So, where did I leave off? The holidays were pretty good for the kids. We've had to adjust my daughter's meds and we've added occupational therapy to her list of appointments. I went ballistic and wrote my governor. I was sick and tired of getting the runaround with my daughter's meds.
As I may have mentioned before, my children will receive Medicaid until they turn 18. It is a benefit all former foster children in Florida have. The agency responsible for adoptions in my county assured me that along with any private insurance I may choose to purchase for them, I could use the Medicaid for their care. Well, that hadn't been my experience. To make a long story short. It took writing all the way to my State government to get it taken care of.
The experience has taught me that you have to be willing to be committed for the long haul. It was a lot of phone calls and a lot of complaining. I had to keep accurate record of every person I spoke to and show where I attempted to use the Medicaid, which meant pulling out the card and asking them to try and run it through even when I knew it wouldn't work.
The hardest part is that wouldn't you know it, places like Medicaid and government offices work the same hours I work. So that meant countless phone calls during my work day. But hey, I do what I have to for my kids.
The outcome: if anyone reading this is a foster parent in Florida and you need some Medicaid advice, drop me a line, I know more than I ever thought I would know.
But as with everything I try and learn something from the situation. In this instance, I learned that no matter how difficult it gets, or how bad it looks, I have to have endurance and a stick to it attitude. My children deserve nothing less.
I think sometimes government agencies think that the harder they make it for you to find the information you need, the more likely it is that you will give up and just go away. But I refused to allow them to get away with that. Just because my children are adopted and entitled to Medicaid doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to access whatever is afforded them.
It felt good to force them to do right by her. But overall she is doing well. Still noticeable mood swings, but they aren't as extreme since we started the medicine. I am proud of the strides she is making. She amazes me everyday, I just hope I can continue to be the champion and advocate she needs me to be.
Next time, I'll talk more about my son. When you have a special needs sibling, sometime they can drown out the spotlight. I think it's time I told you more about him. Stay Tuned!
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