Monday, April 1, 2013

Paperwork and more paperwork

Well, as a single mother I have had many challenges.  My son is asthmatic and tests as borderline Asperger's Syndrome. I already was challenged by a dysfunctional family.  When you bring a child into that situation the best and worst come out.  I recognized the challenges my son was facing early in life.  I did my best to cope on my own since my family wasn't acting very trustworthy or dependable.  I attempted to get assistance from my son's father's family.  They are very poor and don't demonstrate a great commitment to child rearing.  My son's conditions drained me due to his continual inability to sleep restfully through the night and insistence upon sleeping with me.  We moved to a community with an excellent grade school, but a long way from the business district.  I had been through twelve hour days from leaving home for work to returning home from work.  It is hard on a small child to spend so little time with their primary care giver and so much time in a public setting with little individual attention.  I attempted to work locally but found my stamina was flagging.  I found no public assistance until I was ultimately broke and homeless.  We fortunately made it through my son's entire grade school experience in the same home and the same school.  I worked very hard to help him develop social skills, friendships and a positive self image.

Today I'm jumping through hoops to get some medical assistance.  I've managed to secure something for my son, but I have no coverage.  I'm working for a retail chain part time, most of their staff is part time, and I do my best to pay our basic expenses.  There isn't money left for food, clothing or medical care.  I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  I have probably suffered from this my whole life, but it became exacerbated by giving childbirth and raising a very special child alone.  I have been prescribed thyroid medication, which helps pretty well under low stress, but fails under high stress.  I recently went several months without medication because I had run through the grace period for people who earn over $170 per month.  I'm also trying to make sure we have a life line telephone and perhaps a few dollars toward electric bills this summer.  So these agencies need paperwork and more paperwork.  I need to hand deliver some of it tomorrow and mail the rest.  These help agencies love to reject, deny and refuse assistance for any number of reasons.  There isn't really much time that I'm not under stress.