Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Check. Reality.

If you want the whole story, go to Head Nurse's blog. Read about how a thank you letter to Roger Ebert turned into a tweet from him, which resulted in some very deserving people getting a little help from a lot of strangers.

It is a story of a young man, dying of cancer. He and his wife are trying to patch a living together for his final months on the planet. Because his insurance coverage is now non-existant, they are having to worry about how to pay rent, and how they will cover the cost of his palliative medications (oh, on top of coming to grips with being newlyweds that are now discussing his funeral and how he hopes to spend his remaining days). Inhumane. It is shocking to me, to read this, from citizens of one of the richest countries in the world. The advice they were given: move to Canada.

Well, they can't move to Canada.

But maybe Canada can still help out a little.

I am not an 'internet donation' person but this is legit, and these folks could certainly use a little help.

9 comments:

Estelle said...

The whole sega is heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. That so many people can come together to help someone they have never met.
And I have just fallen in love with Jo [Head Nurse] all over again because of it.

Estelle said...

*saga*
Geez. I am such a spaz sometimes. ;)

Albinoblackbear said...

I agree completely with your two descriptors: heartbreaking and inspiring (on so many levels).

I definitely hugged Tobie a little tighter yesterday. I am sure he thought I was insane, but we take our youth and health so very much for granted. The part that knocked the wind out of me in one of her posts was her writing about how she thought the first few years of marriage would be: him getting a job at a good firm, her finishing her masters, eventually getting pregnant...Young couples are full of dreams. So sad that things got so dark, so fast.

They are a formidable duo.

Medical Mojave said...

Awesome post. I am so glad to see these causes getting attention. (I had posted about the couple last week.)

The real irony, to me, is that the couple is from Arizona. Giffords (the Senator that was shot) gets a flight to a rehab center while the couple gets to feed themselves with $200 a month in food stamps.

Health care reform! It's still all about who you are, who your insurer is and how much money you have.

M

Cartoon Characters said...

Ya I clicked on their button. My husband (an American that I brought up to Canada) is so thankful that he no longer has to worry about healthcare.

I have also sent money to my cousin for a friend of hers that couldn't afford chemotherapy for a cancer (Hodgkins) that could easily be eradicated...and she has a little daughter and no one to take the daughter in when she dies....so sad.

It just is beyond me to think things like this happen in a "rich" country and I am so thankful for our Canadian system. I know some Canadians may complain, but given a choice between the US system and Canadian - more than 95% say they are happy with the Canadian system.

We won't lose our house and we would never be having the problem that they are having unless that is what we chose.

My husband's brother died from a brain tumor (WA state) and I know what he went through....

E. Greene said...

The story with Ebert is incredible. I'm glad that Tashi is writing about this - it's a great resource for anyone in healthcare and definitely puts my own hardships into perspective..

Cara said...

Awesome. I love Jo's blog, and yours. Not that I have a bunch of extra time to spend on the internet, but I always stop by.

Watched "Sicko" by Moore in nursing class the other day. The American system is a catastrophe and they should be ashamed of themselves. Our system is broken, and I don't know how long it will be able to run but at least, for now, we have Universal Care and don't have to decide between paying one outrageous insurance premium over another.

Cara said...

Oops... I meant to say I gave a bit and thanks for using your blog to give their good cause some exposure.

Albinoblackbear said...

POP--Thanks, well, since I couldn't give them much money I thought maybe some people who read my blog could. At least get their story out there. Maybe they'll get on Oprah or something and really get taken care of...

CC--Yeah I read your comments on her blog and thought they were really touching, especially knowing the US side of things and how it played out with your husbands family...

EG--Indeed. The Ebert part of the story is very cool. She is a great writer, and I think it is really important that people in the US hear these stories or else nothing is going to change...

Cara--It is true, our system isn't perfect...but those horror stories don't exist in Canada. When people say they should make our system two-tiered to ease the 'backlog' I cringe.

Here in Ireland (two-tiered, part private, part public) people wait for years for hip replacements and to see a dermatologist, just like in Canada. It doesn't improve things overal, it just speeds things up for the rich.

If our system divides, where are the magical people resources going to appear from?? It is just not as cut and dried as people would like to believe.

Glad you hear their cause got a few more $$ from the post. Thanks, glad you enjoy my blog!