LET'S TALK ABOUT FINANCES & CHRONIC ILLNESS.

Let’s talk about finances when it comes to chronic illness, shall we?

This topic is sensitive & kind of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, if you talk about it, it seems as though you’re begging & on the other, it seems as though you’re boasting. Let me tell you this if nobody else has, managing chronic illnesses is EXPENSIVE! DAMN EXPENSIVE. Over a period of 17 years, we have spent millions of shillings managing my conditions. 80% of that is in cash so when I tell you it’s a financial struggle, I really mean it.

I’ll give you a breakdown of my situation and see if we can create some awareness & sensitivity when it comes to finances & chronic illnesses. I’ve been sharing a lot more on my journey and some of you have been asking me how I manage financially with the appointments, tests, scans & numerous drugs.

First of all, I’ve been at this for 15 years now, so along the way, we have identified the cheapest places to buy drugs, have laboratory tests, scans & MRIs done, etc. For instance, I buy my drugs at Transchem, get my scans & MRIs at General Accident House, and have my lab tests at Lancet.

But the bottom line is this, my dad bears the financial burden of my illness. Insurance is not nearly enough to cover my expenses & neither is my salary. So, know this, you and people living with chronic illnesses are not the same financially speaking. We’re not dealing with usual circumstances. Even if you and I earned the same salary, my medical obligations swallow my entire income. So please, never compare my financial circumstances to yours.

Before we break it down, let’s list out some of the obligations I have:

Monthly drugs, appointments, scans/MRIs, regular blood work, monthly Rocephin IV or oral antibiotics, and Physiotherapy/Hydrotherapy. Then there are the things we need to do/have outside all of these to make life bearable. I’m talking about alternative therapies, i.e., massages for chronic pain, orthopaedic mattress & shoes, back brace/support, compressions stockings/arm sleeve/knee, elbow & ankle supports, assistive devices, and special diet among many other things.

Monthly drugs cost me between Kshs. 20,000 and 30,000 per month.

I see several specialists to handle the multiple autoimmune conditions I have:

Most people, through no fault of their own, think that medical insurance covers everything. That would be true for a normal, healthy person who falls sick maybe 5 times a year; they go in for a check-up, lab work & and drugs, and they are done. This is not the reality for chronically ill people. We are always in the hospital. At least once a month, I’m in the hospital for either an appointment, emergency, drugs, tests, or all of these. The truth of the matter is that medical insurance barely scratches the surface for most of us. Not unless you have multiple insurance covers & even then, that still strains your pocket. Most chronically ill people I know are not able to have that and must pay out of pocket.

I do have an insurance cover from my employer, but we use that specifically for a few appointments & a monthly test I have to do called an INR to measure how fast/slow my blood is clotting. The test costs me 1,450. Then, if the levels are too high/too low, we repeat this test until my levels stabilize.

For example, let me give you a rundown of my visits since 01.07.2021 to date:

In a span of 6 weeks, it’s cost me Kshs. 142,000 to take care of my health. Extrapolate that to a year, then to 15 years, knowing some months are more burdensome and therefore more expensive than this. I am lucky that my dad has taken on the financial burden of this. I cannot imagine what the warriors who have to take care of their families, as well as their health, go through. I know most warriors have had to forego some things to take care of their health, sometimes to their detriment. I know some have had to choose between food & drugs and that is heartbreaking.

It is because of all these factors that today I have chosen to talk about the financial burden of chronic illnesses no matter how uncomfortable it is. When I tell you I can not financially participate in that baby shower or surprise party or whatever else it may be, remember my finances will be depleted by my health problems. So, please be sensitive on financial subjects with your family or friends who are bearing the weight of chronic or terminal illnesses. It’s no walk in the park.

I hope that you have learned something about finances and chronic illnesses. Kindly share this with a friend or family member, and let’s keep the awareness train going! Let’s learn, educate, and empower! Thank you, and till the next post, love, and light! 💜