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Super Bug—Medical Miracles versus Financial Devastation
 What are we going to do to pay for healthcare in the United States of America?
We prayed for a miracle and it happened. Our 28 year old son fought back and survived after a Super bug strep virus zapped him of all his strength and manifested itself into double pneumonia. Both lungs were totally white on the x-rays. Typically you expect to see a little black in the lungs, the lung doctor told us. He lay in intensive care for 12 days on a respirator. The machine did the breathing while his body was hooked up to a multitude of tubes that provided food and medicine to fight the deadly virus. How could this be happening? A young healthy male brought down by a super bug virus? The family was stunned as we divided up shifts during each 24 hour day to allow for one family member to be at his bedside. We became intimately acquainted with the Medical Center staff; the basement cafeteria; the Stephen Hawking -voiced parking machine; the family waiting rooms; the tears; the waiting and waiting some more. We each rode the emotional roller coaster of waiting out the illness that carried on for a 28 day hospital stay. We were comforted by each other; our concerned friends; neighbors; co-workers; and complete strangers who provided hugs and encouraging words.
My son was brought back from death by the amazing medical professionals at Houston’s Medical Center and the emotional support of our extended family and friends. He went from a less than 50-50 chance of survival to hospital release in 28 days. We were touched by the absolute kindness and sharing of friends, neighbors, co-workers, medical staffers and strangers who stayed with us throughout the ordeal and into his recovery. To this day we are so grateful to everyone for their prayers and words of blessed guidance
What gnaws at me then? It’s the financial devastation of it all. I certainly do not begrudge the medical staff their paychecks and I realize those high powered drugs and life support machines do not come cheap. I don’t want the ventilator to break down in the middle of the night like your old washing machine in the middle of the spin cycle. But my son did everything right; this is America; and that was a Super bug he probably caught teaching at an intercity middle school! Now he has a medical bill the size of Rhode Island!
Yes, he has medical insurance and let’s hope that saves him from financial ruin. But he couldn’t afford the best medical insurance offered. And forget about disability insurance. What young person with student loans to pay; a new mortgage; a beat up old car that gets him back and forth to school says, “Yeah, sign me up for the best insurance plan you’ve got because I plan to get sick, deathly ill!!” Perhaps Workmen’s’ Compensation can help? No way! Not unless you can get a medical professional to say that “beyond a shadow of a doubt” the virus came from this intercity school. And that is what has to be documented “in writing” before you will see a penny of financial help from Workmen’s compensation.
I just don’t get it. In my America. I just don’t get it. I can get fabulous medical care in this country, if I have an insurance card. But the bills will roll in. And a teacher with a Masters Degree in History can’t begin to pay the bills even though he was one of the top educators in the local school district!
And so I’m putting it out there for discussion. How are we going to fix the medical system here? Since the creation of the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 (HMO) our government has done little to assist in Healthcare. The HMO system has snowballed during the past 35 years making someone rich and it’s overwhelming to try and comprehend the enormity of the situation. One in seven individuals in the United States don’t even have medical insurance and those people either die or are sent to County Hospitals when they are ill.
Nationalized health may be the way to go and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are talking about that. Michael Moore discussed it in his film Sicko. I believe it will be up to “We the People” of America to stand up and speak out. But first, we must discuss our options. Let’s start here with concepts:
A doctor told us that the problem with the health system came about when they listed the medical institutions on the stock market and the health professionals became responsible to shareholders. Do we need to take them off the stock market?
It’s the drug companies. Okay. How do we slow that bus down?
It’s the insurance companies? These folks definitely watch out for their shareholders.
And what about the underemployed who can’t afford medical insurance because they’re putting $3 gallon gas in their cars so they can get to work. These are true blood, hard working Americans I am talking about who cannot afford to get sick in the United States of America.
Your comments and ideas are welcome and needed. Lets work together to brainstorm ideas to fix the system. Medical care is wonderful and required at times. Sure there are abuses. But we need to fix how we’re paying for it so that our young people can survive and prosper!
Contact the author:
jfshaw@mylasco.com
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