It was a cold and snowy day. My room in cardiac ICU was directly underneath the "ION" in "Pavilion 2" on the side of the building across the way. I took this photo after I was moved from cardiac ICU to the general cardiac wing. On a clear day, I could see Pike's Peak from this window. Were it not for the ACA, I likely would not have survived long enough to take this photo.
Dear Senator McCain;
I am not one of your constituents, and in all honesty, I am a liberal who voted for your opponent, Barack Obama, in 2008.
Despite that, I did want to take a moment to thank you for standing against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. From my perspective, the issue of ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable health insurance transcends politics.
For me, the issue has recently taken on a whole new dimension; one of life and death.
I am employed at a small business that does not provide health insurance to its four employees. As such, I purchase my health insurance policy through the ACA exchange website, where I found an excellent health insurance policy with an affordable premium.
On a cold, snowy Saturday morning in February of this year, I felt seriously ill and drove two hours to the emergency room at Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie, Wyoming. Immediately after an initial assessment there, I was in a helicopter flying over the mountains to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. That afternoon, I very nearly died in Cheyenne, but my life was saved after the staff performed an emergency procedure to correct a deadly heart arrhythmia.
After I was stabilized, I was transferred to the cardiac intensive care unit at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, just outside Denver. There I was diagnosed with chronic heart failure due to viral cardiomyopathy.
Viral cardiomyopathy does not discriminate; it can happen to anyone regardless of age, sex, health, wealth or political ideology. It is also the underlying cause for about 45 percent of heart transplants in the U.S.
Because of a virus I was exposed to somewhere in my day-to-day life, I went from being a perfectly healthy middle-aged man to a middle-aged man who would likely be dead within five years, and who was a candidate for heart transplant.
But because of the excellent care I received from dozens of dedicated professionals at three hospitals, my local rural clinic and the life flight and ambulance services — along with some good luck — my life was saved. Recently, I was informed my heart had fully recovered. I am no longer suffering heart failure, and for now at least, there is no foreseeable need for a heart transplant.
Thanks to the health insurance policy I purchased through the ACA exchange, the cost of my treatment — nearly three-quarters of a million dollars — was paid in full after I met my $1,250 deductible.
Had I not been insured, I likely would not be alive today. Even if I were, the expense of my treatment without insurance would have driven me into bankruptcy.
Even though I no longer suffer from heart failure, I will probably continue to need expensive drug therapies and careful monitoring for the rest of my life. Health insurance has gone from being an afterthought to one of the most important things in my life. I love my job, I love where I work and I love my town, which is filled with wonderful people who offered so much help and support to a total stranger when he was sick. But I have told my boss that if the ACA is repealed, I would have no choice but to find another job that offers health insurance, and that would likely mean I will have to move.
He understands.
Because of the ACA, I am alive to share this story and offer my thanks to you for doing the right thing by making sure millions of people like me who work hard and contribute to our communities do not lose their health insurance coverage.
Thank you for your principled stand, Senator, and I wish you the very best in your own fight against cancer.
Yours very truly,
RRC
UPDATE: Thanks all for the Rec List and Community Spotlight. I don’t remember if that’s ever happened before. It’s been so long since I’ve been around, you know: divorce, new state, new job plus I had a little issue with my health that kept me preoccupied for a while. ;)
