our family feels truly blessed indeed.
I may have mentioned, once or twice in passing, that Parker is a VERY expensive kid.
It has become rather the norm for us to find little surprises in our mailbox telling us that we owe ANOTHER $1,200 or (ah!) SEVEN THOUSAND dollars in medical fees.
It seems as though Reed and I made a major technical error in paying each bill as it came in since Parker was a newborn. Because now, when the savings are dry, the fundraising coffers are bare, and our checkbook empty 30 seconds after we get paid…….the medical institutions still want to be paid.
Yesterday.
Yeah. They are real easy to work with that way.
I was told by one bill collector employed by PCMC that if we did not have insurance they would not even bother to call us. But since we have insurance AND have been so stupid as to pay our medical bills…….that we can pretty much count on being hounded until every last penny has been collected. And the “let it go to collections and pay five bucks a month” theory? Does not seem to be an option for us. And, boy have I checked into it. Even when we sent information IN WRITING to PCMC informing them that the rest of our grant would pay the over TWO THOUSAND dollar food bill Parker ran up during his last surgery, they STILL turned us over to collections. (Our insurance pays for NOTHING feeding related.)
Yet another bite in the butt for the middle class guy working his butt off and trying to do things right.
I could go on and on. The $130.00 a month for the probiotics Parker needs due to his issues with c-diff. The out of pocket cost for his big time Viagra habit. Since we are using Viagra off label our insurance company nails us for it.
Ah. Our insurance company. Great guys, those.
And did I tell you that Parker has surgery this Friday? One that carries more risk due to his Pulmonary Hypertension? And while the in hospital recoup time is usually only about 4 days, when you add the PICU stay that Parker will need to stablize his after surgery PH levels……well, we could be there awhile.
Give me a moment while I hyperventilate.
But not all is gloom and doom. Cause well, we have friends. Amazing ones. Ones who offer prayers. Ones who check in on us and make sure we know they are thinking about us. And ones who do stuff like this:
And This:
Books for a Cause! From Joey and Jessica.
And not to forget this:
The Original Crackerjack Site that is designing a beautiful book for Parker
Or this:
So many friends. So many dreams of our family to one day be the ones doing the giving to bless others that find themselves on this very same path.
Just wanted you to know I enjoy reading about Parker everyday. I have a granddaughter with Down Syndrome and AVSD heart problems. She has had her mitral valve replaced with a mechanical one. She will be having her 4th open heart surgery the same day as Parker is having surgery. She will be having the Ross procedure. I will be praying for Parker along with Katelyn.
I get so frustrated with the expense of medical supplies and equipment, mainly that it is so inflated. It seems odd that they really stick it to people in these situations. I pray for Parker, and for you.
Annie,
When Parker was admitted to PCMC the first time both Reed and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that we had insurance. We even joked about how they must be kinda glad to see us because they knew that our insurance would pay. Over 60% of PCMC’s patients have only Medicaid or no insurance at all. And you would be surprised to find out what Medicaid won’t touch.
We had also been under the impression that PCMC treated all kids regardless of their ability to pay. PCMC makes a BIG deal out of that. Reed and I simply roll our eyes when we hear that now.
It wasn’t five minutes after Parker had been wheeled into surgery that there was someone running down the hall yelling for us and wanting to know how we were planning on paying for this surgery.
Don’t get me wrong. I am so very thankful for the doctors who have on more than one occasion saved Parker’s life. But even the doctors will shake their heads in frustration over the exact same issues Reed and I have struggled with.
Simply put, it would be better for us to have no insurance for Parker than it is for us right now.
For example, Parker’s cardiologist knows exactly what a tank of nitric oxide costs. He was FURIOUS when he saw what PCMC billed us per hour for that stuff. They figure our insurance will be paying for everything…….so they jack the price up.
Uh. Guess again.
There are many families who choose to live at the poverty level or below just so they don’t lose their medicaid for their child. Because even if they were working and had insurance they would be worse off than they are now.
Being middle class in America can really be a disadvantage when one has a chronically ill, medically fragile child.
My heart breaks every time I read how hard things are for you. UGGHHH the insurance people make me so mad and the medical industry is so messed up!!! I wish I could change things. I love you all so much and what you are going through with money and what poor Parky has to endure just BREAKS my heart!! I want to do all I can to help. I know it isnt much, but i WONT stop! And I WONT stop praying. You are always in my heart.
Love,
Amy
All I can say is AMEN on your post about PCMC. We got a bill today for Rhett’s surgery that he had in March for all of the stuff that Medicaid didn’t pay for. I about hit the floor when I read it. UGH.
Tammy – I wish I had a magic wand I could wave at those bills and just vaporize them… I’ll do what I can to help though.
I think I have all the current benefits going for both Parker and for Rhett at the benefit going on at my place. Let me know if I’ve missed anything and I’ll add it. Hang in there!
Tammy-please email me at cuzamora((at))hotmail.com. Let me know what type of probiotics you use for Parker. I might be able to help you get some-just make sure to let me know if there are any “no no” items that cannot be in there. I’ll see what I can do, for sure!
Here via In the Life of a Child…