Medi-Cal / Medi-Caid

We live in California. We received a letter in the mail stating that we would at some point have to pay back for all the medical expenses incurred and that the state / government could come after us, our estate, any bank accounts, our children and their income and estates, grandchildren etc etc until the money is paid back. We have five kids all on MediCal at the moment, one has had 4 open heart surgeries and in the hospital 3 times this year, and one in the hospital 12 times so far in the last 12 months and on 40 plus pills a day. If I added up all the medical expenses, it probably exceeds 2 million dollars. If I had the money, I never would have signed up for the care in the first place. Duh!! It is a complete disinsentive to ever bother making any money. I guess free medical care is the most expensive medical plan ever. So much for our brilliant government. It would make more sense for them to give people insentives to try and find work and do well rather than insentives to not bother. At the moment, unfortunately, we don't have a choice because the kids need it. Heaven help us. I believe it shows how desperate people really are. In times like this, we need our faith more than ever.

PTL
Jennifer Richardson RN
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Miracles Truly Never Cease!

Last weekend was really challenging. We are planning and preparing to moving. During all of this, the van appeared broken and was making this awful noise. I thought it was the starter or alternator or a short in the engine because all of the lights come on fine. We could not get the car to start. We let the car sit until Monday morning thinking we would have to have it towed and cancel all of our appointments for the week. I was feeling particularly desperate. We had heard nothing on Joseph's SSI application even after this being our 5th month of waiting and several inquiries. All we were ever told was that it was still in medical determination. Well, Monday morning we decided to try and jumpstart the car again. After much prayer and a plea to the father for some divine help, we hooked up the jumper cables to our other car. Scott was hoping that the heavy rain got the engine wet causing the problems. We were both praising the Lord when the car really did start after drying out over the weekend. That was miracle #1. That was a true answer to prayer because Michael had been invited to a special event and presentation by Blizzard Entertainment (who makes video games) who raised over a million dollars for his Wish foundation, which was the very next day. It was spectacular that he got to go and see how the process of making video games works and enjoy the day. The fact that Michael got to go at all (because the Lord gave us a way to get him there) is miracle #2. He was even blessed with a wonderful drawing of himself by one of the animators who made Michael a character drawn as a wizard. Among other things, he received a hat and t-shirt. Michael needed this pick me up so badly after having such a tremendous month being in the hospital and close to 30 seizures. He was really struggling with fatigue, muscle weakness, feeling like a show when he has a seizure, the doctors questioning his believability (some accused him of faking them), his ability to be independent in various tasks, his memory and balance (which are affected by his seizures), the frustration in not being able to control his own body and the fear that goes along with all of that. As far as the accusations of Michael faking seizures, we have captured them on video and know 100 percent that that is not the case. After entering tons of data into a wonderful program called www.seizuretracker.com , we knew the Topamax was giving Michael very very serious side effects. The neurology group at CHOC would not listen. I started weaning Michael off the Topamax anyway. Now that his dosing is half of what it was, we can see that the side effects are half of what they were and some of them on their way to disappearing. We also know that Topamax on rare occasions can cause seizures, and had strong evidence showing this in Michael. The trending data we were able to obtain showed a very clear increase in seizures and side effects with increases in the Topamax. Some doctors just think they know everything. Michael has not had a single seizure this week on the lower dose of Topamax, which is another small miracle. That is miracle #3. Sometimes I think nurses should make the higher income for all the babysitting they sometimes have to do with some doctors who are clearly incompetent. All they had to do was listen, and they would have helped their patient. Just stupid. Having the car fixed also allowed us to visit my parents and Aunt Diana on Wednesday to celebrate Shawna's birthday turning 4 years old. That was miracle#4. Shawna has been counting the days down to her birthday since well before Christmas and looking forward to being 4 as a big girl and sitting in a big girl booster seat in the car finally. Yeah!!!

Thursday was another day of miracles. I prayed to St. Jude and St. Rita that morning in pleas of desperation asking them to intercede on our behalf for the house, for the SSI, for Michael's wheelchair, and for God's divine intervention. Michael had physical therapy that day and was thrilled when he got to test out a wheelchair. Michael had wheelchair training in the type of electric chair that will suit him well. That was miracle #5 because we have been trying to get Michael a chair for a while. It is just not okay for a 13 year old to have to sit in a stroller because we can't find an affordable wheelchair and because he is to tired and weak to continue walking. Chronic anemia, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis (among the many other diagnosis that Michael has) takes their toll after a while. At least the process to get Michael a wheelchair is underway. An electric wheelchair is miracle #6, and it sounds like we may get ramps to help load it into the car and a manual wheelchair as well for back up, which is miracle #7. Right after we got to the car (when physical therapy was done), I received a phone call from social security who told us to expect a check for Joseph for presumptive expenses. They had not received a final determination, but we so sure he would be approved that they were sending us money anyway that we would not have to pay back. That is miracle #8.

Eight miracles in one week. Thank you St. Rita, the saint of the impossible. Thank you St. Jude, the saint of hopeless causes. Thank St. Rita and St. Jude for interceding on our behalf. I honor you this week and am grateful.

PTL
Jennifer Richardson RN
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Gabriela got promoted from 3rd to 4th grade

Gabriela finished 3rd grade yesterday 02/11/2010 and passed her 3rd grade assessment test as well. Isn't that fantastic? It has been a struggle for her, so she is very proud of herself. Gabriela is now a big 4th grader and making progress quite well already.

Jennifer Richardson
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Joseph is gaining ground

Joseph (8 y.o.) is gaining ground at learning his numbers after losing quite a bit of ground during and after his heart surgery. He can recognize, say and write the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4!!! Small steps are big gains for him.


Jennifer Richardson
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Joshua is doing well in math!

Joshua (6 y.o.) seems to be doing quite well in math. Although his writing needs a great deal of work, his math skills seem to be quite good. Recently, he learned how to count by 2's and 10's. He is already 3/4 of his way through first grade math. I am so proud of him.

Jennifer Richardson


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Writing Santa for a New "Blue" House

Shawna (3 y.o.) and I were talking. She noticed that there were things in the house that needed fixing. She said, "I know. Let's ask Santa Claus for a new house. Blue. Blue house, blue roof, blue walls, blue ceiling, blue floor, blue cabinet, blue trashcan, blue toilet. Allllllll blue. And presents too."

Do you think her favorite color is blue? Oh yeah! I thought that was very cute. I wish it were that simple. The bank foreclosing on our house does not see it that way. Who could plan for 14 hospitalizations within a 12 month period, several kids being in the hospital, sometimes in the same month, and our sweet son Michael getting so sick? God has a plan I'm sure.

Please pray for us.




Jennifer Richardson



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Seizures

Michael was in the hospital for the umpteenth time (I think this is the 14th time) the first week of this month for seizures this time. He was having multiple seizures, lasting up to 15 minutes, several with loss of awareness, and last I counted I think he was having 7 different types. While the doctors did several tests, we don't have any new answers. We were very unhappy with the care from the neurology group at CHOC and would not recommend them to anyone. We were extremely disappointed that Michael's regular neurologist did not even come to see him. We found the neurologists on staff unprofessional to say the least after accusing Michael of making them up of all things! Even Michael's rheumatologist did not agree with that. Michael had 22 seizures within a 7 day (1 week) period. The types and number of seizures he has and has had are far too complex for any child to make up. We will be changing neurologists, to say the least. Fortunately, we have caught some on video clips; hopefully that will help the new neurologist.

Jennifer Richardson
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"Each of us is the result of a thought of God"

"And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him." Benedict XVI