…is a generous benefactor. But then again who doesn’t? I am like millions of other people right now, I’m under-employed. I am an uncounted statistic. Unfortunately, this is the second time this year that I have been cut to part time. Couple that with taking three pay cuts since leaving the stable job I used to have.
Being unemployed or under-employed is never good for anyone, especially around the holiday’s. Are my needs any different from the millions of others out there? Probably not, but now things are complicated by my daughter’s recent diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes (also known as Juvenile Diabetes). It’s the type of diabetes that will require her to be on insulin for the rest of her life.
There have already been a number of expenses that we have been covering. While most of it is being covered by our health insurance that generously will cover unmarried children up to age 25, I’m having to do battle on something you think would be covered – dietary education. You would think an insurance company would find it beneficial for a patient to learn how they will need to eat as part of their management of a disease that has no cure. Even more paradoxical, her primary care doctor sent her to the class. The class not only covered diet, but half of the class session covered diabetes, how to use a blood glucose meter, when to test and all things on how to manage her diabetes.
The class also had a very astute nurse teaching the class that recognized that her insulin dosing schedule was all wrong. The nurse took extra time to connect with her doctor’s office and redo not only her dosing schedule but got her on a second long acting type of insulin. She also did try to find a sample of the Lantus SoloStar pen injector, but couldn’t. That prescription cost $186 up front.
The previous week when we first were given the diagnosis, the first prescription for test strips taught us how expensive the care for diabetes is going to be – test strips are $1 a piece. Is there anyone out there that knows of program that provides these for free? Sure our insurance covers 80% of the cost, but the paperwork for these will wear us down. I’m also trying to find a reliable mail order company that could handle all of this, all we would have to do is pay the deductible and co-pays.
BUT what happens when we can no longer cover her? Right now all she has is part-time minimum wage job in retail. I had been told that there might be Vocational Rehab programs to retrain her. More research on my part will be needed. I was given this info by local Endocrinologist so I don’t know how it would apply in another state.
Even if a benevolent benefactor offered to help out financially, how to I recoup the emotional expenses? I find myself so drained from the emotional roller coaster that my daughter is on. She doesn’t realize that we on on this ride with her. She also feels like I don’t understand what she is going through. If I didn’t understand, I wouldn’t keep insisting that she find someone she can talk to that has “been there, done that”.
Yes, I would rather be gainfully employed full-time, but would millions of other folks out there. I would rather my daughter not have diabetes, so would millions of other people out there. I’m not alone…
Our prayers are with you guys. I know the ride of the emotional roller coaster. Most people do not know what affects your child affects you as well as a good parent. So once they are hit with something this big you can’t help but feel drained.
Hope you find full-time work soon.