...........Continued from above (See Part I)......... So June 8 came and went and I transitioned out of foster care with no "official" permanency and no more Medicaid..Oh yes, I was leaving foster care kicking and screaming like a little kid who didn't want to go to bed.lol. This is funny because as a kid I just thought that foster care was the worst and now i don't want to leave. Strange huh? But I guess after being in care for 19 years it becomes somewhat of a security blanket in someways. One of the biggest things outside of permanency that I found to be a challenge was the lose of having health insurance. I don't think I fully appreciated having Medicaid until I didn't have it anymore. I mean I went to the doctor whenever I got sick with no worries of how I would pay for the appointment or medicine, I got my eyes checked once a year and new glasses, and my dental needs were taken care of. Welp, that was no more and as fate would have it 3 weeks after losing my health insurance I became sick with a sinus infection. No over the counter medicine was working and it was getting worse so I thought about what I could do and what would be cost friendly. First went to my schools health services office but there was no Nurse Practitioner available so I would not be able to get a prescription for antibiotics. However, they did refer me to a low income health clinic where I was able to see the doctor and get meds for under $50. Now I would have hoped that that was the only medical situation that I had this summer but it wasn't. Three and a half weeks later I went to the emergency room one night after work with pains in my abdominal area and found out that I had ulcers that had been brought on from stress that I had been dealing with over the summer from working, going to school, taking care of a sibling who was staying with me, and transitioning from care. After some time the ulcers got better and went away but the hospital bill did not. Health care is expensive and Medicaid was a huge help. Hopefully in the near future there will be more help for foster youth who age out of care when comes to having health insurance. But for now I will take my vitamins everyday faithfully.lol.