Just before the old man turned out the light he
stopped and looked around. The shop had
been his refuge, his place for quiet time and mediation as he worked with the
clay. His eyes drifted over items still
left undone and he wondered if there would be time to finish them before".
He caught himself.
By sheer willpower he forced his mind to think on other things as he
flicked the light out. Walking slowly
across the gravel drive to the house, he noticed his hips and lower back were
hurting more and more each day. What had
been a good life slowly turned to a nightmare when he checked online and found
that his symptoms indicated he had prostate cancer.
Without insurance he had no choice but to suffer in
silence as long as he could. He wasn't
in a situation where he couldn't afford the health insurance, he could afford
it easily. But to have health insurance
would've required a greater cost than just the premium.
He could afford health coverage or his farm; he
couldn't afford both. He thought if he
could just make it to 65 he'd be fine.
At 65 he fully expected Medicare to kick in and help. Unfortunately, by the time he turned 65 and
was able to seek out medical care, the prostate cancer had advanced to Level 4 --
his checkup had just come too late.
As he walked across the yard, he pulled his jack
closer to ward off the chill in the Idaho night; or was the cancer sapping the
last of his vitality; or was it the fact that he knew he couldn't hide this
from his wife any longer and he had decided that tonight he was going to tell
her.
Opening up the kitchen door he saw his wife at the
stove fixing dinner. Pushing the door
quietly closed behind him he told her, "Honey, sit down. I have something to
tell you."
The story you have just read is true. The family's name is left out to protect
their privacy. It's also left out
because similar scenarios happen across the country every day; and not just a
few people are affected, but hundreds"maybe thousands.
While our government continues to spend the country
into debt that will not be paid off in our lifetimes, hundreds of thousands of
citizens are left each day to make choices that are literally life and death.
According to an article in the February 5, 2010
issue of The Washington Post, approximately 54 million people will be without
health coverage by the year 2019.
"In 2006, then
Congressman C.L. "Butch" Otter said during his campaign for Governor
that he does not believe it is the government's job to provide health care
coverage""
"Butch" hasn't
changed his mind.
1
