Why I Am So Passionate About ACA/Obamacare ~ by Lynne Smith

Lynne Smith

It strikes me that while I have been lucky that you all have just folded me into your group, because we all have a common, which is to support President Obama's agenda, it might interest you why I am so passionate about ACA/Obamacare. I would like to tell you my story. You have my permission to share it with anyone you are trying to convince about the need for ACA and whether or not it will be effective.

In early 2000, I developed cysts under my right arm. My father had died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma so I am sure you can understand my fear when I felt multiple lumps under my arm. They turned out to be benign, but I began to go down a road that would forever impact my life. At the time I had life by the tail a they say. I had a Master's Degree in Clinical Social Work and loved being a therapist and helping people effect the changes they wanted in their life. I was about 40 pounds over weight, but otherwise with the exception of these cysts or lumps I was in great health.

When I went to the doctor I was given a medication called Levaquin. I was told it was a relatively new drug and that it was used for a variety of infections and would quickly take care of the cysts. Well, it did. i did notice however during the same two week period that I had horrific pain in my legs. I brought it up to the doctor and she told me I should go to the gym and start a work-out program and lose the excess weight. So, that is what I did. I remember standing on the treadmill, with pain in my right ankle and both calves that felt like someone was sticking a pitch fork in my leg. I kept with it day after day and after 20 to 30 minutes of this excruciating pain, my legs would just go kind of numb.

While the medication for the cysts seemed to work, six weeks later they were back an I was prescribed Levaquin again. My legs were still hurting and I found that when I went to the mall to shop ( oh yes, I loved to shop), I would have to sit down on the benches all the time to rest to regroup from the pain. The cysts returned 12 times in 18 months and each of those times I was either given Levaquin or Cipro. In 2003, I was working at a university and got $900.00 in parking tickets, because I simply could not walk from the employee parking lot to my building. I was gaining weight because I could not move much, but I was so embarrassed at my inability to walk, and my shame at gaining weight, that I just listened to the lectures from my doctor about the need to exercise and paid the tickets.

By 2004, I could only walk less than 250 steps. That is the number of steps from the closest parking spot at the mall, to the first bench. I would count those steps and internally just force myself to keep going. By 2005, I could only walk 100 steps. By 2006, I was no longer working and could walk less than 50 steps at a time. I tried to get insurance, but my weight and the cysts kept me from being eligible. It was a vicious circle.

Finally in 2008, I purchased horrible insurance, I think it was called limited liability. Basically, it paid for five doctor's appts a year and so much per day if you were hospitalized. That was the year I was diagnosed with levaquin toxicity syndrome. It seems that the antibiotics I had taken to help me, hurt me, because a drug company failed to reveal the devastating effect this medication can have on ligaments and tendons.

In 2010 I developed lymphadema. I really went downhill. I was taken to the emergency room by ambulance because if you swell up to much, you can get looney in the head...lol! The ER sent me home, pretty sure it was because my insurance was no good. My son, begged me to return to the ER two weeks later on the night of his graduation, because he was afraid I would be dead before he got home. You know something, he was almost right.

This time when I got to the hospital, I had a different doctor and he admitted me immediately. I was in the hospital 2 weeks and a nursing home for 2 months. No, I am not a senior citizen...this happened at the ripe old age of 49.

When I heard about ACA I was thrilled. When I found out that there was a program for people with pre-existing illnesses I cried. It was simple to get the insurance. They didn't care about my illness, my weight, they only asked me for my age. That is how my premium was figured. For the last 2 years I have paid $300.00 per month for insurance.

It changed my life. I was on 24 hour oxygen for the first year. I found out I had apnea. i was able to go to pain management and get help for my levaquin toxicity syndrome. I went to physical therapy. In December 2012 I had gastric sleeve surgery. You see if you can't move, you can't burn calories. When I was hospitalized in 2010 they explained to me I was malnourished, way overweight, but malnourished. Since December I have lost 150 lbs and I have some to go. My lymphedema is better. I no longer need Oxygen. I have a scooter and can do my own grocery shopping. I can get in a car. I will never walk again due to the damage the levaquin did to my system, but I have a quality of life, I thought I would never regain. More important than that, because of President Obama and his willingness to stand in the gap and say health care should be a right not a privilege I will have the opportunity to live, to see my son marry, and to help others. Thanks for reading. I hope it will help others.