Sick Kids

Nothing conjures up my insecurities like a loved one being sick. Last week our 5 year old son had double pink eye.  Phillip tends to think waiting it out is the best policy for dealing with most non-emergent illnesses.  Pink eye is very contagious, and I feared waiting it out would mean many days of school and work missed!

Thankfully we have physician friends who are committed to social justice and part of our network of support, so I phoned in a request for some drops.  These magical drops I have heard about.  These drops that make you no longer contagious within 24 hours.

Walking to the Waughtown pharmacy where my husband and our physician friend know the pharmacist/owner, felt hopeful.  I swallowed my pride and said, "This is embarrassing, but we don't have any insurance currently. Is there any way you can help?"   We don't currently have insurance because bus drivers begin as part time employees without benefits.

What a blessing to hear, "We give all our customers the very best price, especially those with no insurance." I bought the drops for a very reasonable price.   Thankfully, little James and I are the only ones who needed them so far, and boy was I glad to get them.  

Learning how to communicate our need for help can be humiliating or at least humbling.  I feel grateful that friends could help us in our time of need.  How about neighbors who are without insurance? How do they feel? How can we draw more people into social support or networks that provide care?