Thursday, August 7, 2014

Medical bills piling on

The amount of medical bills that we have for Olivia is insane, we have insurance but with very high deductibles. It also doesn't help that they keep piling on (recent ER visit, we haven't even gotten that bill yet). We are still paying off her birth, NICU and heart surgery bills from last year. I feel like we will never get out of this debt and it's been heavy on my mind. It's a lot of stress to have to go trough something so scary and then have to pay so much money for it. Anytime we've ever tried to get some kind of assistance, we are told we make "too much money" (and by too much, I mean maybe $500-$1,000 "too much" per year) but nobody takes into consideration all the expenses and medical bills we have. It's so frustrating, we're not rich enough to pay but not poor enough to get help. It's very intimidating seeing such high numbers and not having any idea where the money is going to come from. I have been seriously just trying to keep my head above water and today I feel like I've been pushed down and I'm being held under. I'm the type of person who needs to have a plan, I need to know my future is secure and I don't right now. It's scary. No matter how much or how hard I work, I am constantly just sending it off to pay bills, I don't have any extra. I'm sure many other families can relate, it's just what comes along with medical issues. For now we are just setting up payment plans for everything and taking it day by day. It's so easy for people to say "money is not important" and I don't put money before my family or health but without it, where would we live? How would we eat? It may not be the most important thing but it's obviously necessary. I am so thankful that Olivia got the help that she needed and is doing well, I would never change that. I just need to step back, take a deep breath and relax. I know these bills will be paid off eventually but that seems very far off to me.

2 comments:

  1. Oh yes! We are hitting over $700,000 this year after back-to-back heart surgeries in March & probably over $2,000,000 in the 4 years of her life. Plus we are paying back some "overpayment" from SSI we got for her 1st year when I quit work to take care of her. It's crazy & overwhelming at times, but there's nothing I can do. I recently started a gofundme fundraiser for her, but I hate asking others to donate. You are certainly not alone!

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    1. I wish I knew about gofundme before her surgery, if she needs another one (still don't know) then I'm definitely going to set up an account! I also quit work to take care of my daughter for over a year, it was important to me. Thanks for the comment, it's nice to know I'm not alone!

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