90 days Post Op and Valuing Vitality!

It's officially been three months since my mitral valve replacement and I am doing GREAT!  The recovery this time around feels like it's been at supersonic speed compared to previous operations.  I am already back to working 30 hours a week, we've moved back into our newly restored home, we've become more socially active beings and we're getting a dog!  Hooray for new beginnings and for thriving!  (I will of course, post copious dog pics once we get him!).  All of this couldn't have been possible without the generous and loving support of our family and friends in the past few months.  The support and accommodation from everyone, especially from our parents, has been immensely humbling and we are deeply grateful.  Thank you.  We are blessed to be surrounded by a support system that values community, life and viatlity.

Today the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress passed a bill to eliminate many of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  Some of these provisions include the protections for people with pre-existing conditions.  Although an amendment to the bill has created funding for high-risk pools, high-risk pools do not guarantee access to healthcare; they subsidize care but there is a cap on the amount of money available to people with pre-existing conditions.  If you consider that my most recent surgery cost roughly $500,000, the $8 billion alloted in the amendement is hardly enough to cover all of the costs of chronic healthcare expenses for all Americans across the country.

As I listened to the radio of the news of the bill passing, I couldn't help but get teary-eyed.  I know this bill still has to be passed in the Senate before it is put into law and it will take some time for it to come into effect.  Despite knowing that, I still felt hurt.  I felt vulnerable!  The bill puts us back into the pre-ACA mentality that it is ok for some people to not be able to afford good health.  It sends the message: you were born with a congenital heart defect so unfortunately you'll be priced out of your access to healthcare, bad luck!

What the discussion on the government's role in healthcare all comes down to is what do we value as a society?  Do we value individual life? Do we value vitality?  Are there some burdens that we take on as a whole, because it makes us stronger as a whole?  I have liberal friends and family and conservative friends and family and I know how all of them would answer because they have, and I am better for it.  We can all agree that there are some things we can't do on our own.  The popularity of Jimmy Kimmel's recent monologue about his son tells me that as a whole, Americans choose community, togetherness and life.

The real question our politicians should be asking is how do we make healthcare affordable for everyone?  Rather than just moving the burden of costs around, how do we bring costs down to make sure no one falls through the net?  It would be so powerful if we could answer these questions in a bi-partisan way.  Let's do it!