Maxwell 37: The Moody Family Buys Matching Vests to Wear to Jesse's Wedding

[NancyDrewFan1989]

3 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

If that's the case I doubt it's Sarah as she made it clear in her post that Mary, Anna, and Teri would be helping Christopher with the kids.

It's just another weirdness...so regimented a collective "we" wouldn't do.  

I don't think it is Sarah either after all she has Ellie to take care of. Also, I don't see Teri temporarily relocating to Christopher's as she would be away from Steve and Arnold the cat for too long. Personally, I think it would be Anna and/or Mary who "moved in." I can see Teri zooming with them offering assistance for homeschooling help.

After all Anna is reaching fundie spinster age and probably wants to demonstrate her mothering skills before it is too late for her to get married. Mary probably tagged along to do the same, but she is a few years away from being a fundie spinster. If the two of them did move in with Christopher temporarily, then it would look good to a potential fundie suitor if Steve ever lets them marry. 

[nausicaa]

28 minutes ago, louannems said:

Under comments, on April 13th, someone asked if Anna is going to have traditional chemotherapy in Seattle, or the other kind that Anna had talked about earlier.  Teri answered and said the other kind.  So not traditional chemotherapy. 

Like you, I'm so worried she is going to Bastyr. Life Spring would be a best case scenario at this point. 

If this were arthritis or multiple sclerosis, I'd roll my eyes at their choices but acknowledge that Anna is an adult with autonomy. But breast cancer? For a young mother of so many children? I have a pit in my stomach whenever I check this thread. 

[NancyDrewFan1989]

34 minutes ago, louannems said:

Under comments, on April 13th, someone asked if Anna is going to have traditional chemotherapy in Seattle, or the other kind that Anna had talked about earlier.  Teri answered and said the other kind.  So not traditional chemotherapy. 

This is not the first case of fundies looking for alternatives. The father in the Staddon family had cancer and they went alternative. He is now cancer free, which is good. However, I think fundies look for alternatives due to the price. Chemo can be expensive and many fundies work is their own ministry, like the Maxwells, have their own business, like the Bontragers have the Dutch Country Inn, and/or their own out of home business like Michael Staddon being a master beekeeper to sell honey. So, I think many fundies in this situation do their best to find the cheapest way possible to battle diseases like cancer as they may not have the money, proper insurance and/or resources to help them through.

I don't know how being self-employed affects getting the right insurance. However, the Maxwell's probably don't have the insurance they need to get Anna Marie the proper chemo treatment without getting into a mass amount of debt. Chris is self employed and Anna Marie doesn't work at all. We all know about how Steve feels about debt after bragging about his sons buying houses debt free and everyone being debt free. So, I have a feeling it has to with that. 

Yes, I do know that fundies do work at companies and corporations that do offer insurance and have decent salaries. However, that is not the case with the Maxwell family as many are self employed. Also, I don't think it was this was an issue with the Staddon family as, I believe I read somewhere, the father of the family left his job before he could get a good retirement package from his company to work with IBLP. 

[PennySycamore]

@NancyDrewFan1989, the younger Maxwells do not have traditional insurance at all, but Scamaritan.  There's a thread on Quiver Full of Snark about these "christian" cost-sharing alternatives to real insurance.  Scamaritan is reputed to not cover aggressive treatment for breast cancer to which my response is FUCK THEM!

Steve and Teri, though, have good ol' Medicare.

[indianabones]

I had thought her family lived in Sequim (where they got married), so I'm confused by how she's staying only 45 minutes away from the treatment center (though given the lack of traffic these days I guess anything's possible...)

I don't understand their logic either. Why would a mother of a newborn baby and a bunch of other young children travel across the country during a pandemic in order to receive chemo? Very confusing. I really hope that she's not going to Bastyr or the Lifespring Center when there are excellent cancer centers, like other people mentioned, in the Seattle area.

Edit: I double-checked and her family's from Port Orchard. Guess that rules out Bastyr!

Edited April 15, 2020 by indianabones

[nausicaa]

9 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

Scamaritan is reputed to not cover aggressive treatment for breast cancer to which my response is FUCK THEM!

I wonder how Samaritan defends this according to their own stated values. It's not as if breast cancer is like an STD or can be avoided with diet and exercise.

And since it can often affect young mothers, it seems extra bizarre given their belief system, that they wouldn't cover competent treatment of it. 

[sparkles]

If, in fact, Scamaritan won’t normally cover certain types of cancer treatments, I have a feeling they’d bend the rules a little bit for a Maxwell and just not be terribly upfront about it. It’s one thing to stick to the rules and exclude Steve and Teri because of their pre-existing conditions and another thing entirely to deny coverage for a young mother, especially when the second generation Maxwells are pretty much fundie influencers for the Scamaritan brand. It’s good PR and the unwashed masses don’t have to know the specifics of what might be covered for Anna and denied for others. They certainly wouldn’t be the first “celebrities” to receive special treatment, as unfair as that might be. 

If Anna is receiving alternative treatment, I hope she doesn’t regret that choice. I wish her well.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Why is she taking the baby on a plane in a pandemic to go get cancer treatment? They totally make an idol out of breast feeding. Children do FINE with a formula. Get over it already.

 

[fundiefan]

Today's post confuses me. It starts " Keeping life normal for our children is good during difficult times so Grandma’s reading time continues via FaceTime." So, I thought Anna was writing it. But, it's Teri who signed off (Trusting in Jesus, of course).

Their children are adults. Their grandchildren have parents to keep life normal (as possible) at this time. 

And, don't get me started on their same old, tired, book bag. How can the kids pull tabs, etc. via FaceTime? 

These people confuse me. 

*Nothing wrong with reading to the grand kids via FaceTime. But, I bet the older kids know those books by heart. How is that beneficial to them at all? 

[mango_fandango]

2 hours ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

Why is she taking the baby on a plane in a pandemic to go get cancer treatment? They totally make an idol out of breast feeding. Children do FINE with a formula. Get over it already.

 

Teri was pictured feeding Simon Peter with a bottle. I don’t know if it was expressed breast milk or formula. 

[NancyDrewFan1989]

17 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@NancyDrewFan1989, the younger Maxwells do not have traditional insurance at all, but Scamaritan.  There's a thread on Quiver Full of Snark about these "christian" cost-sharing alternatives to real insurance.  Scamaritan is reputed to not cover aggressive treatment for breast cancer to which my response is FUCK THEM!

Steve and Teri, though, have good ol' Medicare.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Scamaritan. It makes sense that the family is trying to find a way to get Anna Marie treatment without the mass amount of debt. I can't imagine Chris's reaction when he found out how much everything would cost on this insurance. Like I said, I believe they are going this route to avoid getting into debt as it is the cheapest. I can easily imagine Steve's shock to having a son in debt after bragging about his sons being debt free. He would have some explaining to do there.

[Tangy Bee]

Hey this might be a silly thought. Do you think Anna is taking the baby so he won't forget her? She's leaving for 3 months. Even with FaceTime, would he still be able to make the connection when she returns? Just wondering...

[PennySycamore]

Deleted.  Writing the correct post below.

18 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

Teri was pictured feeding Simon Peter with a bottle. I don’t know if it was expressed breast milk or formula. 

 

Probably not expressed milk.  Since she had surgery early on, the surgeon would likely have discouraged establishing a milk supply as the breast heals better if the milk has dried up.  And no doctor worth her/his salt thinks breastfeeding is a good thing during chemo.  While many drugs do NOT pass through the milk, physicians  don't want to take that risk with chemo drugs as they are so powerful.  They need to be to knock out the cancer.

@Tangy Bee, I think you might be right about why Anna's taking the baby.  Three months is lifetime for a young baby.

Edited April 15, 2020 by PennySycamore

[Maggie Mae]

On 4/13/2020 at 2:52 PM, NancyDrewFan1989 said:

The Maxwell family, despite everything I and many disagree with, seem to be some what educated and pay attention to what is going on. So, I think even without NR-Anna's condition they would still take precautions. 

Aren't these the people who don't read the news and figure that people will let them know if anything big is happening by overhearing it in the grocery store? 

[Giraffe]

I’m guessing she’s taking Simon to continue bonding with him. It didn’t occur to me she might be breastfeeding him (I’m not saying she can’t bond with the other kids while she’s away, but my impression from watching parents is there’s a big difference leaving a two+ year old vs leaving a baby and I’m not surprised she’s taking him).

[SassyPants]

I can’t imagine moving across the country for  cancer treatment...taking a baby...during a pandemic...leaving 5 other kids...for 3 months..Nope. 

Edited April 15, 2020 by SassyPants

[Dandruff]

2 hours ago, Giraffe said:

I’m guessing she’s taking Simon to continue bonding with him. It didn’t occur to me she might be breastfeeding him (I’m not saying she can’t bond with the other kids while she’s away, but my impression from watching parents is there’s a big difference leaving a two+ year old vs leaving a baby and I’m not surprised she’s taking him).

Twelve weeks is a long time...I suspect she just wants Simon with her and has been bottle feeding. 

I'm wondering whether they got to Seattle via private plane, with a fundie pilot such as JD Duggar (did you know he's a pilot?).

[mango_fandango]

Simon is only three months old, I couldn’t imagine leaving a three-month old at home for even a night let alone twelve whole weeks. Of course the ideal situation would be for Anna Marie to have her treatment done locally, but these are the Maxwells and they don’t follow normal, sensible logic. 

[NancyDrewFan1989]

5 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

Aren't these the people who don't read the news and figure that people will let them know if anything big is happening by overhearing it in the grocery store? 

I have a feeling they get most of their news from Gigi or the retirement community their church is in. They may also hear it from the families of the Maxwell in-laws. I know Steve prides himself on not allowing the family to have access to any news source, but the family has to have some form of media income. After all, the family was able to keep up to date with the election coverage back in 2016 by encouraging people of different states to vote for Ted Cruz during primaries. How they get their sources, I don't know. Who knows, maybe Steve secretly gets a newspaper him and only him is allowed to read. Or they could access a news website, they do have internet. I highly doubt the family is completely cut off from the news media.

[Maggie Mae]

1 hour ago, mango_fandango said:

Simon is only three months old, I couldn’t imagine leaving a three-month old at home for even a night let alone twelve whole weeks. Of course the ideal situation would be for Anna Marie to have her treatment done locally, but these are the Maxwells and they don’t follow normal, sensible logic. 

There might not be a chemo facility near by, and at least Seattle is near her family? I'd say that most people who get cancer in my state go to Seattle for treatment. 

My friend (35, 3 kids) just had a brain aneurysm followed by a stroke and they sent her to Seattle for several months. Its what people do around here - and caused a bunch of idiot "pro-life" state senators to get "strongly rebuked" when they tried to claim that people had health issues because they wanted a free vacation. Yes, because my (other) friend "caught" cancer so she could go shopping at Pike's Place. That makes sense. 

[Melissa1977]

1 hour ago, Maggie Mae said:

There might not be a chemo facility near by, and at least Seattle is near her family? I'd say that most people who get cancer in my state go to Seattle for treatment. 

Some posters said that there are very good hospitals in Kansas, but they offer traditional chemo and Anna wants an alternative one.

She really really must be desperate to leave her kids for 3 months.  It's an extremelly painful decision, so I'm sure she has deeply thought before doing that. 

My guess is that she was adviced that traditional chemo would affect her fertility or something like that. In short, something that she felt against her beliefs. So she had decided an alternative.

In addition, I don't think that Steve is leading that decision. Not even Christopher. Both men are narrow minded and surely will be OK with the nearest hospital and with Anna staying with her kids all the time. A wife 3 months far from home is not the ideal situation for them. I think she is the one who looks for an alternative. 

[Tatar-tot]

I think there are a few things going on with Anna’s cancer treatment decision:

1.  Her parents influence.  We forget but Anna is young.  Her parents flew in immediately to assist.  My guess is they may have friends treated at the center & were pleased with the care they received.

2.  The doctor who heads up the practice is not an idiot.  My guess is he will monitor how the cancer reacts to the chemo & will adjust as appropriate.

3.  Chemo has a ton of side affects aside from the obvious of hair falling out.  Your immune system does not react as quickly to common bugs.  I cannot imagine having 6 kids which are all have runny noses, dirty hands and no clue about not hugging mom if they need love even if they have the potential to make her sick.

4.   One of the things used to treat side affects for chemo including nausea & loss of appetite is medical marijuana.  Maybe Anna can relax while she is there with some special brownies. 
 

Does anyone know how Obama Care works in Washington?  It maybe easy to get her on insurance there to cover the cost.

One more thing:  The practice takes about every name in insurance except BC/BS.  That is not uncommon in our area.  Doctors tend to fall in either an AETNA, CIGNA or BC/BS pile or some combination depending on the size of the practice.  
 

I hope Chris is getting some support throughout this entire mess.  It is going to be extremely difficult on him to not be with her & try to focus on his kids & his work. 

[Angelface]

6 hours ago, NancyDrewFan1989 said:

I have a feeling they get most of their news from Gigi or the retirement community their church is in. They may also hear it from the families of the Maxwell in-laws. I know Steve prides himself on not allowing the family to have access to any news source, but the family has to have some form of media income. After all, the family was able to keep up to date with the election coverage back in 2016 by encouraging people of different states to vote for Ted Cruz during primaries. How they get their sources, I don't know. Who knows, maybe Steve secretly gets a newspaper him and only him is allowed to read. Or they could access a news website, they do have internet. I highly doubt the family is completely cut off from the news media.

I am honestly baffled that the adult married men in the family, who must provide for their own families, are apparently so under their father, Steve’s, thumb. It just doesn’t make any sense at all. If one of them wishes to read a newspaper surely he can do so. It seems, from reading on FJ, that Steve’s intention has been to stunt his children in every way possible, lack of opportunity, lack of a real education, lack of exposure to the outside world, lack of critical thinking skills, lack of sport playing opportunities, lack of anything to compare to their own narrow world, and don’t get me started on the way that these “children” have been emotionally stunted. Sorry, just feeling rather cross this morning with too much time to fall down the Maxwell rabbit hole. Lockdown is in its fourth week now; life is a little strange. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

2 hours ago, Angelface said:

I am honestly baffled that the adult married men in the family, who must provide for their own families, are apparently so under their father, Steve’s, thumb. It just doesn’t make any sense at all. If one of them wishes to read a newspaper surely he can do so. It seems, from reading on FJ, that Steve’s intention has been to stunt his children in every way possible, lack of opportunity, lack of a real education, lack of exposure to the outside world, lack of critical thinking skills, lack of sport playing opportunities, lack of anything to compare to their own narrow world, and don’t get me started on the way that these “children” have been emotionally stunted. Sorry, just feeling rather cross this morning with too much time to fall down the Maxwell rabbit hole. Lockdown is in its fourth week now; life is a little strange. 

We don't know that they are, only what Steve says.  Joseph, for example, deals with clients every day in his business...he's scrubbed the Jesus stuff off his professional website.  I'm not saying he's a news junkie, I know nothing about him, but he would be seen as very odd by clients if he didn't have a basic grasp of current events.  

[fundiefan]

The reversal married boys - Joseph & John - do get out in the world. Jesse a bit too, since he works with Joe & doesn't (yet) have a family. Because of their work. They go to seminars, etc. related to their business, not just fundie mumbo jumbo dog & pony shows they grew up with. They have businesses to run and they can't be run inside the bubble (like Chris's photography with all it's rules & godly restrictions). Even Nathan has to engage although I don't know how much. He did have a Facebook account at one point, of his own, not just business. And, they all have websites & Twitter & Facebook to varying degrees.

Steve may be able to restrict inside his house (although I seriously believe he's a Fox "news" viewer in secret) but the married sons don't necessarily follow that. They are, of course, in very deep as they raise their families withing .2 miles of the main house on the compound. 

I think in their personal lives, they still believe everything they were taught. But, since they were also taught that they have to support their families, they know they have to engage with the world - the whole world, not just those in their circle of beliefs - in order to do that. Christ seems to be the most secluded. He's just an employee at Swift Otter; he doesn't get involved in the business or development end of it. He can safely remain in his bubble - as is evidenced by the "alternative" (ie: Christian approved, in my opinion) treatments for his wife at opposite ends of the country. He also has the most fundie entrenched wife. While the rest of the boys married fundies, Melanie has a not totally fundie family very close, Chelsy is very close to her fundie family that, while it shares the same abhorrent beliefs, isn't as restrictive of what their offspring wear/do/etc. Elissa is a mystery but I never had the impression she was the sweet, meek woman Anna is & was raised to be. Her daughter wears snowpants without a dress over them - that's clearly not Steve's influence. 

So, even in little ways, the married sons - sans Chris - have real world interactions & engagement and it can't be avoided.