I feel like I should make a post about this because it’s not something that’s very well-known, and that Americans in particular may need to know about given the uncertain state of our healthcare system at the moment. I’ve wanted to write this out for a while, It’s kind of a long post, so sorry about that!

If you have an emergency and have to go to the hospital, you’ll owe the hospital a lot of money.
(I got into a car wreck and broke my ankle and my arm. My hospital bill was around $20,000)

You’ll also owe the ambulance provider, if you need one.
(My ambulance bill was about $800)

You may get separate bills from the anesthesiologist or surgeon.
(My anesthesiologist bill was $1,700)

You may need follow-up appointments.
(My orthopedic surgeon billed me for the appointments and his surgery together and it was about $1,000)

You’ve also got to pay for medical equipment you need afterward, like crutches or a walking boot.
(Mine cost about $75)

Altogether, I ended up with almost $24,000 in medical debt from one car accident. That’s a really scary number for someone like me who makes $10/hr at a 12 hour a week job.

I got my debt down to $1075 by making some phone calls and submitting some paperwork.

The first thing I did was contact the hospital. They don’t make it easy to find, but many hospitals (perhaps most hospitals?) have financial assistance programs for people who can’t afford medical bills. I don’t make a lot of money, and I have bills to pay, so they were able to help me.
I called the billing department and asked if they had any assistance programs for low income people who can’t pay their bills. I had to call multiple times, and I got transferred in circles by people who didn’t know what I was talking about. Finally, I got an appointment with someone in “Eligibility Services” (I don’t know what other hospitals call it, if it’s something different). I had to bring my pay stubs and copies of all of my bills. When I got to the hospital for the appointment, nobody knew what I was talking about so I had to wander a little to find where I needed to go. I spoke with the guy in Eligibility Services, and I waited for a decision on how much of the bill they would forgive. A month later, I got a call telling me it was totally forgiven.

I did the same thing for my ambulance bill and my anesthesiologist, but the process was a LOT easier. I just had to mail some paperwork and it was totally forgiven.

I didn’t bother with the medical equipment suppliers, since the bills came from separate companies and I didn’t feel like going through the process twice for $75. I was assured at the hospital that they had similar programs for debt forgiveness, so I could have probably avoided paying that too.

The only thing I couldn’t get taken care of was the surgeon/follow-up appointment cost, but they were able to put me on a no-interest payment plan.

Medical debt is scary because it’s something that can come from stuff that’s already really scary. I didn’t need the burden of $24,000 in debt on top of trying to get around on a crutch with a broken arm (it’s not easy, believe me!).. but I can’t imagine what it would be like with a bigger debt or a more severe medical emergency.
I see lots of people in even worse trouble than I was in, both financially and medically. Please know that there are options for you when that GoFundMe doesn’t do enough. Even if your income is higher than mine, it’s worth a shot even for partial debt forgiveness.

Me on Tumblr app after finally reaching the end of a long post I wasn’t interested in:

just a thought

so while we all assume Rey is Luke’s daughter, we don’t really know,

but we do know this

-Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) was Luke’s nephew and student

-Rey can use the force

-Luke had multiple students

-Rey knows someone left her on Jakku but can’t remember who

soooooo we have some room for theorizing

Originally posted by ihatepeacocks

Rey in her series of flash backs sees many things, Kylo Ren and a sort of squad (knights of ren?) surrounded by multiple dead bodies. We see Luke place his hand on R2-D2 and then we also see Rey being left behind on Jakku and a ship leaving her with the guy she gets her rations from (forgive me i don’t know his name)

so going off the assumption that Rey was with all the other Jedi Trainees and yet she was spared from it.

which means someone got her out

i think we have 3 options when it comes to who left her on Jakku, her mother, luke, or Kylo Ren

While there’s no evidence for it being her mother, there’s no evidence against it either.

so that leaves us with Luke and Kylo Ren

My problem with it being Luke IS luke wouldn’t abandon his last student and hope for the Jedi on a junkyard planet, left to all but starve.  and at the end of the movie, luke seems surprised to see Rey, and the movie took a more hopeful turn when we saw that Luke let himself be found (he could’ve sensed her and hidden) because there was another student, ALSO and i think this is very important. Luke hated where he grew up, he wanted nothing more than to leave it, so he would not abandon a student (especially if it was his child) in a place so similar. 

Originally posted by tomato-bird

(also family was important to Luke, he would’ve left his child with his sister)

AND FINALLY Rey is left with the junkyard guy (sorry) someone who clearly didn’t care for Rey or her health or safety, luke again would not leave his student (or child) in the hands of someone who clearly gave no reason to trust them

SOOOOOOOOO THIS BRINGS ME TO WHO I REALLY THINK IT IS.

………

Kylo Ren

Originally posted by jeanifurr

Kylo Ren was a student, Luke’s student who failed to kill just

ONE

of the Jedi 

why Rey survived would have to be debated as well

My theories

- If we are going on the belief that Rey is Luke’s daughter, Kylo Ren could’ve spared her because she was Luke’s daughter, and he knew it would bring him pain if he kept her hidden

- again, on the assumption Rey is luke’s daughter, that would make Kylo Ren and Rey family, and he could’ve been unable to kill his younger cousin

- it is possible that while Kylo Ren was training, something happened that made him feel responsible for her, maybe (and not in a creepy way) he loved her and wanted to protect her (it’s not impossible that Kylo had friends/ people he loved)

- Rey is powerful, Kylo Ren may of known this, and therefore kept her on Jakku, not wanting to waste the power, but keep it hidden until he could use it to his advantage

I personally would like to believe that Kylo Ren and Rey were friends (almost a mentoring relationship- like when a 5th grader mentors a kindergartener) and that he did not wish for any harm to come to her and therefore he kept her on Jakku.

Now let’s think, the junk collector guy who Rey was left with. He is easily bought? Yes

Someone probably convinced him to hold on to Rey when they left. But we knew he is easily bought, so what was he paid. Let us think.

First we knew that as time goes by what Rey brings to him gets her less rations, so whoever paid the man to hold on to her, clearly didn’t pay enough for it to last until her older age. (her welcome is being worn off)

Let’s think of what he has, The Millennium Falcon?????

Originally posted by gameraboy

now we all know who the Falcon belongs to, Han Solo. But we also know who Han Solo is and who he has fathered.

When Rey and Finn leave during the attack on Jakku, they take the Falcon and the junk guy scream “That’s my ship!”

But it’s not, but perhaps he thinks he truly has claim over it because it was traded in exchange for a favor. The Millennium Falcon, for watching over Rey?

Now we have to keep in mind that Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) would probably not be a stranger to the Falcon, and perhaps Rey even helped him fly it at a young age when he came to Jakku.

(now i know there was a list of people who supposedly had the falcon, but i still believe it could’ve ended up in Ben Solo’s hands, it certainly ended up in Rey’s)

So I believe that in exchange for watching over (or just holding Rey back) Kylo Ren gave the junk guy (i need a name) the Millennium Falcon.

more evidence of it being Kylo Ren who left her on Jakku is similar to my other post “What Girl?”

but think about it, Kylo Ren was very distressed when he heard that not only had Finn gotten away with the BB-8, but they escaped with a girl on the Millennium Falcon.

ALSOOOO Kylo Ren never tries to kill Rey, 

he could easily kill her, but he never does

 (he slams her against the tree, but I believe it is to get her out of the way so he can deal with Finn) 

but he never really tries to kill her or harm her beyond that.

Originally posted by kylieren

He even offers to show her the ways of the force THE FORCE, NOT THE DARK SIDE.

He says she needs a teacher, a mentor, which would go along with the idea that he felt like a mentor/ responsible for her.

He even shows his face to her because he wants her to see him for who he is, and not be scared and think he is a creature trying to hunt her. He does it without being asked. He reveals himself entirely by his choice. 

for a girl who had been left on Jakku, as alone as he felt inside. 

That’s it.

(I’m sure there’s more that i’ve forgotten)

but there you go.

 LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

ARGUMENTS FOR/ AGAINST MY THEORY ARE WELCOME.

Originally posted by in-the-land-of-gods-and-monsters