Guaranteed Healthcare

Let's start from the being of this horrible diseases. My dad was 15 years old when he had shoulder surgery. He had lost lots of blood after surgery and had to immediately receive new blood. That would take us to round about the 70's. Blood was not filtered the way it is today. So 30 years later my dad finds that he has Hepatitis C. Who is at fault for that? When he did have health insurance he was receiving treatment. The treatment was working and he was only guaranteed that the medication would only help the disease, not cure.

However, after several months on all the medications his blood cell levels equaled out and the doctor said that he was cured. Unfortunately, he also advised him that the disease could come back in remission. Not but a few years later it had returned. with my dad finalizing his second divorce, he moved in with his mother (my grandma) to help take care of her and her medical struggles. He was not working so then had no medical insurance. He had gotten to the point where he could not work due to the disease side effects of fatigue, pains, water weight gain in the stomach, and different sleeping habits. From time to time he would go to the library and read on his disease. Through the summer of 2007 he filed for disability. In the meantime my grandmother had passed and many family problems arose leaving my dad alone.

I was all he had left. He had no job, and now no home. I was living with a friend and her family and I still currently am. So we found a shelter that would take him in! Being there for several months, in February of 2009 was he accepted for disability. He finally found a low income house in Southern Maryland that was close to me. It was stronger than ever and he would always tell me that he could feel his body changing. What do you do when you know that you aren't insured and you are dieing? It has to be one of the hardest things to do. Nothing.....

For about two years out of high school I was uninsured as well. Moving out of my mother's and step father's at 18 wasn't the easiest. I knew that he would possibly need a liver transplant. I was looking for ways to give him part of my liver and hopefully give him more time. I looked on the Internet learning about the disease and possible treatments. Any transplant is expensive, however so are the anti- rejection medications for post surgery. I have looked and talk to some organizations and even if I could get them to help front money for a transplant, we could not afford the anti-rejection medication. That plan fell out. Now years later I can see the disease taking over him and its the hardest thing I have EVER had to do. Knowing that there is nothing we can do without health insurance.

You have to have disability for two years before you can even think of getting medicare. In all honestly, he doesn't have two years. We live everyday to the fullest,See each other when we can. I know many many other people out there that don't have health insurance and this is just my story. All uninsured Americans are looking for a helping hand, and knowing that almost all don't is what kills you and you would think that people would want to do something to change it..... But they continue not to.