Arrgghhh....

Did I mention that in the last two months we've received over $2000 in bills for some lab tests Joel has been undergoing? So frustrating...

The doctor said all of these things were important to check out so I dutifully collected urine, stool, hair, and blood samples for days on end. I was hoping that we could find a biomedical cause of Joel's autism (and many people do), so this desperate mom pushed on.

Well, nothing turned up. Except that Joel is allergic peanuts, soybeans, garbanzo beans, oats, celery, chocolate, and milk (we knew that one). But, the allergies are so small that he didn't even have external symptoms--although the doctor said it can cause behavioral problems which we have seen.

So, we tweaked some of his supplements (he's now taking 12 daily, ridiculous, I know) and he seems to be doing a little better. Nothing life-changing though, and certainly not worth $2000 or the hours I've spent on the phone with the insurance company. Did I mention that the doctor said it was great that we have Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance because they would cover everything?

Seriously, I should just go to work for an insurance company since the hours I've spent on the phone with them over the past 3 years have been the equivalent of a part-time job. If I really believed that Hilary Clinton could solve our insurance woes, I would actually vote for her. Unfortunately, I don't think it's that easy.

Did I also mention that when we were researching insurance this past summer, I couldn't find anyone to cover me unless I paid $900 a month--just for me. Nice. Thankfully, Zac got a job that covers more of our insurance costs and our premium per month is less than that for the whole family. I heard some grocery store workers complaining the other day that they were being asked to pay $50 a month now to contribute to their health insurance coverage. If only they realized how good they had it.

Oh, how it does make me long for heaven when our bodies are healed from all of this nonsense. Sorry about the venting.