Sherraye Speaks -- What About The Children?

She said she couldn't breathe. I thought she just wanted to get out of washing the dishes. Later that night, she got worse. I put her in the car and headed to the emergency room. As I was about to hit the entrance ramp to I-95, I thought about the bill. Money was already tight and because I was in the middle of a career transition, I didn't have health insurance. I told my daughter that I would just stop by CVS and get some anti nausea medicine. I thought she just had a stomach flu. She stopped vomiting, but something worse was looming.

The next day, when I got home from work, my daughter was lying in a pool of urine, she was breathing laboriously, and she was non responsive. Still, I thought she was just really, really dehydrated and needed to get some fluids in her system. I called 911, they took her to the ER, I got there a few minutes later and a doctor escorted me to a private area. "Your daughter has diabetes," he announced. "She is in a coma."

I was in shock.

He explained that they were giving her insulin to bring her blood sugar down. I felt so bad and the gravity of the situation had not sunk in. But it was about to.

A chaplain came in to pray with me. That's when I knew something was wrong. I summoned the doctor and asked him why I needed a chaplain. He told me that normal blood sugar is around 140. Your daughter's is 1200. He said that he didn't expect her to make it through the night. She was transferred to Nemours and the prognosis was no better over there. They told me she had 4 maybe 5 hours to live. If she lived, she would be a vegetable because of the swelling of her brain.

It had come to this.

I didn't get her to the Emergency Room sooner because I was worried about the bill. My child almost died because I was worried about how I was going to pay the bill.

Those of you who claim to be Christians but oppose universal healthcare, let me ask you a question. What would Jesus Do? Didn't he say, suffer the little children to come unto me? Doesn't the Bible that you claim to believe in say they who give to the poor lendeth to the Lord? Or did you skip that part? Some of you need to check yourself. You say you are a Christian but you have no compassion for the less fortunate and you have none of the attributes of Jesus. There is no fruit blossoming in your life. You are cold, heartless, and devoid of love. You're not a Christian because you are nothing like Christ.

I looked that doctor in his eyes after he told me my child, my first born, had 5 hours to live and I said to him, "She will be fine." And she was, thanks to the prayers of REAL Christians and the compassion of those wonderful nurses and doctors. My baby is a walking miracle. But you know what? She shouldn't have needed a miracle. I should have been able to take her to the doctor before the crisis hit. In a country as rich as ours, the fact that any man, woman, boy, or girl has died or may die because of lack of finances is ridiculous. If we can spend a billion dollars a month fighting a war then so what if we spend 900 billion dollars to give every American access to quality health care.

So I support MY president in his efforts to provide health care to every American regardless to their financial prowess or socioeconomic status. No one should die or go broke because they can't afford healthcare. If you don't feel the same, then shame on you. Take that cross from around your neck and throw your Bible in the garbage. You obviously don't believe in it.

World AIDS Day

Today folks around the world are celebrating World AIDS Day 2007 the theme of World AIDS Day 2007 (December 1st) is “Leadership”. There is no better time than now for all leaders at all levels to recommit themselves to Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise! People have been participating in their own way all week and today is the culmination of those events.The stats are wild to say the least. As the latest report indicates, over 5700 people died each day from AIDS-related illnesses in 2007. Over 6800 people are still being infected with HIV daily, about 1200 of whom are children under 15 and about 2900 are women 15 years and older. The infection rates in young people ages 15-24 remain frighteningly high. We know these infections and these deaths are preventable and avoidable if promises by countries to scale up access to prevention, treatment, care and support for all are to be fulfilled by 2010. The reduced figures for the HIV epidemic and stabilization in some areas of rates of infection in fact make such universal access by 2010 more achievable. Be sure to visit The World AIDS Campaign official website to find out how to donate to the cause, support the cause in our area, and/or just to educate yourself on the AIDS epidemic in general. It’s not a game out here peoples. Being fabulous is being aware. And to stay the fabulous person you already are…it’s time to take action.