Olive's mounting medical costs.

One of our big stresses lately is figuring how to get Olive's medical care covered since being back in the States. Olive is in a very vulnerable place, as many American's are when their insurance caps off their care. Political views aside, it seems America's system leaves a lot of people in a helpless position. We have been feeling helpless in the process of applying for Medicaid. 

I (Rusty) have been working on this continuously for the last three weeks, getting nowhere because our income is above the poverty level with the extra gifts given to cover Olive's care while in Thailand and for the medical evacuation. We have been told that the application process will take several months and even then it doesn't look like our chances are good. The stresses have been building as we've been wondering if this will ruin us financially... bankruptcy? How we will pay for future doctors appointments? Home care? Possible future surgeries? We aren’t asking for any free hand-out, just something we can afford.

To make a long story shorter, today a miracle happened. I was able to meet and talk directly with someone in the Medicaid office and walked out 20 minutes later with an official Medicaid number for Olive. 

This is truly amazing and we are so thankful for this answer to prayer. At the same time we can't help but think of all of the Americans still left in our old shoes. This seems to be a big topic in politics lately. Whether Republican or Democrat, no matter which side you claim, I hope we can all agree that there are issues with our current system that need to change. Let's remember that this is about people, not just politics. Though I don't fully agree with Obama's health care reform, it seems that something needs to change. Hopefully both sides can come together to create change where it is needed. This year I think we will feel a little less bitter paying our taxes, especially when the government is helping us in a time when we were stuck between a rock and a hard place.