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Edited on Tue Jun-30-09 03:46 AM by armyowalgreens
My mom has suffered from illness and injury since she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 19. Now at the age of 45, she is very, very ill. For the 19 years that I have been alive, she has been treated for tumors, both malignant and benign, a very rare heart condition and finally the beginning stages of lung failure. Most of these problems can be traced back to her RA.
If it isn't enough that she has gone through regular stays in the hospital for almost 20 years, she has also had to endure constant financial hardship.
It began with my parents divorce 8 years ago. My father had incurred a massive amount of debt shortly before the separation. Since then, he has failed to pay off any substantial amount of the debt, leading to creditors constantly hassling my mom for money. They don't care that my parents are no long together because legally the debt is shared by both. It doesn't help that my father has also failed to pay over 30,000 dollars in child support while he has spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on refurbishing vintage cars and fine suits.
Now it would seem that my mom is very lucky to have private health insurance with such a poor state of health. And I guess that is true. Without it, she would most likely be dead. Unfortunately, co-pays and non-covered procedures/medication (experimental) have created another pile of substantial debt for my mom and step-dad. I do not know the exact total, but it is indeed very burdensome.
About 10 months ago, my mom was diagnosed with the beginning stages of lung failure. This prompted an early retirement from her job that she had been working at since my parents separation. Mind you, as a single mom, she worked 6 days a week from early morning until late evening. She also took care of her 3 children. I remember seeing the sorrow in her eyes as she barely managed to get by from day to day. My mom, with a shopping list of medical problems, drove herself damn near over the edge trying to keep the family alive. I believe those were some of the most miserable years of her life. At least until recently.
Of course her diagnoses forced her to retire because she is slowly dying. Every fucking day she gets weaker and weaker because her lungs are slowly losing the ability to swap the waste products in her blood for oxygen. But did the company that she had been loyal to for 7 long, miserable years give a damn? Absolutely not.
In order for her to be eligible for long term benefits (retirement pay and a few other benefits) she was forced to work an additional 4 fucking months following her diagnoses. She spent 4 months pushing herself so that she could keep money coming in for the family.
She just recently was able to fully retire from her company. But it never ends. My mom and step-dad were suppose to receive a substantial tax refund that they were going to use to pay off medical bills (not just her medical bills. I also suffer from a neurological disorder). Instead, the creditors seized it to pay off my fathers outstanding debt from before the divorce.
This only pushed closer the inevitable. My mom and step-dad were served by their credit card company a little over a week ago. And now, they have no choice but to file for bankruptcy. They are bringing my father to court for failing to pay child support but can barely afford attorney fees.
I remember last December I received a statement from the bank denying my request for a student loan on the basis that the cosigner, my mom, had bad credit. The same bad credit brought about by outstanding debt accrued by my father and other medical bills. The horrific irony is that I was applying for student loans because my parents cannot afford to help me with school. They have to much on their plate. I read the denial letter to my mom, who then broke down crying in my lap.
That's when she told me she was dying. She didn't want to leave this world without first making sure that her son had enough money to go to college.
I felt compelled to write this tonight because about an hour ago my mom came into my room and broke down crying again. My step-dad is off working 6 days a week to help bring in money. And she is left alone. Apparently she has spent the last several hours coughing up blood but refuses to go to the hospital. She came in to talk to me because she needs me to drive my brother to the store in the morning to get a new pair of pants. She thinks she'll be too weak to make it. And of course my step-dad will be sleeping off the 12 hour night shift he will have just finished.
I don't know how much time the banks and corporations have sucked from my moms life. I don't know how much healthier she would be today if she hadn't been subject to such barbarism by money-grubbing pigs. I can only imagine.
But what I am now left with is unmeasurable contempt and hatred for every last asshole that put my mom and family in this position. But I am also left with immense sadness because I know this story is not rare. It occurs all too often.
The United States government doesn't give a damn about my mom or any one else's mom. The politicians care about money. The corporations care about money. The insurance companies care about money.
Goldman Sachs contributed $1,037,395 to Obama's election campaign. A single company gave a cash handout to a politician worth probably 3 to 4 times as much as my parents debt. And I bet they didn't even put a dent in their profits.
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