mercy

I'm going to get to see a doctor!!!!  For free!!!!

No, this is not for the pap I need.  I will get that taken care of soon, though, hopefully... 

In addition to being 25 and needing a womanly visit, I've been struggling with GI issues for the last two months or so... really, years but I've been able to control most of it through a gluten-free diet.  But this issue has recently resurfaced again in the last two months and not just in an ok-what-do-we-change-to-get-rid-of-it sort of way but more like a yeah-I-should-probably-see-someone-about-that-pronto sort of way.  I went to urgent care about six weeks ago but the NP's prescription was really just a band-aid for the immediate issue... in all likelihood there's probably more going on.  And I've been scared like crazy thinking that I was going to incur thousands of dollars in medical bills if I was actually seen by a specialist.  But I applied for Mercy's financial assistance program and found out the other day I was approved for 100% aid for the urgent care visit... thank God, literally.  I was so relieved.  And after multiple attempts of  looking into a number of different options, with both the pap and this and calling about a bazillion different health care providers and trying to get into clinics or apply for Medicaid (which, turns out you only qualify for if you are pregnant and single, disabled, or under the age of 19 and without insurance), I finally found out that if I called the GI specialists through Mercy hospitals, I could get in to see one of them for free since I'd qualified for their charity program.  And if I need anything done for it, it's all covered except for services that aren't provided through St. John's.  But we're hoping it isn't that severe...

It. is. a God-send.  I cried after I got off the phone with them... literally, wept out loud with relief and gratitude.  She scheduled me for an appointment for next Wednesday.

I get to see a doctor.  And soon.

I could weep again now just thinking about it.

I feel like the woman who believed that if she just touched the hem of Jesus' cloak, she would be healed... 

... and I find the whole thing extremely fitting, seeing that in a very direct and tangible way, the Catholic Church is taking care of my healthcare needs when nobody else will.  You see, over half of my students come from extremely strong Catholic families.  In a manner of speaking, I'm pruning future musicians for them, even though their healthcare system and the greater Catholic Church of St. Louis doesn't have a clue and probably won't reap the benefits of it for years.  It's totally God working in and through the circumstances in a really ironic and meaningful series of events.  But it turns out that the Sisters of Mercy really are what they say they are.  And I could not be more grateful.