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Welcome to America in 2018 – a place where a happily married couple is considering getting a divorce so they can afford their daughter’s skyrocketing medical costs.
Jake and Maria Grey have two daughters, and the six-year-old, Brighton, was born with a rare genetic disorder called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. What it means is that she’s essentially still a newborn and requires round-the-clock care that is costing the family at least $15,000 a year out of pocket. Hence, they’re considering a divorce, which would mean Brighton would qualify for Medicaid and get the care she needs – for less money.
Jake is an army veteran and the couple have private insurance, but the bills are just too high. He told Today,
“It’s drowning us to try to keep up with her medical expenses. We’ve done everything we can do to try to keep her afloat, and we’re going to reach a point where we can’t do it and we won’t have another option. We don’t know what to do.”
Currently, they make “too much” for their daughter to qualify for Medicaid, but if they divorced, Maria would be a single, unemployed mother-of-two, which would mean the girls would have access to that coverage.
The Greys are happy and would otherwise not be contemplating divorce, but as every parent knows, when it comes to the kids, we do what we have to do – and Maria says they are no different:
“We promised to each other and to her that we’d do whatever we could do to make her life, however long she’s going to be with us, as good as possible.”
Good luck to them, and to all of the parents of special needs kids who are struggling out there.
h/t: ScaryMommy