This was supposed to be a post about today being the 22nd anniversary of the day I got hit by a car and left by the side of the road. However, I can’t seem to write about that right now. Not because it is too painful, but because something else has eclipsed that.
A friend just got diagnosed with stage four cancer. Incurable. This comes after being sick for months while our broken healthcare system dragged its feet on tests to find out what was wrong. Months of feeling terrible but not going to a doctor because he knew he couldn’t afford it, even with insurance.
I know this situation is not about me, but I am so angry. I don’t know if an earlier diagnosis could have made a difference, but I do know it would have enabled him to get treatment that his body is now incapable of receiving.
I am angry for his partner of over 30 years. That she has to watch a person she loves get painfully ripped from this life.
I am angry for him. I know, firsthand, this anger. This fear. This confusion and bewilderment. I only knew it briefly when tests showed a mark on my liver, and it was thought that my cancer had freakishly metastasized. It turned out to be nothing, but I can imagine and empathize. I can imagine the hopelessness as that diagnosis is not taken away.
This town and so many people will be lesser without his presence. I am closer friends with his girlfriend, but he is an institution in this area. This will have ripple effects for a long time.
