I'm Dying From ALS and Here's My Message: No More Half Measures. Only Medicare for All
Last edited Tue Apr 30, 2019, 10:08 PM - Edit history (3)
...not actually me, I am conveying the story and headline.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/04/30/im-dying-als-and-heres-my-message-no-more-half-measures-only-medicare-all
"Some people argue that although Medicare for All is a great idea, we need to move slowly to get there. But I needed Medicare for All yesterday. Millions of people need it today. The time to pass this law is now."
byAdy Barkan
Note: Ahead of a Tuesday hearing in the U.S. House Committee on Rules regarding Rep. Pramila Jayapal's bill to establish a single-payer Medicare for All health care system in the United States, dying healthcare activist Ady Barkan released the following prepared remarks. Owing to the advanced progression of his ALS, Barkan will deliver this testimony using a computer system that tracks his eye movements and subsequently converts text into speech.
Chairman McGovern and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. My name is Ady Barkan. I am thirty-five years old and I live in Santa Barbara, California with my brilliant wife Rachael and our beautiful toddler Carl. She is an English professor at the University of California Santa Barbara and I am an organizer at the Center for Popular Democracy and the Be A Hero project.
I earned my bachelor’s degree from Columbia University with a major in economics and my law degree from Yale Law School. For twenty years, since I was a freshman on my high school debate team, I have been giving speeches and presentations on topics like health care reform and the Federal budget.
"Our time on this earth is the most precious resource we have. A Medicare For All system will save all of us tremendous time. For doctors and nurses and providers, it will mean more time giving high quality care. And for patients and our families, it will mean less time dealing with a broken health care system and more time doing the things we love, together."
..more..
edit to add,
= new reply since forum marked as read
So, I'm a furry, which if you have any questions, please go ahead and message me, let's not make this discussion part of that.
There's a pretty well known furry (well known in furry circles) who went by Dogbomb (real name Tony), and he had ALS. He decided that he was going to be as positive as he could through the process that he knew was coming. He was an amazing goodwill ambassador for furries to the general public while at the same time raising tons of money for ALS related charities, and also taking part in studies that required spinal taps to be taken, and even, in the end, donating his body to UCI Medical School, and he even wrote an irreverent and hilarious note to go with it:
He passed recently at his own choice, using California's Death with Dignity laws, and it triggered a week of outpouring of affection for him, his positivity, the work he's done, and the dog we're all going to miss. He was able to support his own hospital stay, and all the tests and check-ups, largely because I think they were covered as part of the living research he was taking part in, but he always strove for people to have what they needed, always wanted people to be able to have what they needed to be comfortable, safe, and healthy. He talked about the nurses and doctors that made his life bearable and all the support they need that a Medicare For All system would foster.
ALS is a dark ride, but I do recommend checking out his Twitter feed (which he handed over to a close friend after his death): https://twitter.com/dogbomb1
