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A word of caution.
You're hearing left, right and center about those octuplets. And their six siblings at home.
Be very careful who you listen to for information.
The people who did the work ain't talking. And they won't. The fact the family (and I'm not talking about grandparents who are blabbing in their front yards and claiming huge houses somewhere and all that) haven't come forward to identify themselves should be a hint.
They don't want your help, they know they're pariahs and thank you very much this was their choice. They want it, they'll ask for it. Until then - MYOB.
You don't know - you won't know - until they tell you themselves. That's HIPAA, that's your privacy laws at work, and pay attention to who is being shown in the news reports. They're pretty heavy on pictures of the medical staff, and the hospital. They're the ones who want to talk. (And they are CHUFFED.)
Frankly, the greatest strain on that facility right now is the loss of subscriber base due to people losing their jobs right now (people lose their jobs, they lose coverage - simple). Not one family with eight children, who clearly have paid to play. (And have been paying family rates for some time - come on, think.)
Be aware, informed and don't let anyone rip you off and play you.
You don't know. And that's a perfectly good place to be in this matter.
Be very careful who you listen to for information.
The people who did the work ain't talking. And they won't. The fact the family (and I'm not talking about grandparents who are blabbing in their front yards and claiming huge houses somewhere and all that) haven't come forward to identify themselves should be a hint.
They don't want your help, they know they're pariahs and thank you very much this was their choice. They want it, they'll ask for it. Until then - MYOB.
You don't know - you won't know - until they tell you themselves. That's HIPAA, that's your privacy laws at work, and pay attention to who is being shown in the news reports. They're pretty heavy on pictures of the medical staff, and the hospital. They're the ones who want to talk. (And they are CHUFFED.)
Frankly, the greatest strain on that facility right now is the loss of subscriber base due to people losing their jobs right now (people lose their jobs, they lose coverage - simple). Not one family with eight children, who clearly have paid to play. (And have been paying family rates for some time - come on, think.)
Be aware, informed and don't let anyone rip you off and play you.
You don't know. And that's a perfectly good place to be in this matter.
no subject
I'm really curious what drives this furor. Is it envy? (Kids get everything? People with more kids get more than they deserve?)
The irony is these babies were born in the same hospital system that fired the two parents who killed their kids and then killed themselves. Yeah, I'd identify myself. Suuuuure.
no subject
Though my frustration isn't at what she did to us tax payers so much as being sad for the life those kids (all 14 of them) are going to lead. Her older kids will likely lose their childhoods in helping care of their siblings, and the younger ones will likely have a lot of developmental issues for not having been cooked as long as they needed.
That said, I'm not all seriously upset, as it's not my life and not my problem. I just don't have much respect for her position, and would NOT make those choices myself.
no subject
For the rest - ghads would people please GET IT - I CAN'T TALK.
They're nine weeks early - and so far, that appears to be the biggest reason they're still in the NICU. Some of the singletons born to co-workers of Jim's were sicker, stayed longer and are still fab three years later by comparison.
Watch them be just fine, regardless. I've known families with 20 children in them. Mensa, most of them, in the one family I know (5 bio, the balance adopted).
Everyone wants to step in and run someone else's life for some reason here.
And no, you don't end up on the public dime by default if you have kids. The only thing you end up on public dime for is dialysis - that's the automatic "you're on Medicare" switch.
The rest, not so much.
It's kind of creepy, the way people are so clearly displacing their own frustrations onto this complete stranger.
And of course, they'll believe what they like. In the absence of information, some folks don't care what they fill the vacuum with, neh?
(Would I ever do this? Cracker, are you crazy?)
no subject
Having a preemie, however, much less eight is another matter entirely. Being really active in high risk pregnancy communities, I've know a LOT of preemies, ranging from 12 weeks early, to my own, moderately early 36 weeker. I have never known one single family with a sub 4 pounder in an incubator NOT end up getting their medical bills subsidized by medi-caid or medi-cal.
I have my opinions. You do. I do. They do. I don't really have any desire to run someone else's life. However, my opinion do not come from a lack of data. I know how sapping it is to have one infant and a toddler. I know what's it's like to have two infant to care for. I know what a tax on ALL of one's resources it is to just raise two kids, with an active and involved partner. I've also run a daycare where I was one of two primary care givers for 14 kids 12 hours a day 5 days a week. For a single parent to sign up to raise her 6 kids and throw in 8 more infants, some of whom WILL me medically challenged (show me a single litter of children that doesn't have a kid with medical challenges) isn't cool to me, and she will suffer- which is her choice, however I think it was an unfair burden to saddle her kids with.
At least if she were doing this all fundie Christian style, she'd have popped them out with a partner and nicely spaced most of the time.