A long time ago, and by that I mean only about two and a half years, I quit a job with absolutely fantastic benefits. My whole family could have regular appointments with doctors, dentists, and opticians. I left the job because the schedule I was working on was regularly changing and never in a way that was functional with my family’s needs.
Since then, we have had no access to any insurance. We’ve also had 2-3 emergency room visits, a child developing difficult behavioral(probably ADHD), and I can barely walk without intense sharp pains in my feet.
I cannot take my children for check-ups, I cannot get my feet looked at, and I cannot even get my child into a real therapist or doctor regarding his behavioral issues.
Our doctor did refer us somewhere for behavioral issues, to an actual therapist with a degree, but they refused to see my son because we don’t have insurance. They referred us somewhere else, a place for people who aren’t very well off. This group of people will help my son, but again, because we don’t have insurance, they won’t let him see an actual doctor. He gets an intern who hasn’t completed her degree yet. She is sweet but doesn’t seem to know what she is doing, and my son doesn’t seem to be getting anything out of it.
As I mentioned, I can barely walk most days. The joints in my toes, the soft part, and along the top of my foot are generally in pain. It can be anything from a dull throb to the sensation of being stabbed repeatedly. I take an Aleve, wear my house slippers, and go about my day pretending I’m okay because, regardless of how my feet feel, I still have to cook, clean, do laundry, and be a makeshift 1st-grade teacher.
I cannot afford to go to the doctor. None of my children have ever been to a dentist. Only one of them has had an eye evaluation.
I can probably get special aid, medicare, or something similar to that, and I will try to. I don’t get why I should have to. Why is everything we need to do to take care of ourselves and our children so expensive? Why can the people in charge of providing these services decide not to help us?
It is so frustrating to know I can’t afford to make sure my kids are taken care of because someone with a lot of money decided to make more money over helping people.
We are not wealthy people, and because of this the system decided we don’t count. We are not allowed to see real therapists. We aren’t allowed to take care of our pain, physical or otherwise. It’s expected we go on, working through the pain and difficulties, without any expectation of change.
A friend of mine said it very plainly, “being healthy is only for the wealthy.” Unless you have a lot of money OR work for an affluent company, you’re instead screwed.
I don’t want to feel pain with every step I take. I want my son to get the help he needs. I want to know I can get glasses for my children and take them to the dentist. I don’t want to sell my soul to afford basic health care.
Can someone explain to me why our country works this way? Why and how could we let it get this bad? I don’t want to move to Canada, but I would consider it to take care of my children.
– Just One Mom
Just One Mom 