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We are in the process of getting a handicap placard for K. It is supposed to be a pretty simple thing to cross of the To Do list.

The process should run like this:
– Have pediatrician fill out the form
– Turn in form at the courthouse

This is how the process is actually running:
– Have pediatrician fill out form
– Realize the pediatrician failed to notarize said form even though she does this semi-frequently
– Drive back to the pediatrician’s clinic (45 minutes away) to get the form completed for real
– Drive to courthouse to turn it in
– Find out that unless K has her own ID so we can put the placard in her name, I will always have to be with her when she uses it (so she can’t be with her dad or grandparents or a friend and use it).
– Order a new copy of her birth certificate so we can get her ID

That is where we currently are, and we still need to:
– Obtain ID for K
– Turn in form to courthouse (with K in tow so she can sign her official papers)
(And who KNOWS what may go awry during the last couple of steps.)

And this just BARELY registers on the Frustration-O-Meter because there are so many other bigger and more pressing things that require AT LEAST this many extra steps to accomplish…but it serves as a nice little example. When I joke about being K’s administrative assistant, I’m only about 15% joking! 🙂 Everything from Medicaid issues to trying to make sure she gets her feeding supplies and formula to trying to schedule medical tests or get her set up with therapy requires a Doctorate of Hoop Jumping (thankfully, these degrees are honorary and life experience definitely counts towards them!). A couple weeks ago, I tried to get information about why a prescription was being denied and they would not talk to me because they said that I wasn’t marked as K’s guardian in the system…that no one was! My 8 year old is a free agent, as far as Medicaid is concerned (which we are in the process of correcting). Oy.

The flip side is that everything we fight for is hugely necessary for K to survive and thrive, so it is beyond worth the temporary frustrations and we are SO blessed to have access to Medicaid and the supplies and care she needs, regardless of the hoops we encounter along the way. But yeah, there are hoop aplenty in life with K!