Skip to main content

We Can't Afford Our Textbooks But Are Expected To Afford Healthcare


Sorry to get up close and personal with ya but hey, that's kind of the point of this blog.

Today. You can fucking see it.

My emotionless face illuminates the swollen, pulsating blood vessels. I mean look at the weird wrinkles and divots right above my eyebrows... that's not natural y'all. That is migraine showing it's ugly face.

Funnier thing, when I got into work, a coworker asked how I was feeling. I guess my cheeks were slightly flush.

Its crazy for people to actually see my pain because it only ever really happens when I 100% should be in a hospital bed, not work or class or really anywhere. Especially someplace that required operation of a motor vehicle... I ubered to work today, no worries.

But here's the thing, I went to work. I sold stuff. I interacted with customers. Because guess what. I've got bills too.

God. Its this constant battle between do I drop out of school and just work what I can? Do I quit work so I can focus on school?

Well. In my state, I can't work full-time. My current job - which I love - only offers health insurance to full-time employees.

And here we have the dilemma.

HEALTH INSURANCE

What a glorious concept.

I am so ever thankful for my father who served our country for countless years. Because of this, I am afforded one of the top health insurances this country offers. Until I'm 25. Or at least until I'm out of school. So basically two more years.

But that same health insurance denied me Botox injections. Ironic the same government that approved them for migraines will deny the treatment to the people they provide healthcare to.

I would be lost without health insurance. I mean one of my prescriptions alone is over $500... I pay a measly $11 copay.

Now here's a kicker... if I drop out of school, I will lose my insurance.

But wait didn't I just say I had it until I was 25? Yeah, but that's dependent on me being a "dependent" on my retired, already stretched out covering what they can related to my schooling and health care... parents. They can't support me to the point of me being considered their dependent if I'm not in school.

But, if I physically can't work, at least no where near full time... I don't qualify for health insurance through work.

So, somehow even though I can't afford all my textbooks because I can't for the life of me land a scholarship to cover them, I'd have to afford health insurance.

So many people literally live without health insurance because they can't afford it. I can barely afford to live with it.

Lets be honest. Government healthcare is a joke.

It always will be.

So, its a toss up. Thank God for my boss who is working with me on reduced hours. Hope that once school starts out I'll be able to maintain those same hours at work while not literally dying from the pain.

Today you could see my pain.

I wasn't grateful for it.

But I noticed something. Another coworker said for the umpteenth time that "You know for as much pain as you're in, you certainly don't show it" and for the first time, I heard it a little differently.

It was genuine.

It gave me the idea. I spend so much time talking from my side of the curtain. I talk on how your voices and comments leave lasting imprints. But, maybe I need to sometimes ask where the comments come from and empathize a little better with those who truly don't mean harm in what they say.

Stay tuned for a follow up on that topic.

A.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I Know I Look Fine

Let's all take a moment to be very honest with ourselves. If we looked the way we felt 99% of the time none of us would look all too great. This isn't something that is specific to my condition. This is something anyone can deal with. Got arthritis? Got a UTI? Getting over a cold? No one is going to proudly display the dark circles under their eyes, and lots of makeup companies have perfected concealer to hide just that. But I'll put up with your looks. Your confused faces. Your attempted sympathetic "well I hope you feel better" as I rush away from work. Why? Because there's no way you can ever SEE the pain and the symptoms I'm experiencing. Sure my pupil is literally taking over the entire blue part of my eye... but hey I'm probably just stoned or something. I don't know how you'd be able to see that my body is saying hey if you don't get into a dark room right now, lay down, and try and consume some food I'm goin...

You See What I Show

You see my hair done. You see my makeup. You see my blemish free skin. You see a healthy glow. You don't recognize the tired, strained look in my eyes, because you've never been exposed to a truly "healthy" version of me. Forgive me for putting on the show. Forgive me for pretending that everything is fine. Forgive me for not looking sick. Forgive my negative outlook. Why? Because you don't get to see what this condition is. You don't see that I haven't slept in days. You don't see the bruises lining my legs because the heat has caused a rash on my skin. I understand that its a hard thing to wrap your head around. I mean I get it. I stood at work with a pain level 9. And as I walked around the store, it felt like someone was pushing from the inside of my skull down onto my eyelids. I had to forcibly hold back tears because the pain was so intense. I'd accidentally wander into an area where the sunlight was bouncing off of s...

It Hurts

To say I feel less than human, is probably a bit of an understatement. But I do. I've been home for a week. I've managed to pretty much lay in bed in agonizing pain the whole time. I had a half-assed attempt to see a friend that resulted in me rushing home as the nausea and aphasia set in. I successfully made it to massage therapy today. Which meant even after sleeping for roughly 2 hours, I got up at 7:30 and sat in traffic for hours to get to a less than expected appointment. Mind you, my previous massage therapist was so wonderful I'm most likely spoiled to other techniques. This lady was late, she sat in the same god awful traffic I did. We spent more time going over the woes of her morning, than we did discussing why I was there and what I hoped to achieve through various massage techniques. The massage room wasn't dimly lit, and even as the massage started, lights were still on. I found this odd, but decided to just keep my eyes closed. Then she started ...