Health
You, Me and PTSD: I am a Pre-exisiting Condtion.
I didn’t realize it until recently but I have now been educated on the fact that because a man felt I owed him my body, I have now become a pre-existing condition. Yes, you heard that right, I am a rape survivor and now that makes me a liability to health insurance. How so? My medicine is not covered by my insurance. I have to pay out of pocket for my medical marijuana. I do not have access to affordable mental health services through my insurance anymore so I do not utilize them. My “Pre-existing condition” is only treated through insurance if I decide to go back on mind-numbing pharmaceuticals.
My fear is that in a world where victims are too scared to speak up because of social stigma, now they have an additional reason to be stuck in silenceIf you don’t press charges and you never tell anyone, you can keep your insurance. Is this a society we want to live in? One where we live in fear that asking for help and receiving help can render us financially unstable and forever labeled. Most victims face a lifetime with PTSD. It is hard for them to hold down jobs/careers and now they may have to do so while living with an untreated mental disorder. They may lose the right to live a happy fulfilled life again. They are already victims, so why are we continuing to victimize them?!
I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t ask for that stranger to rape me. I didn’t ask for Postpartum depression and anxiety. I didn’t want any of these things. I fight everyday to manage them. You know what I did ask for? I called and asked my Representative Thomas Rooney not to overturn ACA. I asked my representative to represent me and he failed. I asked to be heard as something more than a statistic, I am human and time and time again I have been treated as something less than. I am lucky that I have the support system at home that I do. I am lucky that I have the resources that I have access to. I am lucky that I am able to be “a productive member of society”, but not everyone gets the privileges that I have. So, I will speak for the men and women who can not speak for themselves. We are more than this label they have given us.
Once again, congress has made the choice on our behalf that crucial resources for women are not important enough to fund with OUR taxpayer dollars. First they voted to defund planned parenthood which helps millions of women get the help they need all over the US. Now, they are trying to convince us that this AHCA bill doesn’t specifically target women’s healthcare rights when in the bill it states that things like rape, post pardum depression and c-sections are considered pre-existing. C-sections are something only women can have as well as post pardum. If you have a mother, sister or wife who depends on these resources you should be upset. This isn’t about left vs. right anymore, this is about our rights as human beings and all of our healthcare needs being met. This two sided fight is not benefiting anyone except for congress.
Are you outraged yet? Please call your representative and let them know how you feel. They can ignore a few but they can not ignore the majority. We live in a day and age where social media and the Internet allows for a level of transparency. Once something goes viral it is much more difficult to ignore once it exists. I have found my voice and I refuse to be put back into silence.
Here is a list of some of the pre-existing conditions:
AIDS/HIV, acid reflux, acne, ADD, addiction, Alzheimer’s/dementia, anemia, aneurysm, angioplasty, anorexia, anxiety, arrhythmia, arthritis, asthma, atrial fibrillation, autism, bariatric surgery, basal cell carcinoma, bipolar disorder, blood clot, breast cancer, bulimia, bypass surgery, celiac disease, cerebral aneurysm, cerebral embolism, cerebral palsy, cerebral thrombosis, cervical cancer, colon cancer, colon polyps, congestive heart failure, COPD, Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis, DMD, depression, diabetes, disabilities, Down syndrome, eating disorder, enlarged prostate, epilepsy, glaucoma, gout, heart disease, heart murmur, heartburn, hemophilia, hepatitis C, herpes, high cholesterol, hypertension, hysterectomy, kidney disease, kidney stones, kidney transplant, leukemia, lung cancer, lupus, lymphoma, mental health issues, migraines, MS, muscular dystrophy, narcolepsy, nasal polyps, obesity, OCD, organ transplant, osteoporosis, pacemaker, panic disorder, paralysis, paraplegia, Parkinson’s disease, pregnancy, restless leg syndrome, schizophrenia, seasonal affective disorder, seizures, sickle cell disease, skin cancer, sleep apnea, sleep disorders, stent, stroke, thyroid issues, tooth disease, tuberculosis, ulcers.
Find your Representative and their office information at the link below.
https://callyourrep.co/
Please let me know your experience.
Did you feel heard?
On – 05 May, 2017 By Ashley Aldous
