Saturday, June 27, 2009
Day 1 Dispatch (6/27) – Chicago, Illinois to Hammond, Indiana
We had a great launch in
In these dispatches I will be mostly sharing the healthcare stories of real people. Details of the Walk (places visited, meandering thoughts, meditations, etc.) are covered in the Twitter feed (@walk4healthcare). For all stories published here, written consent has been granted for public posting and a full paper trail of such documented. I am deeply grateful for all those who have spoken with me and it is my privilege and obligation to present them to the wider world. These stories speak to the heart, to the mind, and represent, in the fullest sense of the word, the bedrock of “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” which I hope shall not perish from the earth.
Martha: Joined us on the walk. She finds it shameful that a country can’t provide basi
c healthcare for its citizens like any other developed country does. “Civilized nations care for those in need,” she added. She especially noted that the connection of healthcare insurance to employment status was a big problem as it is, of course, not uncommon that those who are sick become subsequently unemployed.
Addison:
Ron: This is a gentleman I met along 
ainting a fence. He waved his hand towards the streets beyond and said, “Yes, there’s many people here without health insurance. Yes, without healthcare.” He shared a story of a old lady he knew who had a change in insurance that now made it too expensive to get her insulin for her diabetes. What happened was that this lady was on Medicare and was in the hospital for some time. An insurance salesman actually met her in the hospital and convinced her to change her insurance (Ron didn’t know the exact name but it was something like “Well Care”). But what happened was that this ‘new’ plan didn’t cover the old lady’s particular type of insulin so she ended up spending out-of-pocket $129 a month for her medication.
Rev. Joseph Felker: Rev. Felker is the Chairman of the Chicago Baptist Institute who I met as I stopped by one of 
their outdoor events. It was a ‘Healthy Walk” event actually. He told me, “we should have had healthcare for the uninsured years ago. It is a travesty but hopefully the change we are seeing is a start.” The Rev. Dr. Clifford Tyler (President of the Chicago Baptist Institute) concurred, saying that, “Healthcare reform is long overdue. With the wealth of this country, it’s a shame that people don’t have healthcare.” They were very nice and gave me a couple bottles of water and lots of best wishes for the journey onward to
Well: those are the people I had a chance to interview along the way. I did me
et a few more people but I had to make time so I could reach
Martha & Sons (including Addison) in Chicago, Illinois
Martha & Sons (including Addison) in Chicago, Illinois
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare
Addison, on the right, is Martha’s older son. He’s a college student who, with evident pride, told me that in the past election he had just voted for the first time. As he embarks on study abroad in Italy this coming fall, he is, despite his glowing patriotism, embarrassed that healthcare for all, as he has learned is the case in Italy, doesn’t exist here in America.
Martha in Chicago, Illinois
Martha in Chicago, Illinois
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare
Martha finds it shameful that America can’t provide basic healthcare for its citizens, like any other developed country does. “Civilized nations care for those in need,” she said. She especially noted that the connection of healthcare insurance to employment status was a big problem. “It doesn’t make sense. If you get sick, you have a greater chance of being unemployed.”
Ron in Chicago
Ron in Chicago
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare
I met Ron along Martin Luther King Drive. He was working at painting a fence. He waved his hand towards the south side streets beyond and said, “Yes, there’s many people here without health insurance.” With a serious look, he turned back towards me. “Yes, without healthcare.”
He shared a story of an old lady from the neighborhood. She had a change in coverage that now made it too expensive to get her insulin for her diabetes. “It was all very fishy business,” Ron told me. This lady, on Medicare, was in the hospital for some time. An insurance salesman came to her hospital bed and convinced her to change her coverage (Ron couldn’t recall the exact name but he told me it sounded, “Something like ‘Well Care’”). What happened was that this ‘new’ plan didn’t cover the old lady’s particular type of insulin so, with her ‘brand-new’ private supplemental insurance plan in place, she ended up now spending $129 a month, out-of-pocket, for her medication. The insurance salesman is gone and now she’s struggling, Ron tells me, on top of her fight to stay well, to piece together her wrecked insurance and financial situation.
Clifford in Chicago
Clifford in Chicago
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare
Sitting next to Rev. Felker was Rev. Dr. Tyler. He concurred, saying that, “Healthcare reform is long overdue. With the wealth of this country, it’s a shame that people don’t have healthcare.” They, and the others, were all very nice. They passed me a couple bottles of water and many best wishes (and prayers) for the journey onward to Washington, DC.
Rev. Joseph Felker of the Chicago Baptist Institute
Rev. Joseph Felker of the Chicago Baptist Institute
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare
Stopping by the Chicago Baptist Institute, I met Rev. Felker, the Chairman of that organization. A crowd was gathered and they were hosting an outdoor event—a ‘Healthy Walk” event actually. He told me, “We should have had healthcare for the uninsured years ago. It is a travesty, a true travesty, but hopefully the change we are seeing is a start.”
Television Coverage of the Walk for Healthcare's Chicago Launch 6/27/09
ABC7 Chicago
CBS2 Chicago
NBC5
WGN-TV
CBS2 Chicago
NBC5
WGN-TV
The Walk for Health Care has begun
This morning at 8:00 a.m., Chicago time, Dr. Ogan Gurel began his "Walk for Healthcare." He was joined by his wife, other supporters, as well as members of the media.
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