A Door Opener

by Haven Rohnert

After a decade of being a stay at home parent, when I was 19 to 29, my children’s mother and I parted ways. It was the first time I had to survive on my own, with complicated medical conditions, hundreds of miles away from close friends and family. 

I got on a hospital’s program for people with low incomes, which provided me the minimum medical treatment to survive. When I secured SSI, during these rough times, I received Medicaid which gave me better coverage, to combat my disabilities.

I stopped having the type of seizures which caused me to wake up in the hospital many times. I still had 3 to 5 partial seizures a week, so I and my neurologist discussed surgery as an option. 

I had my first surgery and that stopped every type of seizure, for over a year. After I started having symptoms that felt like a seizure could come on but never did, we discussed having a second surgery. I had the second surgery. In about a week, I will have a hospital stay to see if it’s safe to start tapering off one medication at a time. We started tapering of one medicine approximately 7 months ago, but I had reactions which may be seizures or possibly just withdrawal symptoms. Being monitored in the hospital will let doctors and I know what causes the reactions.

Through all this, Medicaid has been by my side and has kept me safe and provided treatment that I couldn’t afford with other insurance. Medicaid has also been great for preventative treatment that has allowed me to raise my kids and work safely for over 11 years. With Medicaid’s 1619 B program, which allows people with disabilities to keep their insurance, after surpassing the income limit, if a person cannot work without the coverage, I was able to work my way off all other government benefits. I am happy to pay for my insurance now, through the Medicaid buy-in program. Medicaid is a lifesaver and a door opener. 

**All Blogs reflect the opinions/experiences of people with disabilities or family members of people with disabilities. They do not reflect CCDC’s official position on any portion of Medicaid services.