Thank you Obama. Because of you,my son is being seen for chronic pain.

[Mother Of Four]

My 21 year old son went into the Navy a couple years back, he was sent home near graduation due to stress fractures in his knees that weren't healing. Because he didn't graduate, they aren't providing him with followup care.

Fast forward to now, he works his butt off slinging produce. It's not perfect but he's grateful to have a job. The hard work, lifting and bending has aggravated his knees and the pain has started to affect his hips. At 21, he's having to use a cane when he's not working and eats Ibuprofen like it's candy. His insurance at work is actually a supplement program, (and it's laughable) where he has to pay out 5k before it ever starts paying a portion for his appts. He barely has two nickles to rub together and it would be impossible for him to meet the requirement. He makes, and I kid you not, less than 14k a year before taxes. He lives with us because he can't afford not to.

Because of the Health Care Act, I put my son on our Tricare policy under the young adults program. It costs us about 200 dollars a month, but before he couldn't be on it after age 21 unless he was in school. (It ended on his 21st birthday) He see's his other friends struggling with student debt, and doesn't want to go that route to go to school.

When I told my son we could get him taken care of, he laid back in his bed and sighed. He was white from pain, the previous evening he had been coming down the stairs and his leg gave out. Thankfully some friends could come and help me get him back into bed. He refused to go to the ER that night no matter how much we scolded, because he couldn't pay and he is adamant about not letting us get into medical debt over him.

He has pride, and I'm quoting him when I say "I'm supposed to be a man Mama, I feel like I've been stomped on and castrated. If I can't take care of myself, how will I ever take care of anyone else?"

I cried when the Supreme court upheld it, I hugged my son and I'm starting to think things will begin to turn around for him. I was terrified he would end up in a wheelchair before we could get it taken care of.

I just wanted to say "Thank you." For all the naysayers out there, this Act has changed a life for the better. I waited to post his story, because I couldn't bear it if they had struck it down. Now that it's been upheld, the future is much brighter than it was. No more waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[hedgehog]

1. kick!

[nobodyspecial]

2. I hope he gets the relief he needs

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm sure there are a lot more like it. Is there any way he could take classes part time since he is living with you? It's a lot of work, but he could pay as he went. It sounds like his body isn't made for a life of hard labor.

[Mother Of Four]

6. He's considering it,

I think his hips/knees have convinced him that without further education, he doesn't have alot of options. He's smart as a whip, I'll pull up the catalog again and talk to him some more about it.

Fortunately the local college has a ton of online courses, so he wouldn't have to sit in a hard chair or drive 30 mins back and forth to get his core classes knocked out.

[nobodyspecial]

15. Really encourage him

That's what my son did and he graduated with no debt and just landed an excellent career position. It took him awhile, but he is not saddled with debt like all of his friends. Give him a bigger nudge, especially since he's still living at home. His job may not pay a lot but he has little overhead since he's with you and he can take a credit on his taxes as well.

[Mother Of Four]

24. I will, thank you.

nt

[ashling]

16. I was going to mention that

good you have that availability

My wife and I teach online government course for a community college.

good luck

[Auntie Bush]

19. I wish you and your family the best of luck and may your son get some relief from his pain.

[ammoman357]

33. military va claims

Even if he is under 90 days he may qualify for Vet benefits; then once qualified college Voc Re Hab.

For active duty service after 08/02/90:

(a) completed 24 months of continuous active duty or the full period (at least 90 days) for which you were called or ordered to active duty, and been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable; or

(b) completed at least 90 days of active duty and been discharged under the specific authority of 10 USC 1173 (Hardship), or 10 USC 1173 (Early out), or have been determined to have a compensable service-connected disability, or

(c) been discharged with less than 90 days of service for a service-connected disability. Individuals may also be eligible if they were released from active duty due to an involuntary reduction in force, certain medical conditions, or, in some instances, for the convenience of the Government.

[mzmolly]

3. Thank you for sharing

your story. I'm so glad your family has benefited from the legislation.

[Mother Of Four]

12. Thank you for taking the time to read it. nt

[Booster]

4. Sounds like you and your son both needed and deserved a break. I'm so glad it's working out for you

both and hope your son gets the treatment he needs to get past this. I do hope that he finds a job that's not so hard on his body. Good luck.

[Mother Of Four]

11. Thank you- nt

[Spazito]

5. This is the true effect of the ACA, Obamacare(s)...

It is more than words, more than politics, it HELPS people like your son.

Thanks for posting your story, it is important.

[Mother Of Four]

10. ...

[upi402]

7. I know a poor Republican with a special needs kid...

...and he's against ObamaCare. He's worried for small business, yet he's working poor and his kid gets TONS of subsidized care.

I blame the media traitors!

[Auntie Bush]

20. I blame right wing radio. 24/7 hate, lies and propaganda!

[upi402]

25. It's nearly seamless corporatist propaganda

It has few exceptions allowed, but that's all.

[Zoeisright]

30. Sorry, but that poor republican is stupid.

I mean, really, really stupid.

[cally]

8. I have a similar story

My 25 year old daughter has a chronic illness and could not get insurance. She works full time for a small business that cannot cover her. She has been throwing up every day for three month, has lost 20 pounds, and could not see a doctor. We added her to our policy and she was recently seen. She got some medicine and her stomachproblems have ended. All because of Obamacare!!!!!!

I hope your son also gets relief.

[Mother Of Four]

9. Please give your daughter our love-

I can't imagine how terrified she was, or how hopeless she felt.

And thank you, I'll pass your well wishes on to my son.

[lunatica]

13. I'm so glad for you!

Thank you President Obama! Hearing more and more stories of people who have suffered so long and now can get relief is wonderful. Hopefully your son will be completely healed now instead of going through a life of enforced pain.

[patrice]

14. Thank Goodness!

Our family lost a young man about that age a few years ago due to back injury for which he could get pills, while he was still on his employer's insurance, and little else when he wasn't on the insurance anymore. Couldn't work. Couldn't get some kind of therapeutic plan to deal with his back. You can probably guess the rest.

We miss him.

[Mother Of Four]

21. I'm so sorry for your loss...

I wish there was something I could say to make it hurt less.

[patrice]

27. Thank you. We have been through a few of these, but not one with such a serious

health problem. The others, two of them made it. If I had to say what the key was to each, one was the RIGHT job in which the young lady really really wanted to prove herself and the other one was the exact right school in a much different environment from the ones that were a problem for that young lady.

[FarLeftFist]

17. I love how over the past couple of days more and more light is being shed upon these great stories

[Akoto]

18. I am 27, disabled since 17 with incurable chronic pain issues.

In my case, the problems are central to the pelvic region. It's really disabling when the pain occurs there, at the core of your body, which is almost impossible to avoid exerting!

Whatever the cause, having chronic pain is difficult for a young man, particularly when it's so severe. I do understand what he's going through in that respect, and I am very glad that the new laws are offering him a path to treatment. If I can be so bold, I'd want to tell him two things ...

1. He needs to worry about himself right now. There's plenty of life left for him. It felt selfish when I first made the choice, but putting myself first and finding a way to arrange a bearable/comfortable life for myself was a critical decision.

2. If he is offered legitimate pain management, I would encourage him to strongly consider it. Pain management at the University of Miami has kept me sane. It doesn't take all of the pain away, but it does help, and a lot of the scary things said about it/the medications are exaggerated.

I hope things get better for him!

[Auntie Bush]

22. I was under the impression that when you need the medication no problem developes but,

when you don't need the pills they become addictive and you have big problems.
I wonder if that's true.

[Akoto]

28. The way it was explained to me, and as I have experienced it ...

There are few procedure-type treatments for my diagnosis, so I was started on medication about as soon as I ended up at the University. The doctors address your question through two terms:

1. Dependent: You only take what you are prescribed, you do not crave more. You don't get a high from it, just pain relief. If you stop taking your meds, you'll have withdrawal symptoms, as you would with many other meds used in the long term.

2. Addict: An addict was described as someone who takes more than is prescribed, who craves the drug, who uses it for pleasure instead of or beyond pain needs.

Obviously, the vast majority of pain management patients are dependent, but are not addicts. A good doctor will watch for this behavior, and will gradually titrate doses so that optimal relief is achieved without an unnecessarily high dose.

If you are on indefinite pain management like I am, your body can eventually adapt to the medication, requiring titration to a higher dosage or a switch to a different med. Everyone is different, but I have only had to do this 3 or so times over the years, and I have actually gone back down on some meds.

Of course, this is all assuming Mother of Four's son needs medication. Modern pain management centers have all sort of options, i.e. physical therapy, injections, surgical procedures, implantable devices, etc.

[Mother Of Four]

23. I'll pass it along,

and it's not being too bold at all. I appreciate it and agree with you.

[RKP5637]

26. K&R !!! n/t

[nilram]

29. I have a chronic pain issue

Now that your son has health insurance, I hope you all will work hard to find a good diagnosis. I have a nerve issue of unknown cause, and I'm still working to find a cause, and maybe a solution, after four years. It's an -- additional -- pain to battle insurance companies to pay for obscure tests in the hope that a cause might be found, but I'm still slugging through. And paying for a few out of pocket as need be. Good luck.

[cali]

31. me too. and thank heaven for Medicaid.

I had segmental breaks of my tibia and fibula last September. They spent 4+ hours doing the initial surgery- inserted a titanium rod into the tibia but neither bone healed and then I developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome- also known as Sympathetic Reflex Dystrophy. I had my third surgery on June 22nd. Hopefully, the bones will now heal but it aggravated the CRPS. I'm on morphine and percocet and still in terrible pain. I'm going to see a specialist at either Dartmouth-Hitchcock or Fletcher Allen- whichever will see me first- within a week or ten days.

I've been in pain for 10 months now. It's so fucking hard. I wish you the best with your chronic pain problem.

[lillypaddle]

32. It is so hard

to watch someone you love suffer, especially a child. Best of luck to all of you, the future definitely seems brighter for him.

[earcandle]

34. My doctor tells me to exercise for pain management and offers no help at all.

And I have a higher than normal amount of eosinophils (one of the three types of white blood cells) in my blood tests, but he keeps
avoiding trying to find the source. We know infection causes eventual breakdown of tissue, organs, bones, etc, if neglected. What can do?
I am with Kaiser. I thought of writing to the Medical Board for advice. Anyone have similar problems?

[Grins]

35. Another poster family for this:

"Democrats protected the unemployed starting with the New Deal, then the old, then the poor. Now, thanks to health care reform, millions of working families will go to bed at night knowing that they are not an illness away from financial ruin." - NY Times conservative columnist David Effing Brooks, March 22, 2010, the day before the ACA was signed into law.

[Iggy]

36. UNTIL You are in pain

you don't realize how important accessible/afforable health care is.

Thanks Mother of Four for posting this