Part 3 – The Dream Becomes A Nightmare

We were on a vacation in Puerto Vallarta when I started to get extremely bad pains in my back, hot baths, tequila and pain-killers got me through the vacation.

When we got home, I suffered for a few more weeks until it got so bad I couldn’t move. My wife bullied me into going to the Emergency Room, in actual fact I didn’t take too much persuasion. After the usual annoying procedure of proving that we had Insurance, we were granted admission and I was booked in. I was quickly put through many examinations and X Rays and given pain killers to keep me comfortable then a CAT Scan and then we were left for what seemed like hours waiting for some feedback. Then without any preamble a young Doctor walked up to us and said those words nobody ever wants to hear…….”I am afraid that you have got a tumor on your spine, it is cancer”

In fact it was multiple myeloma a cancer of the bone marrow which attacks the bones.

Then with no delay began the usual treatments of chemo and radiation, which were all done with remarkable speed and efficiency over many months. It was thanks to my good Insurance with little or no cost to me.

After the initial treatment I returned to work for four years, the cancer was kept in remission with a daily dose of medication. When I started the drugs in 2001 the cost of the drug was around $2000 for a 28 days supply, my co-pay was only $50, as I write in 2008 the monthly cost is $6500 with my co-pay staying the same, an amazing price rise.

Then came the day that I had to give up work, I worked for a Company who treated me very well when I retired. However this is when the American Dream started to turn into a nightmare. I was eligible for 6 months free medical coverage then a further 6 months at a cost to me of what the Company paid; a substantial hike, especially on an income reduced by 40%. After this period something calls COBRA kicks in for one more year and this is when it gets really expensive, approximately 3 times more than the cost the Company was paying but I would still have coverage.

When COBRA runs out, effectively I am uninsured, yes there is Medicaid, but from what I have found out it is not easy to get coverage even with a terminal disease. I have overhead enough hardship discussions for people being treated at my Oncologists surgery to understand that everything has to be “battled for”.

With a pre-existing condition it becomes almost impossible to get Insurance, some Insures say they will do it, but the cost for good coverage becomes prohibitive.

So my American Dream finally comes to an ignominious end, but luckily I have choices. I can stay in the USA and bankrupt my Family as I cover my treatment, or I can return to the UK where I can get my treatment and medication free.

I do feel like a cheat and a failure, because we never intended to return and life will be much different when we return, but I am grateful that I do have a choice unlike millions of Americans.

If there is a message in my story it is this, in the USA pay for the best Medical Coverage you can afford, and never get really sick because when you do however secure you may feel in your new life, it is as fragile as a Dream which vanishes upon waking.

Never think “it can’t happen to me”, that is what I thought, the UK has many faults but at least the NHS is a safety net for when things go seriously wrong, unlike out here when effectively you are on your own.

As I said to my Wife if I have to die I will do it cheaply in the UK, so she and our sons will continue to have a roof over their heads.

©Colin Watkins