|
(FYI, I'm GliderGuider's partner using his DU login.)
Granddad was a veteran of WWII. When he was in Europe he caught pneumonia and they put him back into battle before he was fully recovered. He returned home, continued in the family plumbing business, and began his own family. Yup, he was a plumber in the days when people in the North were installing their first indoor baths and toilets. $$Ka-Ching!$$
By the time Mum was in high school, he had his own army of men working for him and a fleet of trucks. Good thing, too, because he had to slow down. He had a lot of trouble breathing with scarred lungs and emphysema. Shortly thereafter, the doctors told him he only had 6 months left to live.
He fought with Veterans Affairs for survivor benefits for his wife and 5 kids. They argued that they weren't responsible. The tough ol' bugger wouldn't give in, though. In the meantime, medical bills sucked everything away. My uncles were still children and could not take over the 3-generation business. They lost everything but the house. It took my grandfather five years but he finally got the VA to concede that he was dying prematurely due to injuries he sustained while serving in the military. Two weeks later, he was dead.
One year after that, thanks to TC Douglas, Canada got a national system of single-payer, universal health care.
Know what? I have to remind people what the bad ol' days were like. They have no memory of people losing everything they worked for because of sickness.
It is my wish that you can one day leave these days in the history books, too. But not to forget! It is also my wish that SiCKO is a smash hit in Canada.
|