I know I just posted about This is Us. And now I’m posting about Chicago Med. I really don’t watch that much tv, but I couldn’t let last week’s episode pass without comment.
For those of you who missed it, one of the patients, a child, was dealing with severe co-morbid psychological issues. Labels thrown around were Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Disruptive Behavior Disorder, ADHD, and more. This child of 12 could not control his rage. He had beaten his younger brother to the point where his jaw had to be wired shut.
Let me be clear, this was not a parenting issue. This was psychological illness at it’s worst.
The medical team decided it would be best that the child
A devastating blow to the parents. Who wants to do that to their child? The episode doesn’t have time enough time to show all the emotions that this decision puts a family through. Eventually, they agree to move forward.
Then they hit the titanium wall that SO many families in the US are crashing into, their insurance doesn’t cover residential care. There is no private insurance in the US that covers residential care for children. Medicaid is the only insurance available in the U.S. for children in an extended care facility. And unless you are a multi-millionaire, you will not be able to privately pay for one of these facilities.
Getting Medicaid is not automatic. Just because your child has been determined medically to need to be in a residential facility, you still have to go through all the hoops with no guarantee. You have to apply, you have to wait in line like everyone else. And heaven forbid you ever move from the state in which you reside in once you do get it because you will have to start the process all over again.
An example? As I write this post our current situation is trying to get Medicaid in the state of Mississippi. We are still, 7 months after applying, waiting for a determination. It doesn’t matter that I have a child who qualifies for inpatient care.
What happens next you may find extreme. And it is. But it is happening to so many families in this country of ours.
They are told that in order to get the help their son needs they will have to give up custody to force their state into giving him care.
This is what they have to do. They have to legally “abandon” their child and haveSocial Services take over.
All this so that their children could be safe and their son could get the treatment he needs.
As a mother who has been told to do this, watching this made me ill.
Most people are going to watch this episode and think that that is so sad, but never think of it again. Thinking perhaps that this is just a
This is real.
This is the life of many families across the country.
And this is wrong.
No family should have to give up custody of their child to get needed medical help. No family should be told that they should send their other child away to live with someone else to keep them safe as we were.
This is our truth. This is one of the biggest reasons for this blog. To bring awareness to the plight of so many Americans. For a country that is touted as being the best in the world, I think we need to take a good hard look at ourselves.
This blog; it hits home. Everything that was “thrown” around; are things that my sonshine is diagnosed with. We have been blessed that we have been successful in curbing his ODD behaviors. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the tendencies to still want to clean someone’s clock; with great accuracy; when angry.
Your blog brings light, laughter, sadness and frustrations to the forefront of reality. For what we; as sped parents; do on a regular, consistent basis …. well most would just give us the eye roll and go “I just don’t know how you do it”. (I get that eye roll a lot with my personal family)
I just want to thank you. Sometimes in a mad world; your blog is my only sanity. Just thank you for keeping it real. Here is hoping that you finally get some positive news regarding Medicaid. The struggle is all to real.
You made my day Shannon. Thank you.