Color Blind(53)

“As soon as you receive the Humira in the mail, you’ll call our office to schedule an appointment. She has to have her initial loading dose in our office, under doctor supervision. After we’ve established that she won’t have any type of reaction to the medication, we’ll go over injection training and after that, she can take them at home. You’ll have to help her, of course, at least until she gets a bit older,” he smiled at Nevaeh.



“Do you really think this will work?” I asked, paranoid that it would be like the methotrexate.



“I do. This is different than the other medication she’s already on because it blocks the TNF, which causes inflammation.”



“I think you should do it,” Dale said, encouraging me.



I thought about it for a moment and looked at Nevaeh, who was in so much pain. “How long until it will work?”



“She could see the relief in as little as two weeks, or it could be three months. Each patient responds differently; it’s hard to tell.”



“All right, let’s do it.”



Once we were home, I called MaxCare and gave them the information from the prescription. As the pharmacist processed it on the other line, he alerted my attention to the cost of the drug.



“Miss Harris, are you aware that this medication cost almost five thousand dollars?”



“What?!” I exclaimed. “It cost how much?”



“The total for this medication will be four thousand, sixty-three dollars,” he explained to me.



“For how much? Is that for a one-year supply?” I gasped.



“Unfortunately, it’s for a three-month supply.”



He waited for me to respond, but the line was nothing more than dead air.



“Miss Harris? Are you still there?”



“Yes, I’m still here. I have to level with you; I don’t know how I’m going to pay for that. I never dreamt that it would cost that much. Let me figure something out and I’ll call you back.”



“You can put it on your credit card,” the pharmacist offered.



“No, I can’t. My available balance is only about thirty dollars right now. I’ll call her doctor’s office real fast before the close and I’ll call you back.”



I hung up the phone and began dialing Dr. Newton’s office as I glanced up at the clock, I realized it was three minutes before closing. Answering machine, damn it! They must have shut their lines off before they actually closed. As much as I hated to, I choked on my pride and called Dale. Maybe he’d lend me the money.



“Dale?” I asked as he answered his cell during his ride home.



“Yes?”



“I hate to ask you this. I really do, but I need a favor.”



“Name it,” he said.



“I just called in Nevaeh’s prescription and the pharmacist said it’ll be almost five thousand dollars for a 90 day supply,” I paused. “And I was wondering….”



“Kimberly, I told you, I’ll pay for everything. I’ll turn around and come back to your house. We’ll get this all sorted out,” he said, making a U-turn.



“Dale, I don’t want you to pay for her medicine too. It was nice enough that you paid for all of her testing and everything, but you’re my boyfriend, not my sugar daddy.”



“I wish you’d understand that I can afford this and it’s no problem to help you out in any way possible. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said as we hung up.



Within minutes, he was pulling up to the house. As he came inside, he saw Nevaeh playing on her tablet. “Where’s your mom at Munchkin?”



“She’s in the kitchen,” she said, pointing him in the direction.



When he walked into the kitchen, he saw my head buried in my hands. He walked behind me and began rubbing my shoulders.



“It’s going to be okay. Everything. I promise,” he said trying to reassure me.



“You keep saying that, yet she keeps getting worse.”



“Sometimes you have to have faith that things will work out in your favor.”



“I wish they would,” I said, patting his hand.



“You call the pharmacy and get them on the phone. I’ll take care of the rest.”



I called MaxCare back and got the same gentleman back on the phone. After explaining the nature of our relationship and that Dale was willing to pay for the medication, the pharmacist asked to speak to him.



“This is Dale Halloway,” he said, answering the phone.



“Hi Dale, this is Sam at MaxCare and from what Miss Harris has explained, you’d like to pay for Nevaeh’s medication?”