Update

Wal-Mart has decided to not sue Debbie Shank for the money in her trust fund. Public pressure caused them to re-evaluate the case and change their mind on how to proceed. Congratulations to everyone who emailed Wal-Mart and forced them to reconsider.

I'm happy that the right thing happened here, but it's still a sad story. I wonder how far the $417,00 will go when it comes to Debbie's care and what will happen when it runs out. And it's terribly sad, as one of my smart commenters posted, that the laywers ended up with more money than Debbie or Wal-Mart.

Small victories- I'll take them where ever I can.

Wow. It's been two months since I posted anything here. It's not for lack of material, that I can assure you. Living with three kids, enough stuff happens around here to fill a book. I'll come back to my kids antics later, but for now I want to share someone else's story.

This story is about Debbie Shank. Debbie was a Wal-Mart employee up until a near fatal car accident that left her with permanant brain damage. She must live out the remainder of her life in a nursing home, the severe short term memory loss rendering her unable to live with her family and continue working. Debbie's family sued the driver at fault for the accident and won a $1 million settlement. After paying the attornies fees, $417,000 went into a trust fund for Debbie's care. If any of you have had a relative in a nursing home, you know that money won't last long. But it is something to help out. Debbie's husband has cancer and works two jobs to try and support his family but recently had to divorce Debbie so that she qualified for more financial aid. And to make matters even worse, the Shank's son was killed in Iraq while serving for our military.

Think this poor family's story can't get any worse, oh, it does. Wal-Mart has now sued Debbie Shank for the $417,000 that is in her trust fund. The reason? According to the fine print of her health insurance form, Wal-Mart has the right to take any monies received in a settlement for reimbursement of medical expenses paid out through the plan. They were suing her for more money but all she had was the $417,000 so the Supreme Court said that was all they could demand from her.

Wal-Mart's response to the family and public was that while the Debbie Shank case was sad, they owe it to the other plan members to put money back in to the plan when ever they can. They have to follow the plans strict guidlines.

Ok, so the plan dictates what Wal-Mart is legally entitled to receive. I understand that, we all do. However, I find it hard to belive that a company who posted $90 BILLION dollars in sales last quarter cannot find a way to make a charitable contribution to Debbie Shank in the amount of $417,000. This goes way beyond Supreme Court rulings and insurance plans, this is about common decency.They can rationalize this all they want, but we all know this is just wrong. The benefit plan may be entitled to the money but Wal-Mart can and SHOULD do better.

The link to the CNN.com story is below. I'm encouraging every one to read it and send an email to Wal-Mart. Let them know what you think. Maybe if they feel the pain in their next sales report, they'll see Debbie Shank's story from a new perspective.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/25/walmart.insurance.battle/index.html

Back from the depths of despair.

Where have I gone? I feel like I've disappeared in a haze of snotty tissues, empty Tylenol bottles, and puke soaked blankets. The last half of February was rough, to say the least. Winter break came around and all three kids were sick. And boy, were they ever sick. I'll spare the gory details. Anyone with kids really does not need to be told the disgusting details of a stomach virus and a cold virus. If you don't have kids and you still want to know, call your mom. Better yet, call your mom and thank her for being able to wipe your nether regions as well as your nose, all while singing children's songs to keep you from crying. Go ahead, call her. I'll wait.

It's been about three weeks or so and we seem to be coming around the bend now. The noses have pretty much dried and the all the bedding has been washed. I just feel like I haven't seen the light of day in years. That's why I decided that I'm going out tomorrow night. Sitters have been informed and friends have been invited to join in. Truthfully, I'm going whether the friends come or not. I love the kids whole-heartedly, but I am a might bit sick of them. I need a couple of hours away. And I am SO looking forward to some one else cooking dinner, clearing away the dishes and cleaning the mess.

We are on the upswing, though. Violet has pretty much potty trained. There was that unfortunate incident yesterday while her aunt was watching her. The result of too much cheese and a few too many bananas. Sorry about that, Tammy. For the most part it has been ok. And the weather this week was so nice. We were able to take several long walks. One of which was so good that Violet fell asleep at 6:30pm and stayed that way until 7:30 the next morning! Heaven on earth, people. Heaven on earth.

So we seem to have joined the land of the living again. Antics will resume, and I'll be able to record them for posterity. It's nice to be back.