I was just reading eve's diary about a woman she called in West Virginia. The woman has an illness that will be terminal and is immobile and her husband helps as best he can but loses hours everyday commuting to his job. Wonderful caring eve did her best to help from long distance by finding and providing this family with phone numbers of people who may be able to help.
Reading the diary and some of the comments is heartbreaking as everyone, regardless of their station in life or political persuasion, deserves better. I couldn't help but compare their circumstances with those of my parents in Canada and it's shameful that American families can't expect the same treatment. More of their story after the jump.
My stepfather, John, has terminal cancer and his condition is deteriorating daily. I talk to my mother regularly for updates. He is under the wing of palliative care and they have been wonderfully kind and considerate. Needless to say, he is on multiple medications but fortunately for him, they don't have to worry about the cost. John spent the better part of two months in the hospital late last fall (at no cost to him, of course) but he wanted to go home so palliative homecare services got involved. His own bed proved to not be serviceable for his care so they brought over a hospital bed and set it up in the living room so mom could be close to him during the day. They provided a cane and then a walker so he could get to the bathroom on his own and to his favorite comfortable easy chair. They adapted the bath tub with bars and a seat so he could still bathe himself. All this was done at no charge.
John's mobility greatly decreased so he spent more and more time in his bed. Nurses came by occasionally to check on him. I begged Mom to avail herself of additional services that I know are available, such as night time care so she could get some sleep but she is very proud and independent and didn't want to 'bother' anyone. Unfortunately, his condition has gotten much worse. He's been in the hospital for the past week so they can adjust his medication for pain. The heavy duty doses of morphine weren't effective enough anymore. But he wants to go home so next week, they'll honor his wishes and this time, Mom has finally accepted the fact that she needs additional help so he'll have daily home nursing care. He'll die at home, peacefully I pray, with his beloved wife at his side and top notch medical care to the end.
He, and Mom, have been treated with such kindness and dignity by palliative health services and all their nurses and doctors. And they haven't had to fret for a minute worrying about how they were going to pay for it or fussing and fighting with insurance companies and endless paperwork. It's how everyone deserves to be treated. Mom and John worked hard all their lives and willingly paid their share of taxes. I paid my share for many years too, as have my sister and brother, my aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors. It's how it's done in Canada. I can't think of a better use of those tax dollars than to look after John and all the other people who need health care, good, competent, caring, available health care. Americans deserve as much too. Don't ever stop fighting for universal single payer health care.