Job loss & no insurance with medical needy

My dad was a gentle man. He was discharged from the U.S. Navy with a medical condition. He then began his lifetime career as the 3rd employee of a local company where my grandfather worked.

I gained work ethic from my grandfather as he sat in the shade on the weekends telling the family exactly what chores needed done, how it was to be done & if it needed to be redone. We built a pond, had chickens, lambs, fishing boat, and huge garden.

It was my dad, though, who showed me how to do the chores. I learned how to use a hammer & not hit my thumb at age 10 when we finished an attic & built a deck. How you take forever measuring so you know what you are purchasing at the lumber yard. We didn’t need it, but I learned how he used a slide rule while in the nuclear submarine. We would check each other on my homework – me on the calculator; he on the sliderule.

He showed me basic car servicing such as fluids & tire changing. Mom did not do these kinds of chores, but she was the domestic queen of tidy. Leave something laying around too long & it was washed, dried, folded. Other than self-employed Avon representative, her last job was 39 years ago before they married.

Dad died at age 60. He was on disability.

God bless my father’s company. Started by a business man & an engineer. My grandfather was the first hired to be the mechanic. He traveled coast to coast. Next was a foreman, then my father – metal burner later parts person & finally draftsman.

They knew my mother was too young for Medicare. There wasn’t extra funds for Cobra, and that was frightening. Not having insurance was the only option she had.

The owner personally helped her until she was old enough. Thank God she was very healthy! We are forever grateful for that company, the owners and the network of family.

It just isn’t the same in today’s world.

Budget cuts eliminated my job after 26 years. I’m 2 years younger than my mother was when my father died. My husband is disabled & was using my group plan as primary with Medicare secondary.

We have a college & a high school student, both with medical conditions directly related to dealing with their father’s two debilitating diseases. Of course they need counseling.

I read that the Supreme Court has been given an 82-page document asking to repeal ACA, taking away insurance for those with pre-existing conditions. Great! Haven’t even reveived my cards yet.

How frightening! Where should I pitch my tent because we will lose what little assets we have left.

My husband worked 31 years before becoming sick; I worked 44 years. We need health insurance. His lifeflight 2 years ago & hospital stay was over $120,000.

I remain positive & cheerful because I can’t change it. Bills will be there whether we have insurance or not. I will not sweat it because I have a family who needs my full attention now.