At the end of February of 2018, my mom got a call from one of my aunts. My aunt said that my grandpa was in the hospital. My mom started crying and I ran to the shared room of me and my sister to tell her the news. We hugged each other and cried.
The next day, my mom and I went on a greyhound bus and headed towards Escondido to go see my grandpa. We stayed for a few days and spent all of our time at the hospital hoping my grandpa’s condition would improve. Before this, my grandma and grandpa were trying to get medical insurance, but since he had an incident and went to the hospital, the process was halted. My grandma was having issues with getting the insurance papers done. My grandpa, being in critical condition, wasn’t helping her with the whole process of completing it.
My mom, aunts, and uncles had to discuss how much they were all going to pitch in to pay for the medical bills and possibly for the funeral, since my grandpa’s condition didn’t seem to improve.
Days later he was pronounced brain dead and taken off life support. My family had to do a fundraiser to help raise money to pay for both hospital and funeral expenses. It took a lot of work but they all managed. My grandma wasn’t able to get the help that the health insurance could have offered. The whole process of health insurance was stressing my whole family.
I wished it hadn’t been so hard or stressful for them. With my family’s situation, I know how important it is to have healthcare. It can save so much stress. I also know that the process should be easier and shouldn’t even have to be a worry.
