Saturday morning at approximately 3:10 AM on 8-23-08, my mother passed on and her suffering came to an end. My Mother had a history of helping those who were less fortunate when she was able - and decades ago was a shelter mother for wayward teens with Salt Lake County Social Services and was an advocate for children rights. She left us at the age of seventy-seven, and lived an interesting life and at times, fulfilled what many of us call the American Dream.
During the past 30 to 45 days, her condition grew worse, and as a writer, I was too involved in attempting to keep my mother alive rather than involve myself in the political nightmare that is encompassing our election process - most of which makes no sense what-so-ever. In retrospect, I looked back at her life and was amazed how an individual as successful as my mother (and family) could die a paupers death and wind-up with nothing, and when we look deeply into our system, the answer glares at us - but as of this date, nothing has been accomplished by Congress or even our state legislatures to solve a problem that has been plaguing Americans for decades - and becomes worse every day.
My mother was an amazing woman, at times extremely stubborn, generous to a fault, and was a true believer in the American way of life. If you had to categorize her life, for most of her adult years, my Mom and Step-father were upper middle-class who at times bordered on being wealthy. My Step-father owned a nightclub in East Las Vegas, owned an acre on Vegas’ Sunset strip (which was sold when that segment of Vegas still had no real value. I believe that some were taking note, and those not in the loop sold for next to nothing.), and they also owned several homes as well as enjoying a new car every year and were prime examples of the American Dream, where hard work and planning resulted in them being able to live a life that was often the envy of others - and it all came from extremely hard work and their belief in the American system that for decades, allowed Americans to live in prosperity.
Those days are gone except for those who have amassed so much wealth that no personal tragedy can upset their apple-cart, but for the average American, the situation is far more complicated. They bought a farm in International Falls, MN., and were prepared to live out their lives in comfort and with a sense of security and dignity their hard work had guaranteed them by and through the beliefs we have in what many of us thought was the American Dream.
My Step-father worked for the county in which he lived, and one day, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He did everything any responsible citizen would do and was covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota through his employer. As his condition worsened, Blue Cross Blue Shield raised his health insurance premiums to $680.00 or $700.00 per month, a figure that was impossible to pay on their retirement income. He lost his insurance, and then attempted to get his health care through Canada - which for a time, worked out fine. When that avenue was exhausted, the health system began taking all of their assets, the farm in Minnesota, their savings, and anything else they could attach to cover his mounting health care bills.
My mother and father had the same diagnosis, albeit 30 years apart from one another, however my father outlived my Mom after the cancer diagnosis by a couple of months, but his treatment encompassed chemotherapy, radiation, and his passing was painful and miserable; their life savings went to doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies that made his quality of life absolutely horrendous, which is why my Mother refused Chemo or any other treatment for her cancer. Her only mistake was taking a Lunesta last year from which she suffered her first heart attack, and as a footnote, Mom passed away from multiple heart attacks, not the cancer, which didn’t seem to pose the dire threat we were advised it did. I am not implying the Lunesta was the cause of my mother’s death, but do believe it was a contributing factor. Her first heart attack was caused by Lunesta, and the subsequent weakening and damage to her heart ushered in further and deadlier problems. After being in ICU for five and a half days, Sepracor, the manufacturers of Lunesta, didn’t even offer an apology, never mind advise the public that their product might be dangerous. I receive searches almost daily by users of Lunesta, or concerned family members from the initial article I wrote, and most of the searches are mundane, but at least once a week, “panic attack, Lunesta”, “Lunesta, heart attack” or a similar search is carried out, and I have to wonder how many people have suffered because the proper warnings are not completely explained to patients that try this medication. As I stated in Is there a Problem with Lunesta? Updated with Disclaimer., I do not recommend this drug for the elderly, and no, I’m no physician, however make those observations based on first-hand knowledge of the incident as well as statements made by the ICU team that treated her.
As I was reading RAW Story tonight, I read an ad that stated more than 1.6 million Americans declare bankruptcy every year because of medical bills. Based on what I’ve seen, and experiences with other families that have suffered through extreme medical conditions, I’m surprised the figure isn’t much higher. We collectively work all of our lives to work toward retirement, plan for the worst and hope for the best - but when a severe illness strikes, the insurance you bought may prove to be a mere bump in the road to your eventual financial ruin. The bottom line is that if you have seriously sick family members, and it’s a long-term illness, the impact on the entire family can be disastrous.
I had no intention to politicize my Mother’s passing, however, when I saw the ad that indicated that millions of Americans go bankrupt every year because of medical bills, this is an issue that is taking on national implications, and it has for as long as I can remember. Cancer and illness is “big business”, and while I agree that everyone has to make a profit, that profit should not be so high that it virtually places well to do families in poverty. This illness with my Mother cost me all of the expensive personal items I owned, my car title is pawned, which I will eventually lose, and I still have a sister with a special needs child that takes huge amount of resources. I’m on Social Security, so when gas prices go up, the only thing we can do is cut somewhere else - and last month our power bill was $385.00. My sister just had surgery on her knee just three days ago, a hysterectomy is next, and then her right foot has to be re-broken and fixed. There’s still a lengthy road ahead of us, and this time we will be forced to move. We do live in a nice house, but now we must seek out one that is smaller and will cost less to heat and cool. It will be a juggling act just to keep a roof over our heads.
Silly me, I was ecstatic when I noted the Democrats had a bill on the floor for energy help for those who needed it the most, but the party of the rich killed it, and then bragged about it afterwords. Rank and file Republicans, many of whom I call friends and close associates, aren’t bad people. It’s their leadership; the average Republican believes they are voting for fiscal responsibility, which is why they are called “conservatives’, however, the upper-echelon leadership is interested in nothing that will benefit the poor and disadvantaged and they always keep an eye on the ball of their wealthy supporters, located on K-Street, who funnel billions of dollars into their coffers to ensure that America’s corporate agenda is maintained and to hell with the rest of the population. The majority of our Congress looks upon their election as entry into the gravy train, and for some, it has paid off well.
A very serious issue that Congress needs to take up is how millions of well-to-do American families are hammered into poverty whenever a serious illness strikes, and as the people seek medical attention, the costs soar and before long, another family joins the rank of poverty simply because someone in their family became seriously ill. Eventually, we all get sick; some pass without a moments notice, peacefully, while others linger on and drain their families of their futures. I doubt anyone would provide less care or refuse to look after a loved family member, but for it to cost the family their financial stability and actually force some families into poverty is simply unconscionable.
To illustrate how this happens and the absurd amount American citizens pay for health care is easy to point-out; two years ago I was in the Emergency Room with my sister in Pensacola, Fl., after she was robbed and injured at work. The staff at the ER knew me, was aware that I had a broken lumbar vertebrae - and after several hours of sitting in sheer misery waiting for my sister, one of the nurses suggested they “Fast-Track” me through ER myself so I could get a shot for pain. It hadn’t occurred to me, but I was grateful for their concern and agreed. I was taken to a room, a doctor came in, saw the protrusion where the break is on my back and ordered a shot of Demerol for the pain. I was grateful, the process took less than 15 minutes, and the shock came when I saw how much my insurance company was billed for one pain shot minus X-Rays or other diagnostic procedures that would have caused the bill to climb. One shot of Demerol was billed at $645.00 - and I was flabbergasted to understand that a hospital could charge so much just for a $5.00 shot of Demerol. My situation is not unique, it happens every day, and as health care costs rise, millions more will be forced into poverty simply because of what I call a “life event.” It is disgusting that families can work their entire lives responsibly to retire and then fall into poverty because of an illness. Yes, there ought to be a law, but there isn’t, and this is just another example of Corporate America robbing and plundering the average American to bolster their bottom line.
What really concerns me is that personal incomes are dropping throughout the United States, and with energy climbing and incomes going lower, it’s inevitable that we are plunging into a recession that will likely resemble a depression rather than a recession, and homelessness and financial insolvency still faces millions whose number hasn’t come up yet - but is there and will manifest itself at the worst possible time. People can only be squeezed so much until there’s nothing left, and by the time that happens, climbing back up into financial solvency is close to impossible.
When times were extremely bad, I was going to close this Blog to save money. My Mother was adamant that I keep writing, which I haven’t done very well at the past two months, but I take heart knowing that her suffering is over - but life goes on, and there are more health issues to deal with, and until Washington wakes-up and quits treating the public like the enemy or their “renewable” income source, times are bound to get much worse before they get better. This is an issue that affects ALL Americans except the ultra-wealthy, and as we seek to elect a President that will lead our nation to greener pastures, it is imperative that hard-working Americans quit losing everything they have just because someone in their family becomes seriously ill. Today it’s me, tomorrow it could be you.
William Cormier
Note: It took me almost a week to write this post, as it was personal and I wasn’t sure how to approach it, but when I understood that absurd medical bills are becoming a source of poverty for millions of American families, it seemed appropriate to meet the issue head-on and try to get people to demand that our lives are not ripped asunder only because someone in our family became ill with a serious medical condition.
