"Look Mr. Bush, I'm combing my hair"

[kpete]

Daniel Island toddler continues fight against leukemia
By Elizabeth Bush
Sep 27, 2007, 07:37

"Look Mommy, I’m combing my hair," exclaims three-year-old Daniel Island resident Eli Crowley, as he pulls a small yellow comb across the top of his head. The fact that he doesn’t have any hair is completely irrelevant at the moment.

"I see," responds his mother, Maria, with a bright, encouraging smile.

Eli is perfectly content to play amongst the toys, puzzles and brightly colored drawings that surround him in a patient waiting room for pediatric outpatient hematology/oncology services at MUSC. Thankfully, he and the other young children sharing his playtime are blissfully unaware that they are here for one simple, yet critically important, reason.

To live.

According to CureSearch, an organization part of the National Childhood Cancer Foundation and the Children’s Oncology Group, it is estimated that while more than 12,000 children will be diagnosed with cancer this year, some 3,000 will die from the disease. Maria is concerned that federal funding for childhood cancer research is being cut at a time when it is needed the most.
http://www.thedanielislandnews.com/artman/publish/article_2628.php

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...children will die as a result of Mr. Bush's veto of SCHIP.............Most civilized countries believe that babies and children should receive healthcare. But we are different in the United States. Here we target our most vulnerable--children and the elderly.

more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/29/75241/6738

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This morning Graeme Frost a 12-year-old Baltimore boy, whose family relied on SCHIP, the government-funded insurance program after he and his sister were severely injured in a 2004 car accident, will deliver Democrats' weekly radio address.

This is what Graeme will say. And though Graeme pleads for Mr. Bush to listen, we know Graeme is wasting his breath.

"Hi, my name is Graeme Frost. I’m 12 years old and I live in Baltimore, Maryland. Most kids my age probably haven’t heard of CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program. But I know all about it, because if it weren’t for CHIP, I might not be here today.

"CHIP is a law the government made to help families like mine afford healthcare for their kids. Three years ago, my family was in a really bad car accident. My younger sister Gemma and I were both hurt. I was in a coma for a week and couldn’t eat or stand up or even talk at first. My sister was even worse. I was in the hospital for five-and-a-half months and I needed a big surgery. For a long time after that, I had to go to physical therapy after school to get stronger. But even though I was hurt badly, I was really lucky. My sister and I both were.

"My parents work really hard and always make sure my sister and I have everything we need, but the hospital bills were huge. We got the help we needed because we had health insurance for us through the CHIP program.

"But there are millions of kids out there who don’t have CHIP, and they wouldn’t get the care that my sister and I did if they got hurt. Their parents might have to sell their cars or their houses, or they might not be able to pay for hospital bills at all.

"Now I’m back to school. One of my vocal chords is paralyzed so I don’t talk the same way I used to. And I can’t walk or run as fast as I did. The doctors say I can’t play football any more, but I might still be able to be a coach. I’m just happy to be back with my friends.

"I don’t know why President Bush wants to stop kids who really need help from getting CHIP. All I know is I have some really good doctors. They took great care of me when I was sick, and I’m glad I could see them because of the Children’s Health Program.

"I just hope the President will listen to my story and help other kids to be as lucky as me. This is Graeme Frost, and this has been the Weekly Democratic Radio address. Thanks for listening."

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/09/12year_old_to_give_dems_weekly.html