Where does all the Money go?

I've often said over the years that people spend their money differently, depending on circumstance and need as well as desire.  As you know, for most of our married life I have not been a 'salaried' person.  After Matthew was born, it broke my heart to go back to work and even though he was looked after by my mum for 16 months before I left to have Mark, I have no regrets.  He loved being with my mum and at one stage I seem to remember thinking that he loved her more than he did me...lol

Anyway from the time that Mark was born I was basically a stay at home mum.  All worked out well with Mark being second and he being the one needing the most attention and looking back I can see how our lives seem to have slotted perfectly into grooves cut out and shaped for that moment in time.

When Mark was diagnosed with CF at 15 months, there was no question in my mind of me going back to work and as little as Johan earned...by today's standard....we managed to survive.  Sometimes there were hiccups along the way and if it hadn't been for my sister and my parents always being there for us, we would not have managed to get ahead as we did.

Then along came NiQi, who we accepted with open arms into our family, also having CF, she just fitted us like the fifth finger on a glove.

Over the years I guess we have been specific in our money dealings regarding the family and health has obviously played a very important role.  For many many years we were members of a medical aid and if it wasn't for that then Mark most certainly would not have had the benefit of the Pulmozyme that he needed in the last year of his life, nor would he have had the port fitted when he did in the last 6 monhs of his life.  You must understand that now I am talking of 19 years ago, when Pulmozyme was new on the market and still in trial stage and ports were not fitted into CF's usually but were reserved for cancer patients.  Then a new government came into power and rules of medical aids changed...HIV and AIDS were the biggest concern of medical aids, premiums increased and for one salaried families such as ours, medical aid became an unreachable luxury.

Education and the mental well being of our children was then, especially for me, a huge factor in our family life.  Having lost his brother and best friend just 17 months before Matthew went to High School, he had to come to terms with that while at the same time doing his absolute best at school.  He had always said, he would go to Maritzburg College when he went to High school, so when it came to making application, that was the only school that we applied at. The day he went to write his tests and  look around the school, he told me he no longer wanted to go there....it was too big, too crowded and he didn't feel comfortable.  Oh Dear....what now....well a friend of mine, one of many who heard my woeful tale suggested we apply at the same school her boys attended, a private school no less.  I was skeptical and besides that knew we would never be able to afford the fees.  Not a problem, she said apply for a scholarship....and that is what we did.  The rest is history, Matthew received a 50% academic scholarship which meant that the difference in school fees was no more than what we would have paid out had he gone to Maritzburg College.  They were happy years for him and helped with his emotional needs in so many ways.   His first year at High School was NiQi's first year of school which meant that I had the mornings to work...and I did.  My salary paid Matthew's fees....money well spent.
When NiQi went to High school we also chose private for her and later switched to home schooling as our move here made it impossible to get her to school on time without having to wake at about 4am to do her nebulizers and have her physiotherapy.

As NiQi has grown older and her health has changed we have had to upgrade with nebulizers and buy more medicines....thankfully not the bulk, nor the most expensive, as we have been able to get them through the hospital....but those that aren't on the hospital codes.  She has just been given a new nebulizer, better than what she was using, but not the 'créme de la créme' of nebulizers....that is still on a wish list...needless to say though, she has been blessed in that her port...3 so far over the years, has been inserted by the hospital, a perk of being a state patient, and one that we are grateful for.  Now, however, as you know, she has to be on a medical aid to enjoy the benefits of having a lung transplant.  It has been argued by some that they think it unfair that a person such as she should be allowed to spend such a vast sum of money on a lung transplant after only one year, but as her doctor has counter argued...no-one questions the replacement of a vehicle that is rolled or wiped out in an accident, that may cost R600 000....point made and noted, I know longer feel guilty at the raised eyebrows and questions passed on this subject.  Recently we have invested in an invertor to 'kick in' when the power goes off...it's running power is both longer and quieter than the generator, but both have been necessary evils in our lives to run the oxygen machine, nebulizer and Kangaroo pump for her night feeds.

So as you see our money over the years has gone to health and education, it wasn't spent on holidays, after school activities or luxury items, nor has it been used on frivolous things....whilst I am by no means complaining I hope you understand that we all spend our money in the way we see most fit....

The invertor...

The generator...