Honestly I probably wouldn't have this problem if the healthcare system weren't so paranoid about opioid addiction (which to be fair can be a serious issue, but I'll get into the problem in a bit) or if the government's idea of "welfare" wasn't "keep you well below the poverty line and don't you dare find any way to supplement that or fuck you you're cut off." Like maybe 20+ years ago $841/mo was enough to live off of before 1991, but nowadays that's barely even half of the federal minimum wage, and not even a quarter of minimum wage in many states today.

So people on SSI barely get any money unless they can find a job to supplement their income (but again if you're on SSI the second you get any kind of income that would put you back at the poverty level your SSI would get pulled.) And if you're completely disabled and can't hold a job? Well you're straight up fucked unless you can rely on someone else. So if you can't even drive, and you have bills to pay, you may not be able to afford to go to the doctor for an urgent visit (and medical rides require advance notice.) So of course being the only reliable source of transportation I have to be the one to transport.

Which brings me to the whole medical system. This having to be transport wouldn't be half the issue it sometimes tends to be if the doctors would actually do what needs to be done. Even before Covid struck this has been a HUGE issue. The person I have to transport falls well outside any textbook case that dictates how this situation gets handled, to the point where the only option available is to treat the pain. You can't cure it; the damage is too extensive to be repaired, and it's only getting worse. But no, because of the whole opioid issue most absolutely refuse to give any amount of heavy duty painkiller (even if it's just a half milligram) instead choosing to treat the issue with IV benadryl, aspirin, and anti-nausea (which does absolutely nothing.) and recommending they visit a pain specialist (Even though well over 2 dozen have been seen at this point.) So because they can't get the help they need this tends to mean I have to go back the next day or let them suffer for a whole week before I get another opportunity. And since I have no idea how long it's going to take each time that means sitting around doing damn near nothing for up to 4-5 hours each day. To be fair their primary care physician IS trying to figure out a way to get them reliably treated when this comes up, but the red tape involved is gargantuan so it's been taking FOREVER for something to be put in place that won't get pulled.

Honestly it annoys the hell out of me that I end up losing so much time to this, and I know it's not their fault. They can't help that the weather has been absolutely trash for 2 weeks straight, or needing to go near weekly. I'm just pissed that "disability" payments force disabled people to rely on others for damn near everything if they want to survive and that hospitals refuse to even consider that maybe someone can't be treated with textbook treatments. And don't get me started on the bullshit involved with "self-medicating." If they're caught "self-medicating" they can kiss their benefits goodbye AND be seen by the hospitals as merely drug-seeking. Medicinal marijuana is NOT legal in my state unfortunately.