I know its been a while since I last posted, so I’m going to give you a short update.
The last time I wrote, Steve had fallen and broken a rib. As you can imagine, the first several days was the worst but he slowly started to get better. He is pretty much at 90% now. He still has some aches and pains, but he is able to be active, lift and workout. This worst is definitely over!
A couple of weeks ago, he struggled with one of the nasty flu bugs that’s going around these days. Thankfully, he was able to shake it off pretty quickly. I am fine and lucky that I never caught what he did. (knock on wood!)
Multiple $clerosis
Despite some setbacks over the past few weeks, I do have some good news: I was approved for the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool. Its a state run health insurance program that helps people who normally cant get insurance due to medical conditions. Its not free or even low-cost by any means, but at least its available to me and so many other people who need it. Multiple Sclerosis is a very expensive disease to have and the cost can be in the high tens of thousands of dollars a year.
The disease modifying drugs (or DMDs) alone can cost up to $30,000 year. MRIs can be up to $5,000, and some doctors request them annually. Then there are the doctor’s visits which can be quite frequent. Some people may need to be hospitalized at one point or another. Many people are in physical therapy which I may need to start soon myself; and the right type of care isn’t cheap. Then there is the need for medications to treat related symptoms. Equipment and tools to make life a little easier or even possible such as canes, walkers, ankle-foot braces, wheelchairs, wheelchair lifts, cooling devices, hand controls for cars, home modifications including the need to move to a single story home or move to a more centralized location (and the list goes on) adds more financial strain to a person with MS and their families. Though many people with MS are able to keep working, many of us are on temporary or permanent disability which means less money in our pockets. And just because a person has MS, doesn’t mean they are not struggling with other unrelated health issues.
The average age of onset for MS is between the ages of 20 and 40, so many of us will have a long time to deal with these financial pressures.
This is tough. Maybe the new health reform will make things easier? Assuming Obama can make it happen.
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Carla — What a difficult journey and I agree about health insurance. When I got divorced, I had to get private insurance and it was very difficult…but nothing compared to what you’ve gone through.
The first thing insurance companies do is drop anyone with a chronic illness. I’ve heard even carpal tunnel syndrome is a reason for refusing insurance.
That’s the sad thing about the US — the focus is so much on money, rather than people and our responsibility to each other.
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