For Me, Child Care Could Be a Life Saver: ‘I’ve pushed off medical treatment because I don’t have child care, and I don’t want the hospital to call ACS.’ (risemagazine.org)

By Anonymous, Art by Eileen Jimenez, Rise, March 15, 2022

I am a single mom and it is only my son and I living together. That means that unless he is in school or at camp, wherever I go, he goes, too—even when I have to go to the hospital.

I have numerous medical problems and when I end up in the hospital, it’s not always during school hours. There are lots of reasons why I would need to bring my son with me to the hospital, such as if I’m having seizures or sudden severe pain, and these things do not happen on a schedule.

It’s never a good idea to bring a child with you to the hospital, but it’s even worse now due to COVID. Due to COVID restrictions, sometimes hospitals only allow patients, and you can’t have a visitor with you in the waiting room. Sometimes, the hospital staff act really nice about our situation, and they let my son stay with me—they even get us a private room, if possible. But other times, they are so crowded with patients, and it isn’t good to have a child around.

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