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May 30, 2004 I was a teacher. That is all I ever wanted to be was a teacher. My mother, father, and several of my cousins were teachers and I always dreamed of sharing knowledge with little children and watching their faces light up when they would learn something new. One time in one of my classes, a little boy of eight was so excited when he found out that blood was really blue until it was exposed to oxygen. He made me just as excited, as if I learned this knowledge for the first time, as well. Well, I got sick. I didn’t just get a cold or something that would go away, I got Hepatitis C and had to go through a type of chemo-therapy, self induced at home. From the Hepatitis C, I developed several things: Fibromyalgia, a rheumatoid muscle and nerve illness, Restless Leg Syndrome, Depression, Diabetes and several other problems that made me to resign myself from the one career that I loved so much. I lost my wages and my insurance. I had a small income helping me, from a family trust, whom my brother was the main beneficiary. I was granted the payment of my utilities, the insurance on my car, and the upkeep on my car, and home. I was able to get along pretty good with the help from the trust. I applied for Indigent Care and received some help through the County Health Department. They would pay all my doctor visits in the county and hospital bills up to $30,000 and three medications a month, but I wasn’t allowed more than $150.00 in any money received from an outside source. I applied for Food Stamps and received total, $248.00 for myself and my husband, who hadn’t been employed for twenty-two years. I had been the sole provider in the home and since he was disabled, it wasn’t necessary for him to work. There weren’t any children in the household to take care of, just several lovable pets. I needed more money. Food stamps doesn’t pay for soap, detergent, gasoline, oil, toilet paper, shampoo and all the non food items we use subconsciously, not to mention pet food. I requested more money from the family trust. The bank obliged and sent it to my bank account. I didn’t think about the maximum amount of money I could receive to acquire Indigent Care. When I reapplied for the insurance through the Health Department, it was noticed that I was receiving $50.00 a week from the trust besides the original amount. My insurance was cut off. Now, I didn’t have any medicine or money for doctors and I was getting increasing more ill. I filed for Supplemental Security Income for my husband who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Dyslexia and when he was examined by a Psychologist, he was immediately granted $372.00 a month. As soon as the Department of Human Services discovered that he was receiving money from another government agency, they decreased our food stamps from $248.00 to $65.00 for two people to live on for a month. Now, since the government awarded my husband (and not me) the money, I was left with half the portion of the food stamps which amounted to $32.50 a month, and he was allowed the same plus the $372.00 for himself. I wasn’t to touch that money. So, I lived on My money from the Trust, and he lived on his money from the government. We survived okay for a while like that. Then… My brother died. He was the main beneficiary of the trust so the trust was split and other family members were granted their share. By this time, I had already filed for Supplemental Security Income and Disability through the Social Security Department and had been denied twice. I had an attorney working on my appeal to go before a judge and state my case. Time was passing and still no court date. I had already seen at least six doctors, had many, many documents stating the condition I was in, didn’t in the least bit afford me any chance of resuming work of any kind. I was denied first because I was educated and the government agencies felt I could find some kind of work. I have been so medicated for pain, and depression, and seizures in my legs, and muscle crawling, and uncontrollable bowels, and uncontrollable sleeping patterns, that there was and is no way I can keep any schedule, promise to make it to work any time of day , any days of the week. I am seriously ill, and , there is no known cure! When the money was distributed from my brother’s death, I had gained closed to six thousand dollars. Two thousand went to medicine. One thousand went to property taxes and State Income tax I was default on, from another state. The rest went to paying ahead on my utilities, and repair on my house. After that, I was back to square one, and broke. While my husband was receiving his $372.00 a month and we were sharing the $65.00 in food stamps , I had a brilliant idea. If we weren’t married, and didn’t live together anymore, then, the government would give us each more money. But, then, if we still loved each other and wanted to spend time together, to visit, to have dinner together, the government couldn’t take away our benefits for being friends. In order to save my house, my sanity, and my life, I went to Legal services and filed for divorce. He moved into his motor home on some nearby land, that was on my family’s estate, and changed his address. I picked up an application for him at the Department of Human Services so he could have food stamps in his name. He was granted (by himself) $89.00 per month. I called in to the change office and reported the divorce and his change of address, and they granted me $141.00 per month. I started charging him $300.00 a month for rental for the property. He reported that to the Social Security office and they granted him $252.00 more in his S.S.I.. I had him pay the money directly to the utility companies from his account so he didn’t give me cash, I closed my bank account, and I got back my Indigent Care insurance. I am still ill and have no income, but my doctor visits are taken care of. I still need repairs on my house, but I have a house. I am hard set as my property taxes are due in December, but my ex-husband is helping me pay them out. I can eat, and my utilities are paid, and I have insurance on my vehicle. I only have a fan in my bedroom, but I have a bedroom. I don’t live with my husband anymore, but we see each other everyday and have developed a garden together, helping each other eat fresh vegetables. I sleep a lot on my medication but I have the medication. I was embarrassed to beg for welfare, I didn’t want to be on welfare. Sometimes it just can’t be helped. No one wants their income drastically reduced from $1600 net a month, to $141.00 per month, in food stamps. The present government wants to know why women don’t get married, stay single, and out of wedlock. My life is living proof. If I had not divorced my husband, I would be one of those unfortunate people on the busy street corner, holding up a sign. I considered it. It isn’t unlawful where I live to beg, but the humiliation, in front of my former students, made me brainstorm another idea. I just had to figure out how to beat the system! ------------ About the author: Janyce Helen Van Es is the author of five self published e-books, that are temporarily off line, at this time. "The Flying Dutchman", "Unconditional", "A Spiritual Gift", "Blind Spot", and "Teacher". She was educated at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and received a Bachlor's of Science Degree in Elementary Education in 1989. She began working on her Masters Degree at University of North Texas in English as a Second Language in 1994. She is currently living on Lake Texoma in her retirement cottage, writing children's literature, the first, "Too Many Turtles", is being considered for publication at this time. Email: odie@texoma.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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