For 26 years my dad has worked in the far reaches of this world in attempts to cut down on the medical bills stacked up from seeking the best care for my sister -- the care she rightly deserves. For 26 years they've taken Susan to specialist after specialist at any cost, because the life of their daughter (of my sister) holds no tangible value. For 26 years, my dad has spent night after night sleeping in hotels, traveling for work, breaking his back to support our family, to attempt to dig us out of mountains of medical debt.
Susan wouldn't be alive today if my parents didn't bring her to Shands for the best pediatric nephrology care around when she was an infant. And sure, we have insurance, but only thanks to my dad spending my entire life (and my siblings lives) working away from his family. And the deductibles alone for things like Susan's specialists are unfathomable.
He was living in Michigan by himself, working to pay for Susan's health care when he suffered a heart attack (requiring an open heart quintuple bypass procedure) while getting ready for work. Because our health care system sees our family as purely facts and figures, numbers crunched or not yet crunched, they were unwilling to work with us. It's only thanks to my dad's best friend who started working double and giving our family his paychecks that we were able to put food on our table and keep a roof over our heads.
My parents have been happily married for over 30 years. Yet I spent my entire childhood living away from my dad. They made that decision with our best interest at heart -- knowing Susan would get the best care possible right here in Florida, and Dad would get the best pay possible in several other parts of the world. They trusted we'd understand why we were all apart more often than we were together. And I do.
I understand that it's because health care in America is unaffordable that my family was torn apart at the very seams. But we are stronger than this system. And we endured. With help from friends and strength from within ourselves, we have continued to overcome the thieving medical system in America. But at what expense? My getting to know my dad?
And I think this is where you and I view the world differently:
I know the system we are currently under offers no assistance to families like mine and I know I resent this system for taking my dad away from me through my entire childhood. It's my hope that no family gets torn apart over the cost of being healthy.
I do not resent the families who cannot afford to pay their medical bills, because I know those families. I don't resent those families because I understand the sacrifices made to pay medical bills are sad and unacceptable. No family should have to decide between paying their bills and being with their family.
What happened to caring for the general well-being of human kind? What happened to do-unto-others? I know the history of universal health care. I know the odds of it working might be slim, but I'd rather take my chances with that system and fail than continue living under our current one and watch more lives deteriorate under the weight of unmanageable health care costs.
I believe in helping each other. If I can chip in a little more each year and help lower the overall cost of health care, I will. Because I believe I'd be better off for it. I believe I'd benefit from living in a country with generally healthier, happier, more connected and compassionate citizens. And it might be ambitious, but I believe we can accomplish this. We just have to start truly seeing each other instead of seeing stereotypes and categorizations.
My family is one that's worked very, very hard and earned EVERY PENNY, and that is precisely why I see things this way. I'm optimistic and hopeful. I want to make this whole country better, not it's citizens individually. When will people start realizing we are one race of people and our individual survival directly correlates with our survival as a species?
Susan wouldn't be alive today if my parents didn't bring her to Shands for the best pediatric nephrology care around when she was an infant. And sure, we have insurance, but only thanks to my dad spending my entire life (and my siblings lives) working away from his family. And the deductibles alone for things like Susan's specialists are unfathomable.
He was living in Michigan by himself, working to pay for Susan's health care when he suffered a heart attack (requiring an open heart quintuple bypass procedure) while getting ready for work. Because our health care system sees our family as purely facts and figures, numbers crunched or not yet crunched, they were unwilling to work with us. It's only thanks to my dad's best friend who started working double and giving our family his paychecks that we were able to put food on our table and keep a roof over our heads.
My parents have been happily married for over 30 years. Yet I spent my entire childhood living away from my dad. They made that decision with our best interest at heart -- knowing Susan would get the best care possible right here in Florida, and Dad would get the best pay possible in several other parts of the world. They trusted we'd understand why we were all apart more often than we were together. And I do.
I understand that it's because health care in America is unaffordable that my family was torn apart at the very seams. But we are stronger than this system. And we endured. With help from friends and strength from within ourselves, we have continued to overcome the thieving medical system in America. But at what expense? My getting to know my dad?
And I think this is where you and I view the world differently:
I know the system we are currently under offers no assistance to families like mine and I know I resent this system for taking my dad away from me through my entire childhood. It's my hope that no family gets torn apart over the cost of being healthy.
I do not resent the families who cannot afford to pay their medical bills, because I know those families. I don't resent those families because I understand the sacrifices made to pay medical bills are sad and unacceptable. No family should have to decide between paying their bills and being with their family.
What happened to caring for the general well-being of human kind? What happened to do-unto-others? I know the history of universal health care. I know the odds of it working might be slim, but I'd rather take my chances with that system and fail than continue living under our current one and watch more lives deteriorate under the weight of unmanageable health care costs.
I believe in helping each other. If I can chip in a little more each year and help lower the overall cost of health care, I will. Because I believe I'd be better off for it. I believe I'd benefit from living in a country with generally healthier, happier, more connected and compassionate citizens. And it might be ambitious, but I believe we can accomplish this. We just have to start truly seeing each other instead of seeing stereotypes and categorizations.
My family is one that's worked very, very hard and earned EVERY PENNY, and that is precisely why I see things this way. I'm optimistic and hopeful. I want to make this whole country better, not it's citizens individually. When will people start realizing we are one race of people and our individual survival directly correlates with our survival as a species?
Comments
Now I see why you're for universal health care. I'm so sorry to hear about your family. :-(
I do hope they come up with something. I kind of wish they'd make insurance go away.
When I had my kids (we're selfpay) I was told that it's cheaper without insurance. Basically, if the hospital went through an insurance company, the deliver was super expensive. But if I set up a self-payment plan, I got a discount and they charged less. It actually made no sense but made me wonder if insurance is what's really driving up the price of healthcare.
But I'm not real familiar with this stuff.
I hope your sister is doing okay. I just thought about her the other day and wondered if you guys had found a match.