I know I have been putting up a lot of posts lately on the medical profession and health in general, but I believe it is important. In the constitution for our great country, it states that every individual has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I would like to focus on the first right of LIFE. In order to live, people need to be healthy, and in order to be healthy, people need to have access to affordable healthcare. As a nurse, I see patients at my hospital all the time who cannot afford their medications, let alone their surgeries and treatments! It is extremely difficult to see people who want that LIFE that they are rightly entitled to, but they are bogged down by the problems of either not having insurance or not having enough insurance. I have decided that it all comes down to money - if you have money, you will most likely get better because you can afford your treatments and you can afford your surgery and you can afford your medications and you can afford to have a nurse come visit you in your home. The wealthy patients I see generally do better than the poor ones. It is a fact. So, my question is, what do we do to fix this problem of inequality in our country? I heard recently that Orrin Hatch stated that healthcare is not a right for every American. Excuse me? As I stated earlier, every American has the right to health, which is brought about by healthcare. I am obviously not an expert on healthcare reform, but I believe that as a healthcare provider, I know what I am talking about. Every individual deserves to be healthy. I will complain about some individuals that I know though. Some people believe that if they are overweight, smoke, eat fast food, candy bars, and drink pop every day, watch television non-stop, and teach their kids to do the same, that they should be entitled to receive cheap healthcare when they get arthritis because they are too overweight. I am sorry, but you do not take care of yourself. Educate yourself people! Be knowledgeable about HOW to take care of your body - eat a balanced meal (mypyramid.gov), exercise most days of the week, drink LOTS of water, get some sunshine, take your vitamins, go get a book on staying healthy and actually read it, go get a massage every once in a while, use relaxation techniques to decrease your anxiety, get regular checkups for your body according to your age, VACCINATE YOUR CHILDREN...I could go on and on. If you do these things, the chances of you getting sick due to something preventable is unlikely. Thank goodness Jordan and I are healthy. We have private insurance, yet I am scared to death of getting sick because we have a high deductible. I am probably ranting now, but as you may be able to tell, this is a hot button for me. I am very, very serious about people staying healthy. Please take care of yourself. The link for this title is for a series on people who didn't have health insurance and their journeys through the healthcare system.
