Maggie
October 23rd, 2009 | Uncategorized
Thanks to Liza for her comment on the last post about our blog pal Maggie, who’s in the hospital after emergency surgery. Go to her blog for updates or to make a donation–like 47 million other people in this country, she has no health insurance.
23 Responses to “Maggie”
If Maggie lived in Europe or Canada she would not be in this situation. The insurance companies will not ever let her have insurance because of pre-existing conditions. As a matter of fact the operation she opted for would not have cost $20,000. Due to the arrangements between insurers and hospitals the cost would have been closer to $10,000 (still not cheap).
I’m lucky I have insurance through my Govt. retirement plan. It isn’t cheap but when my wife had $250,000 in bills at the local hospital I only had about $2,000 out of pocket.
Let’s hope Congress passes a health care bill that isn’t useless. In the meantime go to Maggie’s blog and give what you can. A lot of recovery is psychological and if Maggie knows she has a lot of people thinking about her it will help immensely.
Thanks Alison. Maggie is really in trouble and needs help from her community. Which is us.
So pony up, my friends, and keep on pressing for the public option. But it won’t come in time for Maggie. Not this time.
It’s very strange for someone like me, brought up in Britain with the NHS free at the point of use, to think of a hospital throwing someone out who isn’t properly healed. I can’t think of a doctor I’ve worked for who would stand for it, especially vulnerable people.
It’s awful and I really hope that Obama et al can get something workable through the system. Either that or emigrate to Canada?
Folks,
As much as this is a glaring and personal example of the travesty that is a country without health care for all, and as tempting as it is to lament that, what we need are donations for Maggie.
She needs our help not only for the immediate hospital costs, but also to cover living expenses. She will be unable to work for upwards of 10 weeks, and the medical leave is unpaid.
Sorry to be an asshole, in my first paragraph, but the best thing we can all do is give and give generously.
I spoke to Maggie briefly the other day, and she sounded exhausted (my fault–called as she was falling asleep) but positive about her operation and recovery.
Let’s make sure that she gets her full recovery.
Hi friends, I don’t do PayPal or credit cards. Does anyone know if there is a way that I can make a donation to Maggie via a PO Box or to Jesse Wendel or to Maggie directly in the form of a check or money order??? To send me a postal mailing address privately, please email me at ready2agitateatgmaildotcom. Ready & waiting to help.
@R2A
Jesse posted the info below at groupnewsblog.net for those who don’t do PayPal:
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To send Maggie cash please send a Check or Money Order made payable to Group News Blog, to Group News Blog, PO Box 809, Bellevue, WA 98009. In the MEMO field write: Maggie Jochild. Please do NOT make it out to Maggie. She has no way to get to the bank and, for now at least, we’re not set up for items made payable directly to Maggie. Stuff for GNB we can transfer via PayPal to Maggie in moments, and then transfer directly to her bank account. (The ideal method is PayPal donation direct to Maggie but whatever works for y’all.) At the moment we’re assuming ALL donations to GNB are for Maggie (so even if someone forgets to fill in the memo field it’ll still get transferred to her PayPal account.)
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Done. I wish there was a way to have the jerks against the public option put in Maggie’s situation for a week or two or three. Assholes.
Donation done yesterday – sent as much as I could and hope it helps Kat.
Just a grammar mix-up to point out. When I first read the post, I thought Alison was saying to send money like 47 million other Americans. My first thought was well it sounds like she’s got 47 million donations and does not need more. But then I realized Alison was referring to Maggie being among 47 million Americans without health coverage.
I like how the word “asshole” has been used so much in response to this post (one in four replies) and just wanted to get that word used again.
Thanks, Ian, and sorry for yelling.
Speaking of assholes (the literal anal orifice variety in our physical bodies, not the metaphoric variety in our legislative bodies), Maggie wrote a poem the other day about working on passing gas. She dictated it to Jesse, who posted it at groupnewsblog.net.
Here it is:
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2. Here’s a poem Maggie “wrote” days ago, working on passing gas:
Forgive me
For not eating the plums
That were in the refrigerator
They looked so cold
And delicious
But if I had
My stomach would have exploded.
Apologies to
William Carlos Williams
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Maggie has been dictating posts to Jesse, check out maggiesmetawatershed.blogspot.com (hope deleting all the URL-ish stuff allows this to get through the >= two-URL content filter).
@Suzanonymous: I read it that way, too. I’d felt bad about having taken so long to send my donation; imagine how much worse I felt about my tardiness when I thought 47,000,000 Americans (and heaven knows how many other people) had beaten me to it.
Thanks for the info. on sending a non-PayPal donation. This is where the rubber meets the road. Our friend is in need.
Please please help: I just would like to be reassured that I didn’t mix my donation to Maggie up: the confirmation e-mail read that I have made a donation to “Mary”: is that correct?
Plus a small and sad notation from a country that purpotedly has got public health: it works better for rich and educated and socially included people. It works in richer areas–in depressed areas of the country you get horrible service or no service at all. It works better for some things than for others.
But all of these things tend to be obscured by the rhetoric that, indeed, you have public service and universal coverage.
Laura – yup, that’s correct.
@Ginjoint: Thanks. Hope Maggie will be fine soon.
Is there anyway that Maggie’s case can be highlighted to the media or Steve’s who is mentioned on her site? Surely no one could know this and think that a public health bill would be wrong!?!? It sounds very Dickensian with the attitudes of “undeserving poor” – People are poor or don’t have health insurance because of personal weakness and undesirable personality traits??!!??
I have stopped listening to the retoric that comes from the right about this – so I have no idea if there is any legitimacy in their case – I hope and guess not!?
American tourists in the UK have always given me the impression they feel we have Victorian ( if not shakesperean) health care and dentistry in Britain – hence cautionary tale of the “Book of British Smiles”. But Hurricane Katrina and the fallout of information from this bill shows me that America has a clean face but very dirty knickers in the health and social care department. Why does the US give so much in foreign aid when some charities meant to provide health care in the developing world are working almost exclusively in the US because of the desperate need. Surely aid is needed at home – and would be best provided in an effective healthcare entitlement bill. People should not be dying of curable diseases and ailments anywhere in the world let alone in a super power!
Shame allyou opponents – SHAME!
I disagree with Maggie on just about everything, but she’s a valued member of this community and I’m glad to help. No one should ever be kicked out of the hospital before they’re ready to leave.
done and done.
I don’t disagree with Maggie about everything…
Anyway, donation made. I hope I’m #47,000,001.
Ahhh, the troll’s back. Don’t feed it everybody!
Mission: Donation for Maggie
Result: Mission successful : )
Quick question – is Maggie eligible for Medicaid and/or SSI? Perhaps these Gov. programs could help a bit.