Americans must take care of each other

At the age of 50 I made the decision to go back to school and become a nurse. During my clinical times as a student I saw patients who could not get the care that they needed because their Medicare coverage had expired for the year. They required hospitalization at a much higher cost because their Medicare insurance would not cover the procedure in a clinic.

How much money could have been saved and how much anxiety could have been prevented if the needed care could have been taken care of when it was initially needed? I am not sure that the American public realizes the actual coverage that is available to our senior citizens through Medicare. When our parents were working hard to provide for our futures and plan their retirement I do not think they could possibly have foreseen the cost of health care and health insurance. How many seniors who have worked honestly their whole lives are now required to make decisions on their health care that are based on whether they can afford it or not.

How many American families have to forego treatment for their children because they cannot afford it? Is one child more valuable than another because of the income status of their parents?

I find it amazing that we as a country spend billions of dollars around the world to make sure that others are taken care of. How much money is spent fighting wars in distant lands for people we will never know.

I do not know all of the answers, but I do know that something has got to change. We need to take care of our own children, who have no say in where they live, and seniors who have worked hard their whole lives.

They deserve more.

Angelika Krawczyk

Rolling Meadows