“The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”
— In Speech to Democratic National Convention on Aug. 12, 1980, shortly after his failed bid for the presidency.
We thank Senator Kennedy for his strength and courage. Despite his own family’s tragedies and personal wealth, he never stopped fighting one of the toughest political battles of the past century. Just one month before his tragic passing, Ted Kennedy retells his lifelong passion for health care reform in an extremely moving piece for Newsweek.
In one of the story’s most emotional and heart-shattering moments, Kennedy recalls one of his own family’s many medical battles: his then 12-year-old son Teddy’s struggle with bone cancer. While his son was undergoing the cancer treatments that eventually saved his life, Senator Kennedy encountered many fellow parents who, like the Kennedy’s, had a child with a terminal diagnosis. Unlike the Kennedy’s, however, many of these parents were faced with the torment — in the richest nation in the world — of not being able to afford the treatments that could save their own children’s lives:
“Nothing I’m enduring now can compare to hearing that my children were seriously ill. In 1973, when I was first fighting in the Senate for universal coverage, we learned that my 12-year-old son Teddy had bone cancer. He had to have his right leg amputated above the knee. Even then, the pathology report showed that some of the cancer cells were very aggressive. There were only a few long-shot options to stop it from spreading further. I decided his best chance for survival was a clinical trial involving massive doses of chemotherapy. Every three weeks, at Children’s Hospital Boston, he had to lie still for six hours while the fluid dripped into his arm. I remember watching and praying for him, all the while knowing how sick he would be for days afterward.
During those many hours at the hospital, I came to know other parents whose children had been stricken with the same deadly disease. We all hoped that our child’s life would be saved by this experimental treatment. Because we were part of a clinical trial, none of us paid for it. Then the trial was declared a success and terminated before some patients had completed their treatments. That meant families had to have insurance to cover the rest or pay for them out of pocket. Our family had the necessary resources as well as excellent insurance coverage. But other heartbroken parents pleaded with the doctors: What chance does my child have if I can only afford half of the prescribed treatments? Or two thirds? I’ve sold everything. I’ve mortgaged as much as possible. No parent should suffer that torment. Not in this country. Not in the richest country in the world.”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/207406
