My best friend from Las Vegas has died at 27 for lack of healthcare

[sfpcjock]

Can’t think very well today. My http://michaelwieser.blogspot.com/">best friend, Michael, from Las Vegas has died from lack of healthcare at the age of 27, so I made a memorial blog for him. Did you see the 60 Minutes piece on Sunday about LV?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dQlzGwxB6GU/SdjoDBcxPQI/AAAAAAAABi8/Q9kip4liAK8/s400/Michael+suit+smiling.jpg

There’s a couple of short news videos posted there about his life there worth seeing. He was just starting out and unable to pay for the specialized medicine for his Wilson’s disease. So, Mike took over-the-counter zinc instead of the $350 per month RXs he was supposed to. It’s very sad and hard to bear. Here is his other memorial site: http://remembermichaeltroy.com/">RememberMichaelTroy.com.

[cali]

1. my deepest condolences. I'm so sorry about the

unnecessary death of your friend. hang in there.

:hug:

[ccharles000]

2. ...

:hug:

[Hello_Kitty]

3. I am so sorry!

:hug:

I did see 60 Minutes and was outraged. Universal, single payer health care NOW!

[hedgehog]

4. This is terrible. The worst part is that he looks so alive in the photo.

It is hard for me to comprehend that this person I never met is now dead.

[sfpcjock]

5. Here's the 60 Minutes piece from Sunday

which was also about Las Vegas and around the country.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml">The Recession's Impact: Closing The Clinic
Due to state budget cuts, a Nevada public hospital closes outpatient chemotherapy clinic, leaving cancer patients searching for treatment, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley reports. More...

[Bozita]

18. That's MUST SEE TV. 60 Minutes sounded an alarm to ALL Americans ...

... and the message came through loud and clear!

[Delphinus]

26. I watched it and cried.

:cry:

His death is on the insurance companies and the pharmaceuticals and the fucking politicians. :mad:

I am sorry for your loss. May his death make some comes to their senses; may it not be in vain. :hug:

[Ken Burch]

33. And on Rush Limbaugh.

Oxycontin Boy signed this young man's death warrant in 1994, when he killed THAT healthcare reform plan.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

37. I didn't know he was that powerful.

[Ken Burch]

43. He went after the Clinton healthcare plan day after day.

Rush has as much blood on his hands for the victims of non-universal healthcare as anyone else on the Harsh Right.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

44. I don't listen to him I wouldn't know.

[Ken Burch]

45. Rush was everywhere on this back in '94.

He still had the TV show then as well. It was hard to avoid him.

Trust me, Rush bears a huge share of the blame and the shame.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

46. I think you give him to much credit.

[Fumesucker]

52. There were restaurants down here that had "Rush Rooms" back then..

They were advertising on the same stations that carried the pompous gasbag, you could nourish your body and your mind at the same time.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

78. Learn something new everyday.

[Faygo Kid]

63. I agree.

Rush Limbaugh has the blood of many on his hands. And he revels in it. Loves it. Sick bastard.

[no name no slogan]

64. Clinton's 1994 health plan sucked.

All it did was consolidate health insurance into the hands of the five biggest and richest insurance companies. It did NOT provide universal coverage and would have allowed them to ghettoize the sick into substandard plans.

One of the big myths of the Clinton plan was that it provided universal care. It did not. It simply gave more power to big insurers at the expense of medium- and smaller-sized insurers and the insureds themselves.

[Ken Burch]

82. Clinton's plan did have a lot of problems

Still, a lot of people who didn't have coverage in the last fourteen years would have had it had it passed. And the campaign against that plan, flawed as the plan was, was so successful that it took healthcare reform off the agenda until now.

[DBoon]

60. people/businesses move to LV from CA for lower taxes

Their lower taxes come at the expense of people dieing painfully from cancer

[Vidar]

6. I'm very sorry.

[renate]

7. I'm so sorry

What a tragedy--so unnecessary. Being denied a transplant because of "non-compliance" when he was doing the best he could without insurance... absolutely infuriating. It sounds like he was a wonderful guy--I am so sorry that your grief is surely compounded by the fact that this shouldn't have happened in a country like the United States. :hug:

[AndyA]

8. This is so sad.

How disgraceful that in a country like ours, people are forced to suffer and die untimely and unnecessary deaths because they can't afford health care. Every single person in our government who has not made health care for all a priority has failed their constituents.

There is simply no excuse for this.

It's sad that this young man never got the chance to live his life. I hope his untimely death serves to make the need for health care more obvious to those who don't seem to get it.

RIP, Michael. I'm sorry for your loss, sfpcjock.

[sfpcjock]

9. Thanks all.

Thanks all.

It seems even more difficult when young people who are just starting out die for almost no reason. The mind boggles.

If there was an insurance pool Michal was accepted into then 29,999 healthy people could help pay for the medicine for the 1 who needs it desperately and cannot afford it. The system as is here, is just absurd. It must change.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. Tragic.

[OhioChick]

11. I'm so sorry for your loss.

:hug:

[polly7]

12. I'm so sorry.

[Vinca]

13. That's so sad.

Even if you have insurance you're screwed in this country. Just talked to a guy who had prostate surgery who is covered by insurance. He was in the hospital for 23 hours and the cost was $70,000. While insurance paid a chunk of it, he's now on the hook paying off medical bills to the tune of $500 a week. He's just hanging on, but at least he survived the system.

[tblue37]

30. I have to have surgery this summer. I have had a number of lab tests, MRIs, CT scans,

and X-rays this past year, and already it has cost me a couple thousand dollars. I know that the surgery on my neck (for stenosis of the spinal column) will run me a whole lot more. And here's the thing: I probably have better insurance than most through my employer, a large midwestern state university. But as premiums go up, so do co-pays, while what is covered decreases. I think my insurance won't stop billing me for hefty co-pays on everything until I have paid $5,000.

I don't make that much money, and during the summer my income drops to about $650/month, so I have to scrimp and save during the 9 1/2 months I do get a check in order to survive over the summer. I now have so many health problems that I can't get jobs through a temp agency for the summer any more, either, since I can't physically do most jobs any longer.

I am really worried about how I am going to pay for this surgery, since I am still paying off the bills from all the lab tests, CT scans, X-rays, and MRIs. Also, the tutoring and freelance editing I do in the summer is going to be hard to manage during the month following my surgery, while I am wearing a surgical collar and not able to drive to appointments or lean over books and papers.

I also need surgery on my lower back, but I can put that off (I hope) until I get the neck surgery paid off.

Since I face such financial hardship with "good" insurance, I absolutely shudder to think of what people with bad insurance--or no insurance at all--suffer!

[malaise]

14. Very sad - deepest sympathy

Michael Troy passed away on February 25 at 7:33p.m. CST

[TBF]

15. Very sad & preventable.

Single payer health care NOW.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. That is horrendous! :^(

[Runcible Spoon]

17. This is just so sad...

I would like to see the fucking private healthcare industry apologists get their asses on this thread and ANSWER how this is OK! It is a CRIME that your friend lost his life! No less than a CRIME!

:cry:

[sfpcjock]

73. Thank you

It looks like he could have been maintained on the drug Pennacillamine for about $90 per month. I didn't realize that the economy was so shaken that he couldn't get any work and had no healthcare plan to pay for his medication. I feel incredibly sad and stupid that I was not able to help him with it since the last time I saw him in October, 2008.

[Runcible Spoon]

80. Don't you dare blame yourself!

The greedy healthcare industry and our government's inertia and corruption killed him.

[reggie the dog]

19. that is horrible

I feel so bad for you folks who live in such a country.

[jtrockville]

20. Developed nations don't let this kind of atrocity to happen.

So sorry to hear of this tragedy.

[applegrove]

21. What a tragedy.

[progressoid]

22. .

:grouphug:

[DearAbby]

23. I am so sorry for your loss

and at a loss of words, I am so angry and saddened at the same time. What a waste of potential. My thoughts are with you and his family.

[PA Democrat]

24. I am so sorry for your loss, sfpcjock

and so angry that the insurance companies' profits take precedence over the life of your friend. This has to stop.

[noiretextatique]

25. tragic and so sad

my condolences to you and Michael's family. shameful that this is still happening in "the richest country in the world."

[pleah]

27. So very sorry.

[barbtries]

28. so sorry

so young :cry:

[rosesaylavee]

29. ...

:hug:

[question everything]

31. So sorry for your loss

Yes, I watched "60 minutes" shuddering.

And after that story, CBS came with the recent news: a new movie pulled in some $70 million in one weekend. Where are our priorities?

[SammyWinstonJack]

54. "Where are our priorities?" Right where Corporate America wants them, bottom line profits.

x( I watched "60 minutes" also and was furious!

[eridani]

32. Remember "Win one for the Gipper"?

Let's win universal health care for Michael. I'm sorry for your pain--knowing someone personally is way different than some abstract statistic like 18,000 people a year die because they can't afford health care.

[sfpcjock]

74. Thank you

Thank you. I hope that I can be some help in doing what you say with Michael story. I'll be looking for ways to participate and tell people more about what wonderful man he was and how much we miss him.

[Ken Burch]

34. I am saddened by your loss, and enraged at those who caused it.

Your friend was murdered in the name of Big Pharma's profits.

[Ken Burch]

35. For those unfamiliar with your friend's illness(Wilson's disease)

Here's the Wikipedia link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson%27s_disease

[Imagevision]

36. My cardiologist said I needed heart surgery then found out I was switched from

medicaid to medicare and had the balls to inform me my problem just seemed to disappear - is that rich or what?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

38. Did you get a second opinion?

[Sgent]

48. That doesn't make sense (at least from a financial sense)

Since Medicare pays more in almost all cases... sometimes by a factor of three or more.

[uppityperson]

49. That was my thought also. Medicare pays much better than medicaide

[supernova]

71. PLease get a 2nd opinion

Coming from a fellow cardiac patient.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

39. Sorry for your loss.

[jennied]

40. I have tears in my eyes. I'm so sorry.

[fortyfeetunder]

41. I am so sorry and simply devastated

that such a promising young man's live was cut tragically and needlessly short. My condolences to you and to his family.

:hug:

[NorthernSpy]

42. I am so sorry, sfpcjock!

:cry:


The system let him die.

[Contrary1]

47. My sympathies to you and Michael's families...

I copied the story, along with the links to the television and newspaper coverage, and sent it to President Obama. Maybe something good can come from it.

[sfpcjock]

76. Thank you

Thank you, Contrary. I think I will do the same. Right now it is day 4 for me. I cannot imagine how the huge Wieser family must all feel who have known since February 25 about Michael. They are such a special group of 12 adopted kids including Michael who was number seven. He was such a special guy--so strong and kind to everyone. I feel especially devastated because I never got to speak with him before he died.

I know we must go forward and live without Mike and use our lives to help other people and bless them and theirs as Mike did in his short life so many times.

[sfpcjock]

88. Thanks Contrary1

Thanks, I started emailing Michael's story to my senators in Nevada and California today. I didn't do Sen. Ensign (R) of Nevada or Rep. Daryl Issa (R), Kollyfornia yet cause it feels like informing the enemy. E.g.:

The Honorable Barbara Boxer:

My best friend, MICHAEL TROY WIESER from Las Vegas has died at age 27 from Lack of access to Healthcare. I just found out about Mike a few days ago and wanted to get the word out about it.

Thank you for looking at the Memorial website and resource page I made for him. It contains newspaper accounts, videos and a slideshow of his life hosted on Picasaweb.

www.MICHAELWIESER.blogspot.com

Peace,
Bob Gries

What do you think?

[democrank]

50. So sorry, sfpcjock.

Rest in peace, Michael.

[NikolaC]

51. I'm So Sorry For Your Loss

:hug:We desperately need Universal healthcare. So many are afraid to get sick, don't know what to do when they are faced with an illess, or don't have the insurance. It SHOULD NOT be this way. There is no care in our current "healthcare" system and it needs to be changed completely. I am so sorry for the loss of your friend.

[Fumesucker]

53. My sympathies and condolences on the loss of your friend..

I realize there is nothing anyone can say but I feel compelled to reply anyway..

:hug:

[Kaylee]

55. This is so horrible, and is happening too often in this country.

I am so sorry for your loss.

We have to change the system. The insurance companies have been able to deny coverage to too many people by using the words "pre-existing condition". It breaks my heart that people are dying everyday from illnesses that can be successfully treated.

[sfpcjock]

79. Thank you.

Thank you. You got it exactly right.

[fasttense]

56. Help me, or I will die............

[tomm2thumbs]

57. Hopefully his struggles have given way to a better place - sorry you lost your friend

That was very thoughtful of you to do the memory blog - he had a great friend in you - and your caring was no doubt appreciated by him.

[Fire1]

58. What a handsome young man. This is tragic.

More evidence of the urgency of health care reform.

[Mad_Dem_X]

59. How tragic! My sincere condolences.

[ThatsMyBarack]

61. HEALTHCARE! NOT! HEALTH INSURANCE!

FUCK THE GREEDY PIG$$$$$$!!!!!! :mad:

[sfpcjock]

83. RIGHT!

Thank you.

[graywarrior]

62. We are fighting our own battle just to stay healthy in this country

I am so sorry to hear about your friend. It is a CRIME he could not afford medication to live.

[Irishonly]

65. My condolances

I am so sorry.

[Dinger]

66. My Sincerest Sympathies

Sad. Insurance should be a right, not a privilege.

[sfpcjock]

84. I know.

Thank you. Health CARE as opposed to "health insurance" where companies basically are allowed to insure an unreasonable bottom line for themselves is in fact a safety net below which the citizens have the right to not fall below--as Michael did. See, we ask a lot of people, to be strong, to be self-reliant and this is good, but they also have the right to survive when the hard times come. This recession which has been going on for 18 months or more now is clearly one of those times.

[Dinger]

85. I Lost My Best Friend 3 And A Half Years Ago

My Green Bay Packer buddy, my confidant, my friend. She didn't have the best insurance, but she had some. Here's to you Sliv!

[Kajsa]

67. I am so sorry, Sfpcjock!

This should never have happened!

My condolences to you, his family and friends.

:hug: :grouphug:

[sfpcjock]

89. Thank you

It is hard to get over a thing like this. Michael was special to everyone who met him.

[mnhtnbb]

68. That is just so sad. I am so very sorry for your loss. The greed

of the insurance cos and big pharma in this country has gotten completely out of hand. It is criminal
that politicians can find trillions of dollars to blow up other countries and enrich the military industrial complex, but not find the resources to give the citizens of this country health care at a reasonable cost.

[panAmerican]

69. He also died of a lack of compassion

Why, with all the people advocating on his behalf, was the system so slow to respond and finally take steps to do something to save his life?

What stupefies me the most is that "compliance" bullsh!t of an excuse for the transplant, when he obviously couldn't get medical coverage. And even if he were able to, how many plans are going to cover $3,000's worth of medications each and every month? If you're paying out of pocket, I don't see how you could even come up with that much unless you're making north of $150K/year.

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like all of you tried to move heaven and earth for him. Michael must have been a wonderful guy for so many people to care so deeply.

[sfpcjock]

86. Thank you

Thank you. I just found out about Michael four days ago and it's very raw for me. But I can hardly imagine the pain of his nine siblings and mother who flew out to Las Vegas from La Crescent, MN and La Crosse, WI to be with him when upon finally locating a transplant center in Rochester, MN and life-flighting him back there--sans plasmophoresis and dialysis, I might add--he became unresponsive within a day and died. It must be unimaginable for them.

[Xenotime]

70. We need healthcare for everyone NOW

Obama needs to get back here and fix the problems of THIS land. This pisses me off.

[sarcasmo]

72. That sixty minutes piece was heart breaking and hit to close to home. My ill wife may be with out

Insurance as of May. I feel for your situation I really do.

[TheBigotBasher]

75. My deepest condolences.

[Haole Girl]

77. Very sad

He had a wonderful smile.

:hug:

[iris27]

81. Your friend at 27, my uncle at 46...how many more

early, needless deaths lie at the feet of our broken healthcare system?

My deepest sympathies.

[sfpcjock]

87. Thank you.

Thanks. It's pretty hard for me now, and you can imagine how his 9 siblings and Mom felt coming out to Las Vegas where he could not get on the transplant list for some technicality, and then accompanying Mike back to Rochester Minnesota on a military transport--sans plasmaphoresis or kidney dialysis, I might add--to see his vital signs rally and fall on the following day. They saw him die that evening... this guy of seeming superhuman strength whom they loved to evaporate from the earth before their eyes.

What I see is the absolute need for a safety net such as Canada, Britain, France, Germany, and on and on have below which people are not allow to fall for any excuse such as a severe recession that most could even anticipate. I think that the system blatently failed Mike. I hope we can use his example to spur change in this venue.

These phenomena of nature in our lives are nevertheless actually trained NOT to ask for help, and we encourage it and admire them for their independence. Then it is that the net catches them for the world to continue to appreciate.

Thank you for your concern.
Bob in San Diego