iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Meet Jeorgia. She’s just like Natalie - same age, same love of dance, and the same devastating condition. Like Natalie, she desperately needs surgery for CCI. It’s unavailable to her in Canada. We were lucky - Natalie got her surgery. Please help Jeorgia get hers too. gofund.me/0e611d522

gofund.me

Donate to Help Jeorgia get a life saving CCI Neuro-surgery, organized by Francesca Caruso

HELP SAVE JEORGIA’S LIFE - URGENT NEUROSURGERY NEEDED My name i… Francesca Caruso needs your support for Help Jeorgia get a life saving CCI Neuro-surgery

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

This is one of the articles I quoted in the #HuffPost piece about Natalie’s struggle to get #Cigna to cover her surgery. #ProPublica does excellent reporting on the #insurance industry and #healthcare, and can always use your support!

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Back to discuss this now that Natalie is recovering well from #CCI #surgery. First topic: What our #insurance should have covered. Or, answering the “why didn’t you just have better #healthinsurance?” (Hot tip: Don’t ask a #parent fighting for their kid that question.) #hEDS #MD

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Some good news! Natalie had her surgery! She’s home now and doing so well. She’s in her hard collar a couple more months, and has about a year of rehab to go, but omg, she can think again. And eat. And stand up. It’s a whole new world for her already. Thank you so much for all the support. 🩷

Natalie, a slender 19 yo with redish hair stands outside in the sun in pajama bottoms and a black tshirt. She is smiling and there is a tree and mountain behind her.

Natalie, a 19yo with reddish hair sits on a couch with a small dog next to her. Natalie is wearing a hard cervical collar. She has a blanket with hearts over her and a large heart pillow next to her.

Natalie (a 19yo with reddish hair, wearing a hard collar) stands next to her mom Beth (a 50yo
With short brown hair and glasses). Beth is holding a small cavapoo and wearing a pink sweater. Natalie is wearing a green tank top and has a picc line.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

When even the #Hallmark channel is pointing out how damaging the #healthinsurance industry is, maybe it’s time to reconsider the business model. #UHC #CEO #healthcare #HappyHowlidays #FindingMrChristmas

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Time to talk about #BrianaBoston. My perspective is obvs shaped by our fight to get Natalie care. Why can #healhinsurance companies deny and delay care - often causing harm - while corporate America and Congress just shrug? 🤷‍♀️ “Nothing we can do!” #BCBS #Cigna www.huffpost.com/entry/brain-...

huffpost.com

My Daughter Desperately Needs Brain Surgery. Our Insurance Company's Response Has Been Shocking.

"The insurance company has an army of people who are very concerned about paperwork and precise wording ... My kindness and patience has shifted to fury."

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

You know what Cigna told me when they (finally) approved her surgery? They “were just trying to protect Natalie.” From what? School? Friends? Being alive? Killing people is always wrong. Even when you do it with paperwork and a smile.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Seems like I wasn’t the only one looking for this kind of info. (And I think 13 hours a week is low, tbh. Same wirh the 24% delay.)

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Natalie’s surgery is approved!!! We are excited but exhausted. It shouldn’t take a parent who can write and a kid (young woman) who is willing to share her medical history with the world just to access care. And also, HER SURGERY IS APPROVED!! 🩷 Thank you so much for the support!

Two photos of Natalie. On the left, she is about 6 with two braids, a blue ruffle skirt and has a walking boot on her right foot. She is looking up at the camera with a sad face. On the right, she is now 15, with two braids a black tshirt and red and black plaids PJ bottoms. She has a walking boot on her left foot.

Beth (mom) and Natalie (daughter age 5) smile for the camera. Natalie is wearing a blue and pink sparkly dance costume and holding a bouquet of pink flowers.

A family of four stands under a balloon arch made with pink, gold, peach and white balloons. From left to right - Tanner, a 19yo tall young man with brown hair, jeans and an orange sweatshirt. Then Beth - a 50s woman with a brown bob wearing a flowered dress. Then Natalie, an 18yo with long brown hair, wearing a pink prom dress for at home prom. Then Kirk, a man in his 50s. He is bald with a beard, wearing a purple shirt and black pants. All four people are wearing heart shaped sun glasses in different colors.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Tried to find this info for the article about Natalie. Closest I found a was survey that discovered about half of people get worse w/delayed care Also, @ProPublica.bsky.social does excellent reporting about health insurance companies. Recommend a follow and donation if you can swing it.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Hey for no reason at all, just want to point out that “kids” stop being allowed to be on a parent’s plan at 26. (Until the next admin takes their shot at overturning the #ACA / #Obamacare, then who knows b/c concepts of a plan and all.) #healthcare #healthinsurance #UHC #CEO

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Guess they haven’t learned yet. insurance is not an indispensable part of health care, executives are certainly not pillars of leadership or whatever the fuck that line was. And glad it doesn’t include anything about *employee* safety. Or care. JFC.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Good morning everyone! I’m having a tiny bit of trouble keeping up with my mentions and inbox. Thank you for the care, concern and amazing offers to help! Sharing a few moments - Natlaie’s “graduation” + her trip to the surgeon + family, and then our plans moving forward in the thread.

This is a video clip of Natalie in a red grad cap and gown. In the video, she stands under a balloon arch in a red cap and gown. As the video plays, she moves her tassle to the opposing side and throws the cap in the air. It goes about 6 inches and then falls.

Natalie - a 19yo slender girl in a yellow dress, hard cervical collar and black mask, stand in front of the sign for Weill Cornell Medicine, Center for Comprehensive Spine Surgery. She is giving a thumbs up.

Natalie - a slender 19 yo with brown hair m in a ponytail, wearing a yellow dress - stands in a courtyard in front of a scaled down Statue of Liberty. The statue is holding a tiny pride flag.

A family of four is sitting down smiling and laughing in front of a large birthday balloon. From left to right, it’s a 20yo young man with curly brown hair, then Beth, a woman in her 50s with a brown bob and glasses, then Kirk, a 50s bald man. Natalie, a 19yo Siri brown wavy hair and glasses stands to the side. She is wearing a patterned romper and a hard cervical collar.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Hi all! First Natalie and I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone for the support! No, Natalie has not had surgery yet. It has been in negotiations for months. As of today, we have 3 of the 4 signed agreements we need. #Cigna assures us the 4th is coming “any day now.”

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Didn’t think I could be even angrier at #Cigna. Our case manager just gave my husband all the information and updates I had been begging for over the last month. In one phone call. I thought my PT degree and years of healthcare experience would help. Turns out I just needed a Y Chromosome. 🙃

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Natlaie was supposed to be at the #ErasTourVancouver tonight, celebrating her recovery from brain and spine surgery. But #cigna refused to cover her surgery, so it got cancelled. She’s at home instead, still waiting for negotiations to finish…”any day now” 🙃

Natalie sits in an infusion chair getting IV fluids. She is wearing a Taylor Swift Eras tour sweatshirt and carrying a Taylor Swift Eras tour bag.

A hand holding Polaroid photos of Natalie and her love aunts at the Taylor Swift Reputation tour. She is 13 in the picture.

Natalie - a 16 year old
With long brown hair, is kissing the cover of a Taylor swift vinyl. There are four vinyls in the Taylor Swift Midnights clock on her bedroom wall.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

I have a piece publishing soon about our fight with our insurance company to cover a surgery my daughter desperately needs. They denied it. She’s down to 98#s now- at 5’6” - and struggling to eat and stand. Want empathy for the UHC guy, but too busy trying to keep my kid alive. More Saturday.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Tried to see #Wicked today. Had to leave before it started; asked for a refund for the ticket. Manager was SO nice, and SO sad for me (kind but *very* sad). Got home, kiddo said “you even dressed up for Wicked!” Friends…I did not dress up. But this is what I was wearing. It all makes sense now. 😂

A woman in her early 50s with brown hair cut in a bob stands in her kitchen wearing a pink sweater, green skirt and green Converse low tops. She is holding a large tub of popcorn from a movie theater.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

*almost* everyone in the family likes their Christmas pajamas…

A short video of a small cavapoo dressed in red and black plaid dog pajamas, giving the camera side-eye, while standing on a couch

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Current view as the tiny (adorable) menace creeps closer and closer to me (my Thanksgiving leftovers)…🐶

A small cavapoo sits on a couch near a dish of left over mashed potatoes, staring longingly at the food.

In a photo, The same Cavapoo has moved closer to the food and is staring directly at me with sad hungry eyes.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Day 11 and 12 of the #bookchallenge #💙📚 #booksky (Plus a little commentary. 🩷 these books for their take on the importance of connection.)

A photo of the cover of “They Both Die in the End” by Adam Silvera.

A photo of the rhyming picture book “Is There Really A Human Race” by Jamie Lee Curtis.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

In light of my thoughts on #Project2025 and the #exvangelical community, here’s book 10/20 in the #bookchallenge. #booksky #💙📚 (First book that accurately reflected how I was “taught” history.)

Cover of the book “Saving History - How White Evangelicals Tour the Nation’s Capitol and Redeem America” by Lauren Kerby

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

My note on Project 2025. I usually say I grew up “borderline evangelical” plus “quirky libertarian.” Think very small, very Christian school. Girls couldn’t wear shorts. We learned about complemtarianism, but it was presented as just life. “The man is the head of the household.” 1/n

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Missed a day! Day 8/20 and 9/20 in the 20 day book challenge. (This is reminding me that yes, I do pretty exclusively read kids books and non-fiction work. Sorry adult fiction writers….🤷‍♀️) #bookchallenge #booksky #💙📚 #kidlit

A cover of the book “the new Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander

A cover of the book “The Dark Is Rising” by Susan Cooper.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Day 7/20 in the #bookchallenge. #💙📚 #booksky (Listened to this one as an audiobook while trying to manage post-concussion syndrome. Recommend the book, *do not* recommend post-concussion anything! But gave me an appreciation for audiobooks and podcasts.)

A photo of the cover of “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig.

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Watching the Finding Mr. Christmas, the Hallmark Channel Christmas Bachelor show with Natalie again this week. (comes out on Thursdays and is amazing and I love it so much 💚♥️). Have to put up the other great commentary on Hallmark Christmas. youtu.be/hNoZHUDB3GU?...

youtu.be

Hallmark Dating Show - SNL

YouTube video by Saturday Night Live

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Day 6/20 in the #bookchallenge. Covers only. 😃 #booksky #💙📚 (This is one of my “it’s been a rough day/week/month” books and I need a familiar comfort book. 🩷)

A picture of the cover of Fire, a book by Kristin Cashore

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Ok, the real day 5/20 in the 20 book challenge, etc. #booksky #💙📚 #bookchallenge

A picture of the cover of “The Invisible Kingdom - Reimagining Chronic Illness” by Meghan O’Rourke

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

As someone who has been fighting the insurance company tooth and nail for coverage for both myself and my daughter over the last several years, omg this. And if you need specialized care?? Good luck. #chronicillness #EDS #POTS #CCI

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

20 Books, 20 Days, Just Covers… #💙📚 #booksky #bookchallenge (Wait….no….what??)

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

20 book challenge, 20 books that stuck with you, no commentary just covers. Day 4/20 (I’m enjoying picking the 20 for myself, almost like a personality profile. Also, enjoying everyone else’s covers. 😃 So, uh, a little commentary too?) #booksky #💙📚 #bookchallenge

A photo of the cover of “Get A Life, Chloe Brown” by Talia Hibbert

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Choose 20 books that stayed with you. No explanations, just covers, one per day. #booksky #💙📚 #bookchallenge

A photo of the cover of the book Internment, by Samira Ahmed

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Choose 20 books that stayed with you. No explanations, covers only. Day 2/20 #booksky #bookchallenge #💙📚

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Watching the Hallmark Mr. Christmas Bachelor show. Best reality show ever. I can’t stop giggling. (Also, my daughter’s dream job is acting in a Hallmark movie. She is a real-life Hallmark character. ♥️💚)

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you. No explanations, just covers. #booksky #books #writerlife Day 1/20

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

This little adorable moppet rolled in 💩 and then ate it on the trail this morning during the slow run. So cute. And so, so gross. 🤢 🐶 (Slow run was good tho!)

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Beth Swanson @write4chocolate.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Hi! First post and all. Love where I live in the #PNW, travel, the #outdoors, #books and running (so) slowly. Managing #chronicillness with family, jokes and snark. (Save the ACA!) Used to be a #PT, now a freelance #writer. Sometimes I post photos of ⛰️ and my very cute 🐶. Happy to be here. 🦋

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