"We are your neighbors, your friends, your compatriots. We suffer from chronic illnesses. Most of our illnesses are hidden, and not readily apparent to those who don't know us well. We suffer in silence from either preventable illnesses or exacerbations of chronic diseases due to lack of, or insufficient, medical care. We are not lazy, most of us had successful careers before we became too sick to work. We are not spendthrifts or criminals, most of us paid into 401k's for many years before we lost everything due to astronomical medical bills that we couldn't possibly pay. Many of us, like most of you, had insurance when we became sick, that either completely denied payment (and therefore medical treatment) or didn't pay even a fraction of our medical bills. Now we become sicker with each passing day, because no doctor will treat us without payment, and no pharmacy will fill our prescriptions if we can't pay for them.
...What good is our excellent technology, medical training and pharmaceuticals if only a few can actually obtain care with them? Those who are denied life-saving or basic, crucial medical care while other people in the same society easily obtain botox injections, are victims of medical discrimination.
...What is the meaning of freedom if "freedom of choice" means choosing between purchasing vital medications and buying food? Individuals forced to fight for survival every day in this manner are victims of abuse by way of medical neglect.
How can one have a healthy self-image, if one is regularly accused of being lazy, unmotivated, a criminal or a scumbag scamming the system simply because they are ill and in need of assistance? This constant barrage of abuse by moral degradation destroys souls and is the emotional equivalent of being a battered spouse.
So, look into my eyes and see me as a person; in pain, suffering, trying to get well, looking for any work I am able to perform, wishing with all my heart to be well enough to care for my family, and doing my best to succeed in life, before you deny me aid and call me lazy and unworthy of medical care."
This is just a glimpse of how a person with chronic pain or a chronic condition feels. It is hard to understand chronic conditions unless you have one. If you do not have a chronic condition, be thankful if you do not fully understand.
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Can I just say, given that I am a sufferer from a chronic condition that has had all the negative impact described here and then some, this piece speaks for me most strongly. Being judged against standards that are meaningless by people who can never understand what it is like is part of day-to-day life, and so it is good to see the sufferer's side of the equation expressed so eloquently.
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