A wife. A mother. 10 children. Pregnant with the 11th. A selfless worker for the homeless and the hungry in South Omaha. Diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. No health insurance.
Her name was Mary. And she died today, together with her unborn child.
I never met Mary. I had only heard of her earlier this week from my wife, who is a member of a Christian womens' blog. Do you ever have it that you can feel completely affected by a single story about someone you don't even know? My life couldn't be further removed from Mary's, and yet I feel strongly moved to write about this. Perhaps it's because my wife is also pregnant. Perhaps it's because I feel for her family. Or perhaps it's because, to quote her website, they
were not insured at the time of diagnosis
Public health care is a social contract. We take care of you, you take care of us. That was especially so in Mary Anaya's case: she was a co-founder of a Christian charity that fed the hungry, clothed the naked and provided shelter to the homeless. Living the Gospel - not through bigotry, not through exclusion, but through Love as Jesus told us to. As their site puts it: "Love in Action".
But where was her Good Samaritan when she fell sick?
Unfortunately, that Good Samaritan was not the state, and she could not be saved. John Cornyn said the other day that people don't die because of a lack of health insurance. Uh.... yes they do. And it shouldn't have to be the case. It shouldn't be this way.
This is her website: http://www.missionfan.com/... Mission for All Nations.
Pray for her and her family, and that the day when people like her are no longer uninsured is coming closer and closer.