Repost of the letter I sent to the President

Sunday, August 23, 2009


Today I begin the fight for my Mom's life

I wrote a letter to the President today to support health care reform. Below is the letter I sent him and will send to Congress and the media. I will add their respones as I get them. I welcome all comments and serious debate on this issue. For now I will let the letter speak for itself.

August 23rd, 2009

RE: Healthcare Reform and my Mom

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to you today on behalf of my 60 year old mother. She has had chronic health problems since I can remember. When I was seven she had a big part of her intestines removed and replaced with plastic. She was in the hospital for months, my brother and I thought she would never come back home. They let us see her for Christmas, because as we found out later the doctors did not think she would live. The doctors did not give her a good prognosis for the future but she has continued to defy the odds. She currently has kidney disease in both kidneys, heart disease, degenerative rheumatoid arthritis, bouts of gout, and problems controlling her potassium levels.

After working in the healthcare and food service industry for 40 years her body gave out on her and she had to file for disability. She was awarded SSDI just a few months ago. She didn't want to quit work, but she had no choice, she can't stand or sit for very long with out pain and discomfort. During the last few years my mother tried to get insurance but was always denied because of her preexisting conditions, or they would offer a package she could not afford and would only cover new problems. As she spent more and more money with test, and medication she eventually had to stop working and rely on sliding scale clinics. She still does not qualify for Medicare due to time restrictions.
Recently her potassium levels reached near lethal levels, she needed to get many test, but because she has no insurance and is on a limited income she could not get the test. One of the doctors suggested a colonoscopy but looked in her chart and said, “I see you have no insurance the test is very expensive, I sure hope the President can get this healthcare reform passed soon.” My mother agreed with him, but told him that she can only do things as needed and then only if she can get the money.
I guess this is what I am getting to, when I hear people talk about how great our current private system is, then talk about healthcare reform with death panels, people dying because they are waiting, no choices, I just get confused. Are they talking about our current system that is allowing people to languish and die because they can't get coverage and just changed the word private to reform. I know I am rambling but I am very upset with the mean spirited people who want to kill reform with such ignorance. I want to ask them why they are killing my Mom now. Because that is what will happen with out reform, she will continue to get sicker and sicker and die before her time.

I plan to copy this letter to the Congress as well as the media. I can longer sit back and listen to such ignorance and not tell my Mother's story if only briefly and please ask your opponents how many more people have to suffer in the name of politics? We need to bring compassion back to America and stop the hate.

Sincerely,


Corey L. Rogers