Thinking back through the last year, I spent quite a lot on things. But then, the most expensive thing I spent on wasn't on fashion, gadgets, trips, etc., but on my son's health.
Maybe only fellow parents can relate very well to this, but there was a point where I had no choice but to key into a financial decision that was so heavy to bear but yet unavoidable. Most of you who usually engage with my posts already have an idea of this experience with my son because I have shared it in the past. Around the middle of the year, the whole experience took a U-turn, and we left Lagos City, where we resided, to the east through recommendation and referral.
Upon this change of hospital, a lot of diagnoses were carried out, which cost about a million naira, after which it was discovered that allowing my son to undergo brain surgery wouldn't solve the health challenge but might rather complicate issues. So routine drug management was the health advice we received. The neurologist warned that the particular control drug he prescribed is very expensive and a bit scarce in the pharmacy stores and hospitals, but that particular brand is what will give us a good result without my son having a crisis and running to the emergency unit. He advised that we shouldn't go for the lower brand but make an effort to get the high-quality but expensive drug.
The thing about the situation is that we don't even know when we will stop buying the drugs. The first consultant said it's going to be a lifetime thing; the second consultant came and said it's going to be for three years. That's by the way, but so far, God has been helping us to buy this drug, as expensive as it is. Two months ago, the drugs went up again, far higher than what they used to be, and I couldn't stop screaming!.
It's been like I am making money just to buy drugs without extra to save, but it's all good. There are some crosses we carry that we can't question God about but rather trust in him completely to come through, and I know someday he will come through and the storm will be over.Yea, each purchase of these routine drugs for my son feels like a pinch, at times a deep cut.
Whenever I insert my ATM into the POS machine in a particular pharmacy store I used to buy the drugs from, I feel bad because it's a whole lot of money going out weekly , and I don't know when these expenses will end, but God knows. Even the pharmacist guy over there is already working on helping me search for a place I can get it at a bit cheaper rate if possible. He feels my expenses too, but once there is life, it's fine.
The improvement so far in my son's health is motivation not to give up. Every kobo I spend is making sense already. Where there was fear before, I am seeing stability so far with the drugs, so it's fine.
However, is this something I will happily spend on over and over again if I have to? The this is, I wouldn't say yes; however, there are some expenses that leave ones account empty without a lasting happiness. All I want and pray for is that God should step in for me. I don't find joy spending this much on drugs, as I have done in the past, without knowing when it will end.
This post is in response to the #Hive Learners prompt on the topic titled, Expensive.
Images were taken from canva
