Today, I found myself reflecting on the state of healthcare in many so-called developed nations. It is a strange paradox: countries that pride themselves on progress and prosperity still fail to provide adequate medical care to vast portions of their populations. How can this be?
The reasons are many, but at the heart of it all lies the undeniable truth—healthcare is, for far too many, a luxury rather than a right. The cost alone keeps people from seeking care until they are in crisis, eliminating the possibility of preventative treatment. And when prevention is neglected, what might have been manageable escalates into something far worse.
It is not just the body that suffers. One person’s illness can ripple through an entire family, dragging them into a downward spiral that is nearly impossible to escape. Imagine a household where the primary breadwinner falls ill. Insurance, if they have it, covers only a fraction of what is needed. The illness worsens, work becomes impossible, and the weight of lost income begins to crush the family. The remaining members try to hold everything together—juggling jobs, care-giving, medical bills, and the gnawing fear of what comes next. At first, they manage. Then, as care demands increase, the pressure becomes unbearable. Finances dwindle. Stability crumbles. The future—once hopeful—becomes a fog of uncertainty.
And the emotional toll? Devastating. Exhaustion sets in, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Caregivers become overwhelmed, watching their loved one deteriorate while the system designed to heal instead drains them—of energy, of hope, of everything. Resentment. Depression. Anger. Hopelessness. A storm of emotions brews, and the only relief in sight is the one no one dares to speak of: the release that death brings.
How is this acceptable in a nation that claims to be advanced? Who truly benefits from this relentless cycle? The ones providing treatment? The pharmaceutical companies producing medication that may ease pain, but never cure? Those who profit while others suffer?
I find myself asking, over and over—why? Why does it have to be this way?
Maybe tomorrow I’ll have an answer. But tonight, I'll sit with the question.
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