A Letter To The President

Out of frustration, anger, and a feeling of helplessness I sent an email letter to the President. Yes, the President of the United States! One thing about me, like many moms (and dads) I am fiercely protective of my child and I will fight passionately for her. Oh, another thing - I am too impatient to start at the bottom and work my way up. Nope, I go straight to the top. Here is my letter, it explains our situation and saves me from having to rewrite it all again.

Dear Mr. President,

I doubt that you will see this and maybe it will only serve to help me vent, but I feel compelled to write anyways. You see, I have a 15 year old granddaughter who is a victim of your healthcare reform. A reform that did little to help those who need the most help. She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, with the likelihood of having Borderline Personality Disorder. Her only source of medical insurance is Central California Alliance (Medicaid for our area). Due to the changes that took place after the infamous "Obamacare", this means that her options for treatment are limited.

My granddaughter is currently at a psychiatric facility for suicidal ideation. This is her fifth hospital stay since January of this year. Every mental health professional who is familiar with her issues believes that she needs long-term residential care. However, we have run into a couple of major problems with that - finding a facility willing to take her type of insurance (an insurance that YOU claim will greatly benefit ALL citizens) and the measures her mother is being told must be taken to get my granddaughter this care that might save her life.

My daughter was told, by the hospital, that the only ways for her child to get the help she needs are the following - 1. She must be part of the juvenile court system, i.e. referred by juvenile hall. 2. my daughter must relinquish her parental rights, thus making my granddaughter a ward of the state and likely into foster care. 3 her school's IEP staff must refer her (which all but the guidance counselor refused to do because the school district would have to pay for the care).

Please help me to understand why it is so hard for a mother to help save her child's life with this "great" healthcare??? Please help me to understand why any parent has so little say in how to help her child, how a panel of school staff (who's job is to look after the best interests of the school district) have the power to block that parent from making sure her child is safe??? Please help me to understand why your great answer to our failing healthcare system is failing our children???

I am sick and I am disgusted with knowing that in a few weeks my grandchild will be coming home with another "band-aid" to treat her disorders. I live in fear of the day that my daughter will tell me that my grandchild has taken her own life, due to a mental health disorder that she can receive only minimal treatment for.

***Coming up in my next blog entries - More about our responses to this email (and someone in the White House has taken notice of it)  and what we are doing about a situation that affects parents of all income brackets, regardless of insurances policies.***