When it rains it pours. Four months ago I lost my job but what would come next would be even worse! Aside from month anxiety medicine, I’m a healthy, 26-year-old guy so the loss wasn’t that great. Though I’m starting to feel the effects of aging (my younger brothers and cousins in their teens look at me funny when I reference Courtney Love or the television show Roseanne) I’m certainly not in need to immediate medical care.
With this loss, I moved home so that I could be closer to family and rebuild my life. I moved from New York City back to Philadelphia and had all the time in the world to catch up with family and old friends. People I knew to be the high school troublemaker, was now the proud father of two baby girls, and his Facebook page was testament to the changes he had made in life. My friend Caitlin had just purchased a new house, which was an exciting accomplishment in my eyes since I swore up, down, and around she’d never move out of her house.
Moving Caitlin into her home was fantastic. She had already started decorating and the place looked classy. She had a natural flare for decorating, and with a little gay flare, I was going to make this heaven on earth. The first night in her home, we called our girlfriends over to watch the Philadelphia Phillies try to make it to the World Series. After a grueling match, the Phil’s came back to win the game. We jumped up in excitement! We were on our way to a victorious season!
Up her stairs I went, a winding staircase in deed, to her bathroom to relieve myself. I opened the door once I was finished and made my way back down – and within an instant – I fell down the stairs – with my ankle snapping in two. I had broken my ankle, broken my tibia and fibula, and torn ALL TEN ligaments in my leg. The pain was unbearable. At the hospital they began to mend what they could. I had no worries, because I was still covered by my insurance.
After several heaping loads of Percocet’s, three surgeries, and many visitors in the hospital I was on the road to recovery when I found out – my health insurance had dropped me. I immediately scrambled – unsure of what I would do since I was immediately in the MIDDLE of my recovery. If I didn’t receive proper care, I could end up with a life-long limp. Not cute at the gay bar at 2 a.m. after a few drinks if I may say so.
Thankfully, despite mounting bills, I had a long hard discussion with my doctor. He had been seeing me through this disaster and thankfully, he agreed to treat me at an unbelievably discounted rate. So far, I’ve accrued $2,500 in bills, despite a $50,000 price tag so far on my experience in and out of the hospital. My badge of honor is seven screws in my leg, a large rod, and the fantastic experience to sponge bathe for two months.
I never realized the importance of health insurance. I guess I just didn’t care – because I was always healthy. And overnight, I was needy, and dependent, and at the mercy of doctors, and thankfully really dedicated family and friends. My accident delayed my job search, though I’m confident in my abilities to land something soon. But I’ll be sure to inquire about health insurance at my job interview so that in the event I’m another unfortunate fall (which I’m known for) – I’ll have a leg up on the experience next time.
J. M. Leahy is a 26-year-old activist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He’s lived in New York City and Los Angeles and is currently going through an embarrassing mid-life, mid-life crisis.
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