Healthy Women Healthy Families Coalition : Read Our Stories

"I am 71 years old and live on social security - $542.00 a month with no health insurance other then Medicare. I have heart problems and can’t afford to see a doctor, and was refused Medicaid since I have no children living at home. I get $134.00 a month in food stamps, which does not last the month so I eat a lot of peanut and jelly sandwiches. We desperately need help for old people. If I could get on Medicaid it would be a big help. My rent uses up my social security, my sister pays my electric for cleaning her bird cages, and my son pays my phone bill."

"The application process for Medicaid is fine, [it’s] just that I have to travel 10 miles or more to Round Rock, Texas to get anything done. When I had to do this gas prices were almost $4 a gallon. I had stopped working before I had my baby in February ’08; our budget was tight. When I say tight I mean living on about $20 a week for food! Another thing that was a disappointment was I did not have the option to get dental care. I desperately need it. My wisdom teeth are pointed out toward my cheeks, my gums bleed to the touch - not just a little pink in the sink [but] bright red blood - too graphic? Sorry, it’s my reality. I'm sure in all of that I probably have some cavities that need attention. There is a new study out that links dental hygiene and heart health - bad mouth, bad heart. That's scary but I can’t do any thing about it! I will lose all my teeth or they'll rot until I'm 65 and get on Medicare, if Medicare even covers dental. Another thing that kills me is on WIC we don't have the option to buy organic. There are organic baby rice cereals, milk, eggs, and carrots but because I'm poor I have to feed my child junk. I watch TV and read up on healthy foods for babies and young children and I wish, on a strict budget, I had the option of providing these things for my child."

M.R., age 25 (Travis Co.)

"I am a 37-year-old woman with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. While the condition is manageable, I am, at my age, struggling with various severe symptoms that are greatly hindering my health, and thus also my ability to maintain a job and care for my family... Although PCOS is a fairly common condition, many doctors are unaware of how severely it can impact a woman's health and her life if not properly managed. There are only a few doctors here in El Paso who understand this condition, but without affordable health care and insurance that will cover this “pre-existing” condition, I cannot afford to see these doctors for treatment for my symptoms. Because I cannot afford to see the doctors who understand [Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome], I do not have the necessary documentation to qualify for disability benefits. More importantly, I have a very diminished quality of life, and at my age, I am honestly terrified for my future. I have an elderly mother who I help care for, and I am currently unable to support myself. My job history is erratic due [to] my health, and despite being well-educated and possessing many work skills, I have great difficulty finding work when I am healthy enough to work. And all because I cannot get the proper treatment for a manageable condition."

A.B., age 37 (El Paso Co.)

"I am a 26 year old woman who has a beautiful 3 year old daughter and a wonderful fiancé. However, at the age of 19, I was drinking alcohol constantly and I had unprotected sex with my boyfriend at the time... The result - I became pregnant. I had no idea what to do. I couldn't tell my mother, the guy took off, and the only place I could go was 2 and a half hours away from where I live to get an abortion. While it wasn't the best thing to do, I did it. I knew I was not ready to be a single mother and I had no idea how much pain I had caused to the fetus due to my alcohol consumption. I had taken a couple of sex education classes in a couple of different cities, but the city I was living in at the time did not offer one. I am happy with the choice I made and have no regrets. I do think there needs to be A LOT more sex education in schools as early as 6th grade! Birth control also needs to be made available to people at about 15 or 16 years old. That is a young age, but MOST 15-16 year olds ARE having sex. I would include a photo of myself, but I do not want to be judged by anyone for my actions. Thank you for your time."

Anonymous, age 26 (Eastland Co.)

STORIES ABOUT OUR FAMILIES:

"My mother is 73 years old and has not been to the doctor in over 10 years because she has no health insurance. Several years ago she was aware of a lump in her breast, but did not seek any health guidance because of a lack of insurance. Her limited Medicare has not proved to be beneficial. Affordable or, preferably, free services for routine care for the elderly on a limited income is a need for our families."

R.M., age 47 (Bexar Co.)

"I had to give up my job in order to be eligible for Medicaid because otherwise I simply would not have been able to AFFORD to give birth to my son. This has forced my husband and I to live off one income and for now my son must also. Contrary to what some may believe it is not easy, fun or a “gift” to have to live off food stamps. At first I was limited to a clinic that was always dirty and often I would wait 2.5 hours past my scheduled appointments for my prenatal visits. I was even given an antibiotic that is NOT safe for a pregnant woman for a condition I did NOT have. So even after giving up my job it was still very difficult for me to find safe healthcare during my pregnancy."

Anonymous, age 25 (Liberty Co.)

"I don't have any insurance because I am single mom who works nights and goes to school during the day while my son is in school. If I would have [had] better access to birth control my son wouldn't be here. Trust me, I love my son more than anything in the world, but as a single mother it is really hard out here. I barely make enough to cover my bills but they say I still make too much for Medicaid. I have tried to get my son on Medicaid but I keep getting denied because I make too much even though his dad pays for Medicaid coverage in his child support payment. I am not asking for free services, just reduced services and help for young single mothers. As far as health care I am willing to pay, it’s just I need help. Also, as a teen parent, I wish there were better access to birth control information for teenagers. Lastly, I agree that a woman has a right to her body. The right to an abortion should never be taken away and I am very pro-choice."

M.N., age 23 (Harris Co.)

"My partner and I have had to maintain a household for 22 years that is not recognized by local, state or federal governments. Hence, we have each had to maintain our health insurance policies as individuals. We cannot get any type of financial break with a family policy. Now that we are both over 50, it has become a financial burden, since our combined health insurance premiums cost us more than $1,000/month. We spend at least that much every month on alternative healthcare because we view our health insurance policies as insurance for emergencies and/or crises only. We use alternative healthcare and self-education to keep ourselves as healthy as possible. Besides, our benefits continue to dwindle while our premiums continue to rise. We are getting to the point where we might not be able to afford health insurance for both of us..."

Anonymous (Harris Co.)

"When my husband left me with a young, special needs child, I had no income because we had agreed that I would stay home with him. I had no money, no job, no child care, we lost insurance coverage, etc. I was terrified! I had no money to hire a lawyer to obtain a divorce and child support. I had no money to pay for child care or gas to look for a job. The thing that most terrified me was thinking that my child might get sick or hurt and I would not be able to get him medical care... [Now] I work at a low-paying job where I have an oppressive amount of responsibility. I net $2200/month, which, in reality, is not enough to pay for a place to live (average for area is $900/mo.), utilities, transportation expenses, child care, food and clothing, and medical expenses. I stay here because I have health insurance although I can't afford the deductibles for doctor visits or prescriptions. This is our third winter in a house with no heat. I could continue but it becomes boring."

S.W., age 56 (Wise Co.)

STORIES ABOUT OUR COMMUNITIES:

"We had a clinic that had a wonderful doctor and due to finances the clinic and doctor was ripped out from under us leaving people in such need with nothing. I have high blood pressure and now with no doctor or money, I can't get the medication I need. I have a special needs son and with $623 a month income, there is not enough money left after the bills to even think about doctors or medication. I thank God for the Wesley Nurse that has been helping me here at the soup kitchen."

M.J., age 51 (Tom Green Co.)

"I work with families whose children are blind or visually impaired and often have additional health issues. Last weekend in a group of 9 families from near Central Texas, 2 described having to divorce in order to become eligible for Medicaid for their medically involved children. Others talked of the difficulty of finding day care options for children who have disabilities. A few mentioned how long they had to look to find doctors who would take the time to investigate troubling health concerns. The disability community is sorely lacking in access to quality medical care!"

C.M., age 53 (Travis Co.)

"I am friends with [a woman] who has 2 young children, one of whom is autistic. She and her husband have decided that she should have her tubes tied, as they do not want more children, are on Medicaid, and need to focus on their autistic son. At [the hospital], she was seen by a female doctor who told her she was too young and too fat to have the procedure. She is devastated, does not know where to turn, and is angry that she was denied the procedure she needs and wants. She cannot take the chance of getting pregnant again, and having a vasectomy is against her husband's religion (Jehovah's Witness). This is so wrong - she made a well-informed choice, and should not be denied treatment. We need so much help in this area; please keep working for change."

M.S., age 53 (Dallas Co.)

"My high school had such bad sex education that a friend and I started passing out our cell phone numbers trying to get sexually active kids to call us for contraceptive information. The calls I fielded were unbelievable (e.g. someone wanted to know if she could pregnant from swallowing semen, since 'the stomach is connected to the vagina')."

Anonymous (Travis Co.)

"In my vocation (religious institution staff), I have dealt with female victims of date rape, young females who - with their parents - sought information about safe and legal abortion providers in this part of the state, and with the effects of a school system that insists that providing developmentally appropriate, medically accurate human sexuality education is inappropriate and unimportant (and therefore does not do so). On a personal note, while my husband is a self-employed professional and we are relatively affluent, we are unable to participate in a group plan and therefore must pay for our own health insurance. In order to afford the outrageous premiums, though both of us are relatively healthy, our annual deductible is $10,000. This means that in effect, we have catastrophic coverage only, and must cover our health care expenses, prescriptions, etc., out of our pockets. We are (supposedly) fortunate to be able to afford insurance at all, but what about all the women and children and families who have none at all?"

S.M., age 55 (Lubbock Co.)

"I am in charge of a senior citizen center. It would be nice if we had someone come in at least once a week to check blood pressure and diabetics [as well as] transportation for persons to get to and from doctor appointments. Most important, a pharmacy and someone who could do blood work., lab work, [and] x-rays here so we didn't have to go 25 miles just for this. We do have a clinic here in Lakehills but they won't do lab work unless you are one of their patients."

B.B., age 82 (Gonzales Co.)

"I write this from the perspective of being a professional educator (Director of an Early Head Start) and a woman. I work with low-income families that work mostly for minimum wage. They must leave their jobs with no benefits [and] lose money in order to take their children to the doctor, the dentist or social agencies (TANF, Food Stamps, Medicare). They are treated indifferently, at best, by the agencies they have to get 'approval' from in order to meet other requirements such as child care immunizations. The agencies think nothing of closing for holidays, changing business hours with no notice, or having no one there during the noon hour. The women are talked down to by physicians, teachers, and social service agencies that are government programs designed to 'help' them. I have worked with these women 10 years and it gets worse every year. My heart aches [for] the children and their families. They are the 'working' poor. These moms work, have access - though limited as it is - to quality childcare, but still barely survive. Any one crisis can push them from being the working poor to being back on assistance. My life has been forever changed by working with these strong and courageous women who love their children and want them to have a better life."

O.E., age 64 (Lubbock Co.)

"[We need a] program for children without money to be in gymnastics, football, acting... and money to buy the things that child needs for that year. Where they would have a chance to be able to do the things they grow up to want to be... where it takes care of the [kids’] needs, for them to go on to what they want to become."

J.G.D., age 43 (Tom Green Co.)

"As a teacher in an alternative high school, our health care services offered to low-income teens, especially regarding reproduction and birth control are woefully inadequate. In addition, especially in rural areas, privacy issues make it difficult for teens to take advantage of the services that do exist because they fear that others in the community will find out. One of the areas of greatest concern for me, aside from prevention of unwanted pregnancy, is the lack of adequate, appropriate prenatal information for low-income pregnant teens. Most have no idea what to expect during the different stages of pregnancy, delivery, and early infancy. They cannot afford to buy books or magazines to learn about nutrition, biological changes, warning signs, etc., and often library books are too difficult for them to read alone. For many, their only source of information is family and friends who are often grossly misinformed. We need to provide ALL low-income mothers with easy-to-read information, preferably along with regular counseling, so they will have the basic knowledge necessary to give birth to healthy babies and care for them correctly. Ideally, we also need to provide the same basic, easy-to-read information regarding birth control choices and STD's, and make sure these materials can be accessed privately, even in rural communities."