So here is the story: I received treatment for brain cancer (terratoma on pineal gland) when I was 19. I'm 24 today, and I'm still recovering, in some sense, but have managed to get through school with a 3.96 GPA, and I'll be graduating in a year. I have been taking out student loans to pay for school, and I am about to start an internship that will bring in some income, which is good. It is also worth noting that I just signed up for Medicaid, so I have that coverage right now. When I had cancer, I did not have insurance.
I knew I had a lot of medical bills that I needed to start paying off, but due to the effects of the cancer, I was unable to begin working until just recently. It is a part-time job movie theater that pays minimum wage. My internship starts in a few weeks.
Today, I was finally able to get two credit reports for free, and I saw that I have several collections placed upon me. I called each one and confirmed the correct amounts that I owe. Everything together is somewhat close to $17,000 (rounding up).
The things is, I can start a payment plan on some of these and get them taken care of, but my internship will only last until late July, and I will be right back in the theater until school starts up in mid September.
What should I do? No one has contacted me to start paying these debts, nor have I had any trouble getting student loans or getting an internship. Is it wise to start building credit with I'm this far into debt?
I am a complete noob when it comes to financing, and I can't trust family, since they themselves have made very bad financial decisions themselves. I didn't even choose to get this debt, but what can ya do?
TL;DR, got brain cancer when I was 19, and now that I'm 24 and a student, I owe $17k wat do? Is basedsauce and option?
