"My Worker's Compensation Insurance Provider Is HOUNDING Me Again!"

******************************************************************************************* When I went to court last month to settle the Workers Compensation case regarding the injury to my left shoulder, I knew something was fishy when things went so smoothly. Didn’t I tell you I’d be hearing from the Insurance Company again soon? You don’t deal with a company for seventeen years and not learn what their habits are. I have also learned what their work ethic and their little tricks are, and they are very underhanded, to say the least. It’s a shame that you can’t trust companies like that anyone; and they’re the ones getting bailed out!

Anyway…A few weeks back, I got a big, thick, legal-sized envelope in the mail from my lawyer, Peter N. Littman of Littman and Babiarz in Ithaca, New York. He has represented me in this case since 1995—so that’s a very long time on one case, I would think.

I remember the first time I went to his office. My twin sister, Sande, took me. I wasn’t driving, of course, because of the problem with my hands, and I also anticipated that I would need her to fill out any paperwork that they would give me on a “clipboard” when I entered their office. The last time I had any dealings with a lawyer before that had been when I had divorced my physically-abusive first husband, and I was suffering flash-backs while we were sitting there. It had to be because I was so nervous.

The time in the waiting room flew by and when we were called to enter Mr. Littman’s office, my knees buckled. I was so embarrassed; I hadn’t done anything wrong, so I had nothing to feel guilty for. Sande grabbed my arm and that bolstered my courage, so in the office we went, only to sit and wait—which only made me nervous, once again.

By the time Mr. Littman finally came to his office, Sande and I were laughing, and making jokes as to how he must have gotten lost on his way to the office. I’ll never share the actual jokes here, just in case I become a stand-up comic some day; I may need them and they were that good!

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Bond,” he said, as he walked into the office, reading my folder with his head down. He hadn’t seen Sande or me yet. “How are you this morning?” (I was single at the time and hadn’t even started dating my current husband yet.)

“Fine, thank you for asking,” we said in exact unison. “How are you, Mr. Littman?”

“Twins!” he said, as he tossed my folder on the desk and gave us both a smile. “Which one of you is Cynde Bond?”

“I could be,” Sande said, smiling mischievously.

“So could I,” was what I said, as he turned to look at me.

He was a very stern, nice-looking man, and this could go either way, but I was guessing that he would take it well. “I have eight-year-old twin boys, so I have to put up with this kind of stuff all the time. Wait until I tell them about you two characters,” he said, and right then, we both knew that he liked us.

We decided to let him off the hook and we told him which “twin had the Tony,” as it were, and then we got down to business.

Getting back to the present, inside the envelope was a letter from my Workers Compensation Insurance provider, which at the time happened to be Great American Insurance Company, and is now Ohio Casualty Group. They made a list of all the medications that I was taking that they covered (inaccurate, of course) and then explained how I didn’t need them or should be taking something else instead. As usual, they didn’t bother to read my doctor’s records, which they had requested in order to formulate this report, but what does that matter? We all know the real bottom line is the bottom line or translated: the only thing these people care about is saving money.

So, back to court we go. It’s all just blackmail, you know. They had threatened that they wouldn’t pay for my medications when they switched to the new provider, and that didn’t work, so they tried to sue me under what they called a #25a provision, but found they couldn’t, because my case was an on-going case. They have been trying to force me to settle early for years, but I said, “No, thank you.” Why would I do that? Are they nuts?

The next best thing, they thought, was to harass her. So they keep scheduling Independent Medical Examinations (IME’s) in the hopes that they’ll finally find a doctor that will side with them some day…but in fifteen years, it hasn’t happened yet.

It is stressful to me, which only adds to my pain level, but I’m sure they don’t care at all. Thankfully I have this voice-recognition software on my computer, plus my husband helps me so I can post these reports. My husband is an angel! I plan on keeping a record of all the things these people do to me, so when I go to get some help, it will be clear that I have been harassed for years. I’m tired of sitting back and being victimized. This has got to stop!

Until next time…stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Where It All Began

All I can think about lately is little Noah. I can't wait until he gets here. So that made me think that maybe it would be a good time to tell the story of Sande's and my beginning.

We were actually triplets, but little Cande didn't make it. My mother never talks about it, but I know it hurts her to this day. She does love to tell the story about when she found out she was pregnant for twins—even though they didn't know we were triplets until she lost Cande: the third baby, my tiny, little sister.

My father owned a car dealership (he sold Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets) and he was away at a big Dealership Meeting in Syracuse, N. Y. at Krebb’s Inn when my mother got the good news. Ordinarily, news like that could have waited until he got home a few days later, but this was different! You see, Dad and his ex-wife had their own set of twins, and when he had left her for cheating on him, (several times!) she kept telling him that he’d be sorry—he’d never be able to have twins with anyone else. In fact, she gloated over it.

My father told my mother about what she had said before they got married, and said it was a ridiculous thing for her to say. They both laughed about how funny it would be if he and Mom were able to have twins some day, but, it was soon forgotten; they got on with the beginning of their new, happy lives together. They had both agreed that whether or not they had twins would not be the key to their happiness. However, deep inside, my mother wanted to give my father twins—she wanted it that more than almost anything!

Mom and Dad totally erased that conversation from their minds, and one year later, my brother, John was born. Four years after that, my sister, Carol Lee, joined him. Now it was another four years later, and Mom was making a phone call to the secretary at the Dealership meeting. Mom briefly told her the story about Dad’s first set of twins and what his “ex” had said, then she asked when their next break would be.

"This is too good to wait!” the secretary had said. “Why don't I just go right over and have them take a phone to his table; it'll give those boys some real excitement!" and that's exactly what she did.

My mom excitedly spoke to my dad over the phone. “Sweetheart, I have some good news for you,” she said, trying hard to suppress the giggles that were waiting to burst forth.

“Go ahead, honey,” he replied, nervously. “I’m always happy to hear good news.”

“Miles, we’re having twins!”

“What do you know!” he exclaimed. Then he turned to the men in the meeting and said, “My wife and I are having twins!”

The room filled with men was abuzz, congratulating my father and making wise cracks. Everybody in the room started whooping and hollering; my dad was the proudest man in the world.

“I’ll have to get off the phone now, Mary Ellen. I can’t hear you over all the ruckus,” he told her. “You’ve made me so happy…and honey, don’t forget—I love you!”

“I love you, too, Miles,” she had answered, tears of joy spilling down her cheeks.

When our father put the announcement in our hometown newspaper five months later, it read: "New Models Arrive At Local Dealership," and he proudly heralded the arrival of their twin girls, Cynde and Sande. Boy! was his was ex-wife ANGRY!!

For your enjoyment: (This reminds me so much of our childhood. There is so much love in this home. What a blessed family!)


Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

41 Days and Counting!

It's hard to believe that in shortly over a month's time, our "little twinkle," Noah Christian Hammond is due to arrive, thus making Dion and I become first-time grand-parents,
and changing our lives...forever. Neither one of us can wait!

I find myself daydreaming about what he'll look like, smell like, and feel like in my arms. I already love him so much. When I think of how much I have loved Josh and Jon, and now to add a child of one of these gifts from God, I have to wonder what it was that I did that was so good, in order to deserve being blessed like this.

From the moment that I fell in love with the boys' father, I have been happier than I have ever thought possible, and I thank God every day for such wondrous joy. I pray that Josh and Chrissy will find that kind of happiness in their marriage, and that Noah's childhood will be one filled with safety, love and happiness.

Children of divorce, like Josh, carry hurts with them that they oftentimes can not express, and we do not want that to ever happen to little Noah. When Josh's mother dissolved their marriage, it was rough on the children and his father, but things could not be undone. I will never understand what she saw in another man, when she had perfection right under her nose, but I am more than happy to have him for my husband.

"I, Cynde, take thee Dion, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part, In Jesus' name, Amen."

He's a wonderful husband, a wonderful father, and he's also going to be a wonderful grandfather! I can't wait to share this adventure with this man I married. It's bound to be filled with more love than we could ever imagine...and we're both ready and waiting for it, with our arms wide open!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you.

It's Official: They're Engaged!

Well, it's official, folks! Our eldest son, Josh, and Chrissy, his girlfriend of three years (they had their three-year anniversary on 06 March 2009) are now engaged! He has even given her the Hammond family diamond, an heirloom that has been passed down through the family, originally belonging to my husband's Great, Great Grandmother Hammond. (I'll insert the photo of it on Chrissy's hand as soon as she emails it to me.)

I was finally able to meet her some weeks back when I went in to the P & C grocery store where she works. Dion and I had spent the day together doing shopping and errands. I had a doctor's appointment and blood tests earlier in the day, so we stopped to get a few things on the way home and when he noticed she was working, he took me right through her line and introduced us. Both of us are shy, so I was relieved that we hadn't had to plan our meeting and make a big deal out of it. I always worry that people won't like me, or that I'll embarrass Dion and the boys in some way (low self-esteem left over from my abusive first marriage, I guess).

She's a delightful girl and I liked her right away. As you can see from the photo, she's very pretty. She's also just as sweet as she can be. I think that she and I will become great friends. If she and I can get along a fraction as well as my mother-in-law and I get along, then we'll be doing great!

I'm so blessed because I have the best mother-in-law (MIL) in the world, and I want to be that way with Chrissy. Dion's mother is like no other MIL that I have ever heard about. I have never heard any of my married friends rave about their MIL's like I do about mine. She is so sweet, generous, loving, and I love her so much!

They always tell you that it's easy for a mom to get along with her daughter's husband, but that nobody is ever good enough for her little boy. I can see where that would be true in some cases, but I think Josh made a great choice in Chrissy. Furthermore, for added insurance, I'll be praying with all my heart that these two will be happy together, and that they'll have a close and loving partnership & marriage, like his father and I do. That would be a match made in Heaven!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please check out my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Bringing Things Up-To-Date...

One of the worst things about getting behind on posting in your blogs is trying to make some sense of all the information that you know you should catch up on so that you can bring people up-to-date. My best advice to you is this: don't get behind in the first place. That's the very reason my father used to call me "Ben" for my nickname. "Why Ben?" you ask. Simple. For: "Ben" putting it off! At the time, I had always been quite a procrastinator, and I have pretty much conquered that problem. Or, at least I thought I had. I really need to work on that.


On 12 February 2009, Dion took me to attend a Worker's Compensation Hearing regarding the injury to my left shoulder that happened on 12 December 2007. I have been fighting for over a year to get treatment and coverage for it, and because it relates to an injury that occurred in 1992 that I was awarded life-time coverage for, it made it more complicated than usual. To make a long story short, they were uncharacteristically nice to me at court and everything will be covered through New York State Special Funds (a division of Worker's Comp.) instead of my Worker's Compensation Insurance Company, which is good for me, but I don't think it is fair for New York State! It's just another one of those deals where the state gets the shaft while the insurance company gets the big bucks and they don't even have to pay out much because of some #25a provision where, even though they were court-ordered to pay me "forever" for the problem that I have, they can now opt-out. It's just not fair! I'm sure tax-payers pay the tab for this one, too!

Don't get me wrong here: I'm very thankful for the blessing that I have received here, but it's really no more than what I had already been previously awarded and what was already due me. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Usually when they act as if they are bearing gifts with one hand, they are busy stabbing me in the back with their other hand. I'm praying that I'm wrong this time, and if so, I will gladly post a public apology and will also be very pleasantly surprised. Only time will tell.


On 15 February 2009, my twin sister Sande's mother-in-law passed away. Her name was Helen L. Smith, and she was 91 years old. Helen was very special to our entire family for many reasons. She was a very special lady, and because of that, we made her part of our own family, which is something we resist doing, unless we are quite sure that you'll fit in quite nicely with all of us. Once she moved back to New York State from her lengthy stay in Florida, she and my mom renewed their close friendship and became best friends again, frequently staying over night with her and staying up to watch movies until all hours of the night. They called each other every day, just like typical girlfriends do. I think she was particularly close to me because I am Sande's twin, and it was like getting two daughters-in-law for the price of one. This is what I wrote to be read at her memorial service (it will explain more plainly what I mean):

"Throughout the years, Helen has always treated me as though I were her second daughter-in-law. I guess it was an unusual situation, because I am Sande Smith’s twin sister. What is more, before I got married to my husband, Dion, in 2001, I used to spend quite a bit of my time with Allan, Sande, Ashleigh, Miles, Amity and Helen.

Not only were Helen and I family, but we were friends as well. I used to work for her years ago at the Happy Landing Restaurant, and I have gone on trips with her. One trip in particular was to Annapolis, MD; New York City; and thereabouts, just the two of us for two weeks—and we had a blast! I remember that was the first time that I had ever ridden in a single-engine plane. A friend of hers owned one, and she asked him to take us for a ride. We were both bug-eyed because he gave us quite a bumpy, daredevil type of ride, but we loved it.

She was so adventurous, full of mischief and young at heart. I remember sharing a room with her on another trip where I short-sheeted her bed. To do that, you have to take the non-fitted sheet and fold it in half instead of having it tucked into the foot of the bed like it’s supposed to be, so when the person slides into bed, they are stopped short, and they wonder what’s going on. Well, she kept looking at the bed, trying to figure it out, then she looked at me and exclaimed, “You dog!” That was one of her favorite sayings and we all loved coaxing her into situations where she’d have to say it again.

When I moved to Texas and Virginia and she to Florida, we kept in touch by faithfully writing to each other. Her letters were always newsy and interesting and inevitably contained coupons or a clipping about something that would be of particular interest to you. She was thoughtful that way.

One thing you could say about Helen was that she was definitely “unique.” And she was loyal. If she loved you, she would back you up, no matter what.

Furthermore, it was important to Helen that she stayed physically fit. She used to take a walk after each meal, and maintained this ritual faithfully until around age 89 when it became apparent that her dementia may be a problem.

When she fell and needed to be hospitalized, her dementia worsened, but she remained good-natured and sweet. In fact, she thought that she worked as a supervisor at Huntington’s and the girls there just loved her. They said that she was a delight to have around.

I thank the Lord for sending her into my life—she enriched it, and I loved her very much.

In the future, when I think of Helen, I know I will smile…,but I will also miss her terribly."

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and God bless you all.


Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got the Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Getting Organized!

For quite some time now, I have been in a quandary as to what to do with this blog. Without realizing it, I seem to have been going in three different directions with my postings, and it's made a mess of what I had originally intended to do with it. Now I think I have a solution: I'll split my postings into three different blogs so that I can keep my thoughts organized. Why didn't I do that in the first place? (I know the answer to that. Because hindsight is 20/20, that's why!)

This blog, "Cynde's Daybook," will contain all the postings that have to do with my personal life, such as information about my family and the upcoming stories about my new grandson that is due to be born in April (I can't wait!).

The other two blogs will be as follows:

1.) "Usurper Exposed" will contain my postings about things that are primarily politically oriented. It will talk about what is happening to our country as Obama (the man who has still NOT proven to be legally eligible to be President because he can never possibly be a natural-born citizen!) goes on a spending spree with TRILLIONS of dollars that our country does not have! I have set the site up, but not posted yet. I will do that soon.

2.) "Cynde's Got The Write Stuff" will contain any postings that are related to my writing and being a writer. I'll pass along writing advice that I've learned along the way; links for sites that will be helpful to other writers; reviews on books that I've read that I thought were exceptional; and other goodies along those lines--I think you get the idea.

Hopefully, this will organize my blog in the way that I had envisioned earlier. If not, I'll just have to make another split. (The more, the merrier, right?) Well, I do hope you'll check out all of my blogs, and I also hope you'll find them interesting enough to keep coming back.

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.