Quiet Homecoming

I have to savor this moment, and all the moments to follow. I had to stop and write down how this feels. My son is being released from the hospital today. I am on my way to sit with him until his discharge papers catch up with him. And the next time we walk in this house, he will be at home without the symptoms of Crohn’s disease. He will be able to see his life now without looking through a lense of pain and limitations. It is a wonderful beginning for him. For all of us. Maybe we can actually get on with living now.

I feel years of worry just beginning to lift from my aching shoulders. Though I would carry that burden again in a minute if needed. Like I am needed now, about 15 miles away.

So I’m going to bring my son home.

Resurrection on Good Friday This Year

I have officially been awake for 25 hours and 32 minutes as of now. My son Dylan, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, went in for a resection yesterday morning — and I just came home for a nap. On a Friday morning. It feels strange. But it also feels wonderful, because the surgery went well and this is a new beginning for him.

It’s just going to take some recovery time.

Right now, my baby is lying uncomfortably in a bed at UAB hospital, hooked to an IV, with a tube down his throat and a tube in, well, you can imagine. He also has a morphine pump that he thinks isn’t giving him enough pain relief. He had some trouble sleeping and so the doctor prescribed some magical substances that kept him quiet for a little while.

But part of his brain is tripping from the anesthesia, and he has said a lot of strange things… like someone slipped him a hit of LSD. I know though that he will wake up, back to his usual self soon. I watched a lot of improvement sitting with him all night. I am going back as soon as I can recharge my batteries… in my cell phone and in my exhausted brain.

(FYI: Right after the surgery, I got a call from Blue Cross, who I am beginning to believe is the Anti-Christ, asking about more paperwork from me. Nothing I haven’t got, though. Still looking for that bonus to deny my son his procedure. Cheap bastards!)

Thank you to any and all who said a prayer. They worked! Stay tuned!

Disability, Unemployment And A Big Fat Loophole

The man at Social Security told me he was sorry and to call  him if anything changes. “It’s the unemployment that kills it,” he said, talking about my son’s chances of getting disability benefits. Apparently, if I were bringing home that whopping $194 a week from working, it would be a different story. Why, I’m not really sure. Maybe to keep me from riding too far on Uncle Sam’s Free Ride Express.

In the language of Social Security, unemployment benefits are “unearned income.” Despite the fact that we all pay into that system for the occasional rainy day that is joblessness. No one gets unemployment if they quit their job. The job has to quit them, so to speak. My job certainly quit me, and unless I find another one, I will be getting all that free “unearned income” until July.

And this, my friends, is why my son is ineligible for SSI Disability benefits. Not because they question the severity of his Crohn’s disease, or his medical records. But because his mom lost her job.

Suddenly, I am thinking about Canada and their health care system. Because I know as soon as my son hears that, at best, he will one day be eligible for Medicaid, he will be too.