A Huge Weight Is Lifted

An amazing thing happened last week and I’m finally getting around to telling the story.

Nearly two years ago, we were hit with the news that the child I was carrying wasn’t healthy.  I will save the details of this story as I know many of you already know the tale.  But, for those of you who do not you can find the post here. 

Never does anyone wish upon themselves to become ill, let alone a family member or someone they love.  The reality of it though, is that it happens – and it’s beyond our control.  The moment you hear the news, the first thing you focus on is getting the best medical care out there.  You research conditions, you interview specialists, you attend countless doctors’ appointments, and you do a lot of praying.

Not for one second do you hesitate on care because of finances.  In fact, the thought doesn’t even cross your mind; at least it never crossed ours.

In the time that transpired from when we received our news on Brady up until shortly after he was born we were seeing an OB-Gyn, a Fetal Specialist, a Cardiologist, a Nephrologist, and a Urologist.  Brady spent a week in the NICU and an additional five days on the hospital floor.  The amount of lab work and additional testing that was done during that time was immeasurable.

It took no time at all, and shortly after Brady was home from his second stay in the hospital, the medical bills started flooding in.  It was overwhelming and we immediately met with hospital billing to see if we could consolidate the charges into one bill.  We were able to do this with most – and hence we have what I refer to as The Brady Bill.

So maybe some of you are thinking “Didn’t you have insurance?”  The answer is “Yes, we did.”  In fact, we had what we thought was a great plan at the time.  Just because you have insurance doesn’t mean your care is free.  So here we were making payments every month for all Brady’s initial care.  If only it would have included all the care and testing he has needed since he was three months old, but we weren’t that lucky. ;)

I will admit that there where many times when I would be doing our monthly bills and I would become frustrated.  After a few minutes I would realize how I was acting and then would immediately feel guilty for becoming upset.  Here I have this amazing little man at home and I’m becoming all worked up about paying money for this blessing.  It was ridiculous to feel that way, and I understood that, but I’m also human.

Well folks, I’m here to yell from the mountain top that I submitted our final payment of our $00,000 Brady Bill!  I don't know that I could ever properly express how much of a relief this milestone is.  Brady has been doing so well and not having a monthly reminder of what we went through will be an amazing change of focus. We can finally move on to the next chapter of our lives; with what we can only pray is continued good health and happiness.

*And as a side note for all you families out there in a similar situation, my word of advice is to be open and honest with the hospitals and clinics.  Believe it or not, if you are willing to work with them – they are willing to work with you.  Even though our institutions wanted their money in 90 days, not many people are able to handle that financial burden.  Payment plans are always an option.  Your attention needs to be on your child and not on the money, so make it as stress-free as possible.*