Life and Love

Summer has always been a slow time for art modeling, at least for me.  Since I work full-time, I always have to limit my modeling to evenings and weekends, and there just aren't that many evening classes going on during the summer.  During the busy part of the semester, I model from six to ten hours per week.  But that's not steady since there are slowdowns around the holidays, spring break, etc.  I love modeling, and I really like the extra income.  But that income is not something that I can really count on when budgeting, since it is so sporadic and variable.

My wife and I found out this week that our younger son, Elijah, will need human growth hormone treatments for the next few years.  He is currently nine years old, but he looks more like he's six.  He recently had a test to see if he was just a late bloomer or if his body is not producing enough HGH.  As it turned out, it was the latter.

Most concerning to us right now is the cost and whether insurance will cover it.  Without insurance, the cost would be close to 25,000 dollars per year.  If he has to stay on the treatments for five years, that's more than the cost of our house.  Of course, not getting the treatment means that he would not grow to full height, have late puberty or even no puberty (which would mean that he would never be able to have children), and have other serious health problems throughout life.  So not getting the treatments is just not an option.  He is my son, and I will do whatever it takes to provide him with what he needs to grow into a healthy adult.  Of course, we are hopeful that we can harass and/or force the insurance company into covering these treatments.

All these concerns have me looking for another source of income.  I've already applied for a part-time night hotel desk clerk.  Who knows what all this will mean for my modeling.  I may have to give it up for a few years while I work the equivalent of two full-time jobs to provide for my son.  But it's a sacrifice I must make.