And am once again struck by how fortunate we are to be at this moment in time in all of human history. Several situations which would surely have resulted in my death a generation or two ago have recently been resolved with relatively routine medical procedures.
I go beyond that to realize the good fortune of my birth; to be born in this country, to my family circumstance, and my access to education, employment, and health-care. Just being at this day and age alone wouldn’t be enough. It makes me wonder what happens to those less-fortunate. Judy and I have excellent health insurance, but it is expensive. The cost of a procedure never enters into our medical decisions. What does a person who needs a heart bypass operation to stay alive, but has no medical insurance or is underinsured, do? Do they get denied treatment and just die? Do they get their symptoms treated at an emergency room and sent home with some nitroglycerine tablets? Do they get fully treated and the cost forgiven, or do they get their lives extended only to be hounded for the rest of their days to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars they can never pay?
Judy and I are part of the fortunate few, so we don’t have to know the answers to these questions, but it feels like we should. Do we live in our cocoon of security unconcerned about anyone outside that shell, or are we part of a larger community?
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