If you suspect that you could have stopped this flare with the Lidoderm patches, but couldn't afford them, then this was definitely not a medical emergency, it was a lack of budgeting/financial planning.

Some people here are still working. Many of us can't. It's not that our familes don't need the money/income.....it's that we are disabled by the pain and can't work. Part of our pain management is a mix of meds AND limiting activities (work, housework, etc). Limiting the aggravating activities is a critical part of the pain control for most of us. I consider myself lucky to have finally found a doctor who is willing to prescribe narcotics that can help me in this struggle. Make no mistake though, he wants to prescribe as little as possible to help me manage this, NOT the max that I would need if I did everything I wanted to..

My kids were a bit older than your 7 yo. Mine were 8 and 10 when RSD started wrecking ALL our lives. They've been doing their own laundry and making sandwich suppers since then......and bringing me a sandwich and an icepack. It was not the life I would have chosen for any of us.

Many here have dealt with financial ruin because of being unable to work for years before getting SSDI approval.

You have to have a realistic plan with your docs. Good luck.