I have a lot of changes and challenges coming to me in the next few weeks. I consider myself fortunate to have a loving family, a good job which includes healthcare.
The biggest change is that I'm going to be a new dad -- my wife is 38 weeks pregnant and ready to pop. We are getting great care at a top notch hospital and an amazing Nurse Midwives practice.
The challenge came through Facebook from the mother of a friend who isn't as fortunate.
Jen Moyle is a smart, sassy, and fun person. Jen Moyle and her mother Jane have been driven into foreclosure and destitution because of Jen's seizures and other health complications.
Jane sent out a letter to Facebook friends detailing their harrowing tale. They have been removed from their home and Jane is camped out at the Motel 6 while Jen is back in the Hospital. They try to get her on disability, but that's been slow going and her COBRA was expensive and ultimately was cancelled.
Their story made it hard for me not to be moved to action and give a little. But their story is also depressingly common in this country. How can any of us hope to make Jen right, to get her and her mother back to being productive members of society. How many healthcare fundraisers have we all been to just to help a friend get the minimum care they need? Too many.
This challenge also made me realize to how much Jane has given to her daughter, and how much I would do the same to my own daughter (even though I have yet to meet her).
I also think about how I will explain the time before Obamacare to my daughter. It was a time when you could just get kicked to the curb for pre-existing conditions, when a health crisis could mean bankruptcy. A time when how successful you were was often predicated on if you were lucky enough to not have a major health crisis in your family.
That seems the cruelest thing in our country -- forcing those who fear for their lives or the lives of their loved ones to also fear for their financial solvency. It's counterproductive to society.
Remember that this fight is about real people and real needs. And remember Jen Moyle and her mom huddled in a Motel 6 trying to sort out how they are going to piece back their lives moving forward.
Donate directly to Jen's paypal here.