescue Plan Act Benefit You? In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was enacted to provide aid to those struggling as a result of COVID-19. Included in the act were provisions to lower the cost of health insurance. If your spouse or friends are under age 65 and don’t have access to employer insurance, please call us today . They could benefit from this act!
–Gary C., Customer since 2019
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EAT MORE OF THIS AND AGE LESS 3 Food Groups for Natural Anti-Aging
Every year, Americans spend millions of dollars — more than $58 billion, to be exact — on creams, procedures, and serums, hoping to find the fountain of youth. Experts at Statista believe the anti-aging market is a growing industry, but what if you didn’t have to spend extra money to look and feel younger? What if you could just eat?
aging nutrients. Avocados, in particular,
contain loads of B vitamins, which your brain uses to stay strong. Try adding avocados to
According to science, you can do that if you eat these foods.
your salads, toast, and eggs, or as a yummy topping for salmon — a powerful anti-aging food that’s good for your heart.
Red, Yellow, and Orange Produce
The same compound that makes sweet potatoes orange, bananas yellow, and some bell peppers red can also have anti-aging benefits. These colorful fruits and vegetables have carotenoids, which are anti-inflammatory nutrients that can protect your skin from sun damage and other toxins. Try adding sweet potatoes to chili and tacos, while bell peppers, bananas, oranges, and other produce can make great snacks!
Raw Cacao
Not to be confused with cocoa — which is processed cacao beans — raw cacao is a chocolatey superfood that comes all the way from tropical forests. It can be enjoyed on its own as a bitter chocolate or it can be infused into hot chocolate and brownies. In addition to tasting good, it’s full of anti-aging nutrients! Cacao is rich in magnesium, which your heart and brain love, it has the highest density of plant-based iron, and it’s full of antioxidants.
Fatty Foods
Fat is back! Regular servings of good fats — unsaturated fats — help your body absorb more nutrients. Plus, foods that are full of good fat, like avocados and nuts, contain their own anti-
THE BEST TEXAS-STYLE SMOKED BRISKET
WORD SEARCH
INGREDIENTS
• • •
Wood chips
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1/4 cup chili powder 1/4 cup garlic powder 1/4 cup onion powder 1/4 cup salt 1/4 cup pepper
1/4 cup paprika 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup ground cumin
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•
•
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1/4 cup cayenne pepper
• • •
10 pounds brisket
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1/4 cup brown sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. In a bowl, soak wood chips in water overnight. 2. In a large bowl, mix paprika, white sugar, cumin, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. 3. Rub spice mixture on the brisket and refrigerate for 24 hours. 4. Preheat smoker to 230 F. Drain wood chips and place them in the smoker.
ALIEN BALLPARK CHERRY FIRECRACKER FLAG INDEPENDENCE
ORCHID PADDLEBOARD PATRIOTIC SUNDAE SUNSCREEN TRAMPOLINE
5. Smoke brisket until it has an internal temperature of 165 F. 6. Remove brisket and wrap it in aluminum foil. 7. Smoke brisket further until it reaches an internal temperature of 185 F.
Inspired by AllRecipes.com
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Inside This Issue
1
JASON SHARES HIS ADD STORY
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HAVE YOU TRIED MYMEDICARE.GOV YET? YOU SHOULD!
FROM OUR CLIENTS
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3 FOOD GROUPS THAT STIMULATE ANTI-AGING
THE BEST TEXAS-STYLE SMOKED BRISKET
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THE MIRACULOUS MOUNTAIN CAT
THE MEOWAT 10,000 FEET
High on the slopes of Bristen, a mountain in the Glarus Alps in central Switzerland, a pair of skiers discovered something unexpected. At 4:30 a.m., the skiers climbed toward the summit of Bristen when they realized they weren’t alone. They were being followed by a cat — not a lynx or a wildcat, but a little mewling house cat. How does a house cat end up on the slopes of a snow-covered, 10,000-foot mountain? This was an answer the skiers wouldn’t get. They weren’t even sure what to do with a cat in general. It’s likely that it simply wandered away from one of the nearby towns or villages near the base of the mountain, but even for a human, that’s a major undertaking. Lost, the cat followed the only sign of civilization it could find: the skiers, Cyril and Erik Rohrer. “She started to shiver, and her paws began to bleed from the
hard snow,” Cyril noted. “We picked her up and carried her when she was too exhausted to walk uphill anymore. We were definitely confused. I felt really sorry for the cat. She was really exhausted on the ridge underneath the summit.” The cat stayed with them for some time before they met up with another group of hikers who were headed down the mountain. The cat joined them for what would hopefully be a journey back home. And it was! Remarkably, the cat’s owners were found. They revealed that their cat had vanished four days earlier and apparently followed yet another group of hikers up Bristen. “Animals do weird things. And they are way tougher than humans. They’ll never give up. Even though they are hurting really, really bad,” Cyril said of his feline hiking companion. Hopefully, that will be the little feline’s last trip up for some time!
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