First of all, I have to thank everyone for their advice and input! Many of your suggestions we hadn’t thought about or considered. A couple days ago, while doing the dishes, I found myself crying out of gratitude for all the wonderful people the Lord and placed in my life. Through all of this people have been so supportive— willing to do anything to help our situation.

I thought it’d be fun to respond to each of your comments in a post.

Thanks for your support, Jessica. It’s nice to know other people have made it through similarly difficult circumstances!

Michelle, you’re right about the fact that we at least have insurance. I could be worse. Your encouragement that it is possible to take care of the kids by yourself was helpful. I am more confident now that Link and I will be okay. For now, staying in California while Miles is in Utah looks like our best option. I can’t believe that the medical bills for Isabelle were so much! That definitely put things into perspective when we were considering just taking a chance and paying out of pocket in Utah. Thanks for your prayers! And no, we don’t have any idea where we’ll be living. We’re looking at a few complexes that are close to Miles’ work, at least within biking distance. That way, he won’t need a car and can leave it for Link and I to use.

Lilly, it was good to talk to you about this in person a little bit the other day. You’re right that making a few phone calls doesn’t hurt. We are planning to talk to HR hopefully Monday or Tuesday after we get all the details of the offer in writing. As for the Kaiser possibilities, from the phone calls I’ve made we really have no possibilities. It stinks.

Jason, it was good and surprising to hear from you! Your advice was definitely comforting and informative. And we’ll possibly hit you up for that dinner when we finally arrive in Riverton! We too feel guided by the Spirit in all of this. Hopefully we’ll be in contact again soon!

Sara, through all of this, the option of delivering in a birthing center was not excluded. I definitely think natural child birth is a good thing and it is cheaper. However, we decided there is still a risk of being transferred and then we could still be stuck with a huge hospital bill. It stinks that making these decisions comes down to money! Good to hear from you! It’s been awhile!

Amber, I appreciated your insider’s view about how the hospitals work. I’d heard similar stories from a couple other people but you helped clarify how this works. Though we don’t have a strong Plan A, working with the Riverton hospital is our Plan B. You’re a very wise women.

Laura, I’m so excited we’ll be living closer! I thought about that the other day and am wondering where you live exactly. Is your condo in South Jordan? I couldn’t remember. I’m not sure how the move-in part is going to go, but we might just take you up of your offer for help. At this point, I think Miles is planning to drive the Uhaul up next week while I camp it out in California.

Monica, unfortunately Kaiser doesn’t have any out-of-network coverage options except for emergency services. Thank you so much for your well wishes!

Abbi, I couldn’t believe how creative your idea was! I brought it up to Miles, be alas, we figured out that we’re not going to have a lapse in employment. Miles will be receiving paychecks from the University through May. And unfortunately living in “poverty” as students here in California doesn’t equate to poverty in Utah. So, we don’t qualify for medicaid even with our current salary.

Bri, like I mentioned to Sara, I thought natural child birth would be a great option, but it doesn’t solve our problem with not having insurance. And yes, I agree that it stinks to make the decision based on money!

Thanks for your kind words Jackie! You’re such a sweetheart!

Love you all. We’re so so so grateful for your kindness!