I'm really struggling with something lately: How do i put a price tag on my child's health and well-being?
Let's say, for just a moment, that i found out my child had cancer (God forbid!). Let's then assume, for the sake of this conversation, that my insurance doesn't cover the treatment. Further, the treatment is just over $5,000 and will take weekly therapy for 8-12 months. What would i do? Quite obviously, i would treat my child to get rid of the cancer!
Now, imagine the health concern is merely that her eyes don't function properly. I don't mean she needs glasses; i mean, she has eyes that do not operate physically the way they are supposed to and it interferes with her brain's ability to understand what she is seeing. Basically, she sees everything as if her eyes operate independently of one another, and her brain thinks she is seeing double (and that is really only one of the problems).
That may not seem life-threatening, and certainly, she'll not die of this condition. But imagine for a moment that you see every set of words as if there are two of them and they slightly overlap. Now go read for an hour a day. Do 30 minutes of math every day. Write interesting and grammatically correct essays every week. Right. That's what i thought. Not just a nuisance, but a real handicap in school.
However, we truly cannot afford the treatment. Besides which, our son needs the same treatment, so multiply that figure by two. And just like when we treat cancer, there is no guarantee. It is a great likelihood that they will walk away "cured" of their vision development problems forever! But it is also possible they cannot be fixed completely. Helped, but not necessarily "cured."
So my struggle is that i feel like i am putting a price tag on my children's future. It is all well and good to say "we couldn't afford to send him to karate" or "we never had the money for her to pursue dance" when we reach graduation day. But, folks, how do i look at my children each day for the rest of my life and accept that i did not help them SEE.
God, only You can help me with this dilemma. Only You know my heart AND my situation. Please direct my path and focus my heart on You.
Let's say, for just a moment, that i found out my child had cancer (God forbid!). Let's then assume, for the sake of this conversation, that my insurance doesn't cover the treatment. Further, the treatment is just over $5,000 and will take weekly therapy for 8-12 months. What would i do? Quite obviously, i would treat my child to get rid of the cancer!
Now, imagine the health concern is merely that her eyes don't function properly. I don't mean she needs glasses; i mean, she has eyes that do not operate physically the way they are supposed to and it interferes with her brain's ability to understand what she is seeing. Basically, she sees everything as if her eyes operate independently of one another, and her brain thinks she is seeing double (and that is really only one of the problems).
That may not seem life-threatening, and certainly, she'll not die of this condition. But imagine for a moment that you see every set of words as if there are two of them and they slightly overlap. Now go read for an hour a day. Do 30 minutes of math every day. Write interesting and grammatically correct essays every week. Right. That's what i thought. Not just a nuisance, but a real handicap in school.
However, we truly cannot afford the treatment. Besides which, our son needs the same treatment, so multiply that figure by two. And just like when we treat cancer, there is no guarantee. It is a great likelihood that they will walk away "cured" of their vision development problems forever! But it is also possible they cannot be fixed completely. Helped, but not necessarily "cured."
So my struggle is that i feel like i am putting a price tag on my children's future. It is all well and good to say "we couldn't afford to send him to karate" or "we never had the money for her to pursue dance" when we reach graduation day. But, folks, how do i look at my children each day for the rest of my life and accept that i did not help them SEE.
God, only You can help me with this dilemma. Only You know my heart AND my situation. Please direct my path and focus my heart on You.
Hang in there sister! God will make your paths straight! We will pray for you to have wisdom in this decision.
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