Hi all, my name is Libbee, I am enduring my fourth HG pregnancy. This pregnancy was a total suprise! I am currently 24 weeks. I have three kids, ages 6, 4 1/2 and 2.
I am having a problem that I am hoping someone here can help me with or has at least been through.
My husband has recently been forced to quit working due to his disablity. He has been found to be elegable for Social Security, but it can take several months for the payments to start.
I am unable to work due to being SOO sick all the time. We have 3 kids to care for, so we swallowed our pride and applied for welfare. This is where the whole problem has started. First of all, I HATE the idea of being on welfare. My husband and I have always worked very hard to support our family. I know that it is there to help when you have nowhere else to go, but I still don;t like it. Ok, just had to let that out.
Anyhow, here is the problem... here in Montana, people are required to do job search or job "activity" to recievce benefits. Even my husband has been required to search for work even though he has been approved for social security! And, he is still employed, he is just on extended medical leave which will end when the SS payments begin. Unfortunatly, his employer did not have temporary disability insurance available, so that was never an option.
My doctor has written several notes to them telling them that I am unable to work due to my having severe HG. It has not had any impact. I am still expected to go to their meetings each morning at 8 a.m. and to all the required classes which are all in the mornings also. Then, I am expected to do "work experience" which is basically doing volunteer work. I have tried several times to explain just how sick I am and that getting up in the mornings is a major ordeal for me, let alone bathing and dressing my kids and getting them to daycare. Our caseworker told me "I was pregnant too and had morning sickness, but I got up and puked and went to work anyhow!" I know this woman has no clue what it is like to have HG, but she makes me feel like I'm just another welfare bum trying to get our of doing work. I told her if I were able to do all this that I wouldn't even have signed up for welfare, I would have just found a job. To which she replied, "Well, why don't you do just that then?" We are required to do 35 hours EACH of job activity per week. My husband usually can manage about 20-25, but lately I have only been getting around 10 because the rest of the time I can barely hold my head up. I was even repremand once for not being "clean" and properly dressed. I hadn't showered for 3 days (bathing is a major trigger for me, I can't stand the smell of the water) and I was wearing sweats and a t-shirt that HAD been clean, but moments before the class began I got sick and didn't quite get to the restroom in time. I tried to explain this but the guy looked at me like I had 2heads and told me I had better be dressed and groomed properly next time.
I feel so hopeless, lost and depressed. I don't know which way to turn. All our savings are gone, we used it up before entering the "system".
I am so sick all the time and am sick of going to the hospital for IVs. We tried to get IV therapy at home, but Medicaid won't pay for it unless you are under 18! I am left to be sick and miserable.
Isn't there SOMETHING out there for people in a medical crisis? I'm sure we aren't the first people dealing with something like this. I feel like I'm running in circles with nowhere to go. Somedays I feel like just giving up, but I can't. Where do I go? What do I do? HELP!!!