I haven't posted anything in years but I'm here almost daily keeping up with things. What happened on Friday shook me to my core and made me so mad that I was in tears. I didn't immediately write this diary, in part because I needed an emotional break. But here it goes.
I am a high school science teacher in the DFW metroplex. On Friday, one of the other teachers came to see me about a student of mine, Chris (his name has been changed for the sake of his privacy). About six months ago Chris's father died of a heart attack. He owned a construction company and they were struggling financially. They suspect the chronic stress from his failing business and attempting to provide for his family finally resulted in his death.
I can relate to this because I lost my father two years ago. My father worked in the financial sector. When everything collapsed in 2008 he was let go from his job. He was unemployed for a year and then he found another job, only to be let go 8 month later. Seven months after being laid off and worrying about ever being rehired at 55 and losing his medical insurance, he suffered a heart attack and passed away. I didn't realize how dire his financials were until I was tasked with sorting through his belongings. The daily stress of what bills to pay and what he could defer must have been unbearable. But I digress...
In all of my interactions with Chris, you never would have known that he had just lost his father. He is such an upbeat student who tries hard at every assignment I give him. I get a "thank you" for every assignment I had out and for every question I answer. In the inner city that's rare. He lights up the classroom and is nice to all of his classmates. He never makes a joke at someone's expense and he is the first to help me if I need it. He wasn't in class on Friday.
For the past few weeks Chris's mother had been sick and was getting worse. They didn't have insurance because after his father died his mother simply couldn't afford it. They waited until they couldn't wait any longer to take her to the E.R. After running some tests they discovered that she had Stage 4 cancer and on Thursday they gave her less than 48 hours to live. He spent the night with her at the hospital, refusing to leave her side.
By now, he is an orphan...
At 15 years old his life has forever changed. I don't know if the same student will show up in my classroom next week. How broken will this leave him? In a six month time frame, he will have lost both of his parents. From my understanding, he has an Aunt that he will now live with. But it's not the same.
At first I simply cried for him and the hurt he must be going through. That sadness quickly turned to rage. I am mad at the conservatives who would cheer the death of the uninsured. Sure, the question was for a 30 year old man but would a 35 year old widow have changed their view on death? Would leaving orphans due to death of the uninsured finally put it into perspective for them? I doubt it.
I'm pissed off that the richest country in the world won't provide health care to its citizens. I'm pissed that we are told to sit by and watch them die because they didn't save enough money or they weren't born rich enough to not worry about catastrophic medical events.
I broke my femur in 1993. I spent a month in the hospital in traction, I was put into a full body cast, flown on a commuter plane from New Mexico to Colorado, had a hospital bed put into my parent's living room, had a nurse come every day to check on me for a month and had six months of physical therapy for less than $20,000 in medical bills. Today that would likely total over $250,000.
Our medical care (or lack thereof) is bleeding this country dry. No one should profit off our health because that's something every single one of us will need in our lives. We shouldn't have to watch our fellow citizens die. That's not what a super power does, that's what you see in war ravaged third world countries.
Above all, I'm mad because we failed Chris. We are the adults and it's our responsibility to care for the children. He shouldn't be an orphan. He should still have his mother. What have we become as a society to allow this to happen?
5:26 PM PT: Thank you all for getting this on the Rec List. It's my first time here, though I wish it were under different circumstances. I hope this tragedy reminds us of what's at stake. We all know someone who's suffered because they are uninsured. We all deserve so much better than this!
Mon Oct 17, 2011 at 8:37 AM PT: UPDATE: I haven't yet gotten to speak with Chirs but his mother did pass away yesterday. I'm working on getting more information but I'm looking at setting up a College Scholarship Fund for him. Without his parents there to help him I want to see if we can make sure he has something to get him started with. I'll let you know once I get more information. Thank you all for the love and support, I'll pass it along to him once I can see him.