Yesterday, a brave and desperate woman spoke before Congress regarding an important issue in the health care debate: catastrophic health care and its effects.
Kerry Burns testified before a Judiciary sub-committee regarding health care bankruptcy. Kerry and her husband Patrick had a four-year old son, Finnigan, who had cystic fibrosis. For over a year, they and Finn fought the relentless progression of his disease. Additionally, as Finn was fighting the betrayal of his body, his parents were fighting an even more insidious demon.
You may have seen the story on yesterday's Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
The Kerrys lost everything, their jobs, their house, their cars, and most importantly, their little child. In the process, as Finn lay on a hospital bed, dying, they were hounded by collection agencies, forced to declare bankruptcy and basically called deadbeats, even though they were the most beautiful and loving parents anyone could ask for.
I work where Finn was treated and I saw him die. I watched two loving parents living with some hope that he could be cured of the worst of his condition, and then watched as this hope was cruelly taken away. This should be the worst that two parents should face, not the additional insults that they faced even as their dreams were taken away. Finn was a beautiful boy; we all loved and cared for him, and Kerry performed a brave act yesterday before Congress.
Here is the full 1 hour and 40 minute testimony:
http://www.c-span.org/...