Main Street

She once had it all

by Cara Alcantar—Michigan

I canvassed a woman who said she once had it all. She ran her own business, which she loved, she had a loving husband with a great job which provided the entire family with health care coverage, and two healthy kids. Then, a series of events happened that changed her life as she knew it.

First, she was in a horrible car accident that left her hospitalized for over a month. During this time her business suffered greatly—which lead to the very tough decision to shut it down, and stay at home with the kids while depending on her husband as the sole provider. Then, the unexpected happened again. Her husband died. Grief-stricken, she realized she had to start planning for a new life without his income or health care benefits. She found herself on an extremely fixed income and her family without health care coverage. Luckily, both of her children qualified for the Michigan health care assistance program provided by SCHIP; however she was still left without health care.

To this day she has no health care coverage, and she worries now about her part time job stability. “My main focus right now is to stay healthy, and keep the kids healthy. Tonight I’m thankful to have a few dollars to put under my daughter’s pillow from the tooth fairy.” She is making the best of her situation, but never realized how alone someone could feel, in this country, when they come on hard times. “It’s tragic to know there are families without any health care.”

As she shared her past year’s experiences with me I saw her try to hold back the tears. It was then that I was reminded why we do what we do. There are millions of stories just like hers across our country, and it is unacceptable. And for the first time, I think she realized she is NOT alone. It was a good feeling for both of us. She is now a hot contact, and wants to do what she can to help.

Tags: Health Care, insurance, membership, SCHIP