Being Self-pay...

I wouldn't wish it on anyone! We keep smiling and telling everyone that we're doing ok with it and we're saving money by not having it, but the truth is...we're NOT ok with it! Having to wait until you have money just to take your kids to the doctor is not exactly ideal! Sure, we're saving money, but at what expense? I don't think I've ever admitted this publicly out loud how much I hate this, but today, I think, was my breaking point.

We had planned to just take Tyler in to the dr to have him checked out and then when we got billed for the cultures done, we'd have the money to pay it by that time (takes a few weeks out here). The whole POINT of them doing the culture was to make sure it was something that could be treated with this particular medicine (this medicine effects the liver...VERY hard! could cause jaundice, etc). So, it shocked me when he said that we should probably start the meds ASAP since this has been going on for a couple weeks already. He printed off the prescription and handed it to me, telling me that if I needed to take a couple of days to fill it due to price checking and matching, that was fine, but he wanted it started soon. I thought, fine, and loaded Tyler up and went on my way. I had to stop at Walmart to grab something we forgot while grocery shopping (this was something I had spare change for....we'd used up what was left in our account to pay for the office visit...I had all of $2 sitting in my account). So, I decided that I would stop by the pharmacy and see how much it cost and then I'd go home and call around and see if I could get it cheaper and then I'd have King Soopers price match it for me. Pretty easy, right? *SIGH* Not really. My heart fell when the pharmacist told me how much the prescription really was. The cost was over $100, plus tax. Ya know, I could have, and WOULD have, put off paying one of the smaller bills that is fairly insignificant, but there was NO way I could come up with that until next Friday, and even then, we'd be going without something that check.

I came home and Celeste was crying...she's been doing this non-stop since Friday of last week. Gotta love teething and shots. So I picked her up, and gave Chris a break from that, since I know how frustrating it is to listen to that for longer than a few minutes without reprieve. I finally got her to calm down and put her in bed and called my mom, just expecting to vent. Well, I got some not-so-great news on Grams, but she is still expected to make a full recovery, it'll just take longer than they first thought. I'll give updates as I get them. After hearing that, I just broke down and cried. When it rains it pours, but, I WOULD like to have a break in the storm to come up for air once in a while! I told her about that prescription and my concerns. Can it wait until next Friday, since it's gone this long without spreading or getting worse? Or, if we wait, will he be bald and have scabby, zombie-like skin later on? Mom decided that we needed to start the meds soon, so she had my sister send out a money-gram to pay for it...and then I started crying when I discovered that my sister slipped in a few extra (more than a few) dollars to help out with anything else that might come up between now and next payday! I just have to say...

...I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!