25 years of a different kind of war

First, I ask for your forgiveness but I write this story not out of hate for anyone but as a way for us to maybe as how done solve a very big problem.

When I was a child, although I didn't know it my mother relied on income from my father's veterans benefits and social security benefits as well. Up until I was 9 she worked full time too. That's how little the government benefits were for my fathers pension and disability benefits.

When I was 10, my mother and father decided to move to another state and took me along as well, although it seems upsurd now, the second I left my home state of New York I didn't have any health insurance. Neither did my mother. That policy for the most part still exists insurance government policy or not is subjected to change by state lines.

So when we moved to arizona it was official my father had health insurance but none of his family members did.

In 1997 my mother had a stroke. She survived but also I can't say if she was taking her blood pressure medications regularly because I saw her go to a doctor maybe once.

My mother suffered from nerve damage I her left hand with chronic tear jerking pain for the rest of her life. The catholic hospital that she went to in an act of mercy lowered her Bill's to a nice round number of $8,000 dollars.

Meanwhile my father was fighting a different kind of war, a war that he would fight literally to his dieing breath, the fight for the benefits he was owed for being partially paralyzed from Vietnam.

It wasn't easy growing up in a household that relied solely on the 1st and the third and an annual clothing allowance of 700 bucks.

But, you would think my parents could afford healthcare. Wrong again.

My mother had a rare nervous disorder that caused her literally uncontrollable hbp. It wasn't weight, it was pure family genes she was first diagnosed at 22 and weighed 120 pounds.

Your probably asking what's the point of all this? I will never forgive the government for literally making my parents beg for my father's right to have his family have health insurance. He almost had to bury his wife at 49 because my fathers benefits were too much for state medicad and things like champ va or tricare you have to be at a certain disability percentage in order for you and your family to get benefits. The same rule still applies.

Now that we may be ending some of these never ending wars we seriously need to look at how we treat our veterans and there families.

I remember the day my father got a notice in the mail he was loosing part of his benefits because of law changes. He took his flag and threw it in our trash can.

My mother when I entered middle school found what is basically a discounted insurance program for students that thank the lord was being offered at my middle school. I had chicken pox at 13 and still those bills did cause headaches but luckily my father after 25 years from his service and injuries in the vietnam war qualified for healthcare benefits for his whole family.

Yes I acknowledge there has been some improvements like choice act, but we the people need to be more involved in demanding change. Who doesn't have a service member in there family? I would sleep perfectly fine if we give every solider the following things in retirement; housing guarantee not just loans, pension, insurance benefits for all members of the family and education assistance programs.

Don't tell me we can't afford it. 2 trillion for aghstahan 4 trillion covid19 , the politicans control the purse strings, start making them work for the people who truly do make this country a safe place.

But also I write this because this shouldn't be only made attention by Bernie Sanders or Democrats Republicans etc I think veterans care and just healthcare debate solider or not is easy you make change happen. I'm using my voice now and i hope this story has reach because health care va or not its going to cost billions if not trillions and why cant Amazon Google etc just pay there fair share for healthcare? I think we are making it more complicated then it needs to be.