Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas Wishes


In trying to take care of Aero, give him the best possible foundation for a healthy, vibrant life, I have made some hugely erroneous miscalculations. Providing his care giving on a daily basis I thought was the best course of action for him. His care is very intense, feeding 7 times a day via the g.i. tube, pumping breast milk 8 times a day to provide sound nutrition, feeding therapy 4 times a day in which we work on his oral eating skills, shuffling to and fro from therapist appointment, doctor appointments, researching the best protocols for kids with Down syndrome, getting on the floor and playing with him to encourage physical activity as his low tone requires some prompting for being active, being with him in the hospital to provide the love and care that only a mom can provide, etc. However, what might have been best for Aero has placed a severe strain on finances. How does a single mother with a special/medical needs child attend to her child's intensive needs and make ends meet?


The plan is now that I return to work in order to keep our medical benefits. Sounds easy enough, right? But this one decision has made the whole house of cards topple down around me. The fact is that we don't make ends meet now and we live bare bones simple. Returning to work will not help ease the burden of tightly strained finances. In fact, I will be making less than $3 an hour because I have to pay for child care. And as many times as I try to make the numbers crunch, they just don't, won't, can't. I am sinking us into a hole and the ramifications of all this scares the hell out of me. This is how people end up homeless. Wow. 

So, what is my Christmas wish? Oh, if only those lotto numbers would appear to me! However, I need a firm grounding in reality. And the firm grounding is that we need to severely cut expenses, namely housing. I walked down this road earlier in the fall to search for low income housing to no luck. 

What we really desire is a place that is communal. Living with friends or like-minded souls  would be ideal. We need to share expenses in a household living situation. Aero is such an amazing, loving, social child that would so benefit from the presence of others around us. 

Can you help? If you know of any one that is also looking or open to a shared living situation or they have an MIL available, please, please let me know. Our timeline is now!

Much Love,
Brandy & Aero