No Money, No Insurance, No Life

Marcus was almost in tears as he hung up the phone. The moment seemed to linger in his head as he could not comprehend the words he had just heard. How could this be? It did not seem possible and he prayed he would awaken to find this was just a bad dream. The news he had just heard replayed in his head like it was on a continuous loop, not stopping but only growing louder. The voice on the other end of the line confirmed Marcus's identity and introduced himself as the county coroner in Colorado. What came next left Marcus in sadness and disbelief. The man spoke in a low tone and Marcus could hear the apprehension in his voice as he said " your father was found deceased today in his Colorado home." The coroner went on with a somber tone in his voice as he explained the circumstances surrounding the death of his father. His father was a widower who lived alone in a small cabin, in a small mountain town in Colorado. Not being able to afford health insurance he constantly struggled with high blood pressure and heart disease. Marcus's step mom had passed away five years earlier from kidney disease that had turned critical and terminal due to alcohol abuse and no health insurance to better manage her ailment. At fifty five she passed. His father was only sixty two but had the health of someone twenty years his senior.

A sudden wave of guilt rushed over Marcus as he recounted all the wasted years he neglected to have a relationship with his father. Marcus was not present in his life due to all his own demons and struggles. In and out of trouble with the law and never living his life on solid ground, spending many years living on the streets or in constant rotation of friends couches when he was lucky. Although he was never in the grips of drugs or alcohol his life situation felt like an embarrassment to his family so he stayed away. Marcus cut off all ties and stayed out of their lives for years with not so much as a phone call to his father or his mother. As the years went on Marcus began to gain control over his life and met a girl who saw past all the previous challenges he had faced. Eventually they settled down and slowly Marcus reconnected with his father who always held Marcus in high regard no matter what his situation in life was or the challenges and bumps Marcus faced in his life's journey. This new chapter in his life blossomed into a strong relationship with his father. Marcus took great comfort in the fact that this friendship developed with his father unlike any relationship he had ever known. He can remember his father proudly proclaiming "who would have thought that I birthed my best friend!"

The years passed and he kept his father close to his heart. One day his father called and told Marcus his step mother was in the hospital with kidney failure and her prognosis was not good. The expectation was she was unlikely to survive the week. A few days later he received the news that she had passed. Marcus was on the next flight from his house on the east coast to be with his father at his home in a small mountain town in Colorado. After the memorial services and a small reunion with family he had not seen in years Marcus made the journey back to the east coast. His life was different now as he was a successful business owner. Although his days were filled with long stressful days of work he kept the thought of his father alone in a small cabin in the Colorado mountains. Marcus made it a point no matter how long his day was to call his father and spend time talking with him. He could only picture his dad sitting in that small cabin alone and depressed. He wanted to make sure his father knew that though they were separated by miles, that Marcus was always thinking of him.

The recession of two thousand and eight was a big hit to Marcus's business as it was to many trying to navigate the financial turmoil of the time. Then at the end of 2010 he saw a market rebound in his area. Success and abundance blessed his business and rained on him like a waterfall. Still, he could not escape the feeling of loneliness and solitude his father must have felt on a daily basis. He decided that a vacation for his father was the perfect answer. Marcus went to work making all the flight plans and arrangements to have his father visit him on the east coast. The plan was ten days of fun and quality time that would allow them to reconnect and allow Marcus to take a step away from the stresses of the daily grind with his business.

It was a great time as they hit all the sites, had incredible meals and quality time to erase the loneliness his father felt as well as a great break for Marcus from the day to day. At the end of the ten days he remembers his father saying " it was the best vacation I have ever taken in my life." When the day came for them to say goodbye Marcus remembers taking his dad to the airport. Standing at the departures terminal he can remember watching his father wheel his small single suitcase into the concourse. Suddenly he was filled with a rush of sadness like a raging river that this may very well be the last time he saw his father alive. As Marcus drove away from the airport tears filled his eyes and streamed down his face. After the vacation the nightly calls continued but turned into video chats as Marcus taught his father of the conveniences of modern technology. One day the video chats stopped as his father was not feeling well and retreated to his bed with fatigue and chest pains. Marcus begged his father to seek medical help but he was met with the rebuttal that he did not have the money nor the heath insurance to see a doctor and he would just "sleep it off."

After a few days his father proclaimed he was feeling better and felt he was on the other side of whatever ailed him. The next day Marcus came home from work and barely set his cell phone on the counter when it started to ring. It was the county coroner on the other end of the line to deliver the news of his father's passing. The following week was a mix of sorrow and grieving as he flew to Colorado to close out his fathers house and handle his affairs. Marcus did this with great regret for all the spent with someone he truly found to be his best friend.