I was extremely moved when I read the article on little Skiler Wright who was injured in a freak car accident which added to the medical challenges this child has had since birth. Being the mother of a premature baby, my eyes filled with tears at her picture in the hospital crib. I remembered the roller coaster of emotions my family went through when our daughter was in intensive care. I am sure that the entire community's heart and soul goes out to this family.

Therefore, I was shocked and horrified when I read the second to the last paragraph which reported that the father's health insurance would cover only a portion of the cost of his daughter's treatment and that he expected huge medical bills.

We, as U.S. citizens, must take a moment to realize that anyone of us can find ourselves in the Wrights' situation on any given day.

It is a crime to think that one of our neighbors should have to even mention or consider medical bills given the stress I am sure this family experiences each day.

Is the answer to Skiler's treatment a plastic container with her picture at the store checkout counter asking for contributions? Or do we hope that the fund set up for her will pay the bills this family now faces? The answer is, we need full access to health care now for our friends and neighbors whose financial security could be bludgeoned by a nasty turn of fate.

We need universal health care coverage today for our fellow citizens to prevent this catastrophic occurrence from happening to another family.

Margo Perry

Algonquin