THE COST OF EVERYTHING

Jonathan had fever 2 days ago...now subsided although his nose is still stuffy. Got the flu from me. I don't like it when he falls sick. So when I noticed the first symptoms two days, I quickly brought him to the dr's. Not that I'm kiasu but just don't want him to go through all the vomitting....gagging....sleepless nights....

Well....he did have difficulty sleeping bcos of his blocked nose and I was coughing away with him. Normally I wear a mask when I'm not well but I didn't think it was serious...wrong thinking!!!

Seeing dr cost money but at least better than having him stay in hospital like before. But when you think about it, when Jonathan had to stay in the hospital, we got to use medisave and didn't have to pay a cent upfront...8-)
This reminds me of the topic about the MP setting up a parents workgroup to help families with special needs children to raise trust funds. What happens when we are gone and our children are left behind?

I read that MINDS is starting this trust fund and each family has to come up with S$5000 upfront for the committee to help them invest. I haven't really read the full story but I believe this is what was said in the news on TV last month or so.

S$5000....upfront....that's quite a lot of money. Not many people can come up with so much money at one go. Most of us can't even afford to come up with a small sum of S$500.

An insurance agent from NTUC Income once approached me about buying insurance for Jonathan. I turned Jonathan towards her and asked if they have policies for special needs children. She was kind enough to make enquiries for me. When she called me a week later, she told me that yes, they can insure Jonathan but the monthly premium would be more than S$150.

So what was my decision? Keep the money and use it for Jonathan's milk supply, gauze for his feeding button, diapers and transport fees....spread out evenly, top with some cash for each item....

Two months ago, his feeding button was almost torn into two. Had to bring him to KK A&E bcos the surgeon had already left the clinic and it was after 5pm. I had to go to A&E otherwise if the button broke into two, the other part will stay in the stomach and they would have to cut Jonathan just to remove the damaged button.
The surgeon wasn't sure how to charge the button. They debated with the Medical Examinar. Told me that if I had come before 5pm, the charge would be different. I felt like strangling the surgeon....HOW WOULD I KNOW?!? THIS COULD HAPPEN ANYTIME!!! #?!%$....

But in the end, they say the button itself cost S$450. That was the A&E charge. My friend's son had his button changed during office hours. How much did she pay? S$190 for the button. So....what's the moral of the story? To keep cost down, check the feeding button every now and then and don't wait till it's about to break...8-(
I'm not alone in this. Most families in our school do face this problem. Jonathan will have his teeth cleaned next month. Total cost is probably going to be more than S$500. This is becos he has to sleep for his teeth to be cleaned as he struggles alot and can't be done that normal way. They will apply a sealant to each of his molars to prevent decay. That alone is S$25 per molar and he has 4. I think the bulk of the cost is the 'GAS' used to make him sleep. Just take a few deep breath and it cost a few hundred bucks....haha. Thank God oxygen is free!!!
The social worker at KK said since my husband earns more than S$2000 a month, we are not entitled partial medisave usage. I wrote to my MP asking if she could help me - to allow me to use medisave. Till now, she hasn't replied my email. Her website says "Write to me and I'll answer your queries as soon as I can"....that was about more than a month ago. My friend suggested I go to Mr Goh Chok Tong's constituency to seek help, it will produce faster results..haha

Well....we scringe a little, budget a little and we still get by. We give up some luxuries, we receive lots of help from families and friends and we still get by.

Why? Because we trust in our God Almighty...He provides when you least expect it. He has a treasure storeroom for us to tap on. He sees what we need and provides.

I am probably one of the few who gets alot of support from families and friends and I'm VERY VERY thankful to God for them. I'm not writing about all these to garner for money. I'm writing just to show how families with special needs children cope. I've seen families who can't afford and yet still very happy with what they have.
I hope that wth this new workgroup, more help will be given to families with special needs children/adult to take care of.